[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 645 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 645

   To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and 
  analysis of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the 
         economy of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2017

 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. King, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Franken, and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and 
  analysis of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the 
         economy of the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Measuring the Economic Impact of 
Broadband Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT 
              ON ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Broadband Defined.--In this section, the term ``broadband'' 
means an Internet Protocol-based transmission service that enables 
users to send and receive voice, video, data, or graphics, or a 
combination of those items.
    (b) Assessment and Analysis Required.--The Secretary of Commerce 
shall, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
conduct an assessment and analysis of the effects of broadband 
deployment and adoption on the economy of the United States.
    (c) Considerations.--In conducting the assessment and analysis 
required by subsection (b), the Secretary shall consider matters 
relating to employment, including job creation, business headcount, 
online commerce, income, education and distance learning, telehealth, 
telework, agriculture, population growth, population density, broadband 
speed, and geography.
    (d) Consultation.--In conducting the assessment and analysis 
required by subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with--
            (1) the heads of such agencies and offices of the Federal 
        Government as the Secretary considers appropriate, including 
        the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Bureau of the 
        Census, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 
        Small Business Administration, and the Federal Communications 
        Commission;
            (2) representatives of business, including rural and urban 
        Internet service providers and telecommunications 
        infrastructure providers;
            (3) representatives from State, local, and tribal 
        government agencies; and
            (4) representatives from consumer and community 
        organizations.
    (e) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
        submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on 
        the findings of the Secretary with respect to the assessment 
        and analysis conducted under subsection (b).
            (2) Appropriate committees of congress.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
                of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (E) the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and
                    (F) the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives.
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