[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2542 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2542

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2023

Mrs. Fischer (for herself and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre 
                    program, 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 ``Linking Access to Spur Technology 
for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments Act of 2023'' or the 
``LAST ACRE Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. LAST ACRE PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendment.--Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 607. LAST ACRE PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to advance precision agriculture connectivity 
        nationwide; and
            ``(2) to augment last mile broadband deployment for 
        agricultural producers by expanding high-speed internet access 
        across the last acre.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
        `broadband internet access service' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations 
        (or any successor regulation).
            ``(2) Broadband maps.--The term `broadband maps' means any 
        map created under--
                    ``(A) section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act 
                of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)); or
                    ``(B) section 60105 of the Infrastructure 
                Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 1704).
            ``(3) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            ``(4) Configuration management plan.--The term 
        `configuration management plan', with respect to a covered 
        provider, means a comprehensive description of the roles, 
        responsibilities, policies, and procedures intended to improve 
        the integrity of the systems and networks of the covered 
        provider.
            ``(5) Covered producer.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `covered producer' 
                means a person or entity that is directly engaged in 
                the production of agricultural products, including 
                crops or livestock, on eligible land that is unserved 
                or underserved, such that a majority of the gross 
                income of the person or entity is derived from those 
                products.
                    ``(B) Inclusion.--The term `covered producer' 
                includes agricultural research centers of the 
                Agricultural Research Service.
            ``(6) Covered provider.--The term `covered provider' 
        means--
                    ``(A) with respect to the provision of qualified 
                connectivity to eligible land, a provider of broadband 
                internet access service; or
                    ``(B) with respect to the provision of wireless 
                solutions using or extending the range of network 
                connectivity, a provider of wireless equipment or 
                communications services, in association with an entity 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(7) Eligible land.--The term `eligible land' means 
        cropland, grassland, rangeland, pastureland, farm sites, and 
        other agricultural land used for the active production of 
        agricultural commodities or livestock.
            ``(8) Farm site.--The term `farm site' means a portion of 
        land contiguous to land actively devoted to agricultural 
        production and that includes improvements that are agricultural 
        or horticultural in nature.
            ``(9) Limited resource farmer or rancher.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and 
                (C), the term `limited resource farmer or rancher' 
                means a covered producer--
                            ``(i) with direct or indirect gross farm 
                        sales in each of the previous 2 years of not 
                        more than $100,000, as adjusted for changes in 
                        inflation since 2002 using the Prices Paid by 
                        Farmer Index compiled by the National 
                        Agricultural Statistics Service; and
                            ``(ii) that has a total household income 
                        that is--
                                    ``(I) at or below the national 
                                poverty level for a family of 4; or
                                    ``(II) less than 50 percent of the 
                                county median household income in each 
                                of the previous 2 years.
                    ``(B) Documentation.--For purposes of determining 
                if a covered producer is a limited resource farmer or 
                rancher, the Secretary may require the submission of 
                sufficient documentation to verify the status of the 
                covered producer.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
                the term `covered producer' does not include the 
                agricultural research centers described in paragraph 
                (5)(B).
            ``(10) Precision agriculture.--The term `precision 
        agriculture' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or 
        livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, 
        chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial 
        and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, 
        and maintain or improve environmental quality.
            ``(11) Qualifying connectivity.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualifying 
                connectivity' means the service offered by a covered 
                provider as a result of assistance under subsection (c) 
                that--
                            ``(i) is capable of a speed of not less 
                        than--
                                    ``(I) a 100-Mbps downstream 
                                transmission capacity; and
                                    ``(II) a 20-Mbps upstream 
                                transmission capacity; and
                            ``(ii) carries out not less than 1 of the 
                        activities described in subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Activities described.--The activities 
                referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are--
                            ``(i) providing broadband internet access 
                        service by any technology to structures and 
                        devices on eligible land, including tractors, 
                        combines, irrigation systems, drones, under-
                        soil sensors, livestock facilities, and farm 
                        offices;
                            ``(ii) providing multipoint wireless 
                        network connectivity that facilitates data 
                        transmission between structures and devices on 
                        eligible land, including structures and devices 
                        described in clause (i); and
                            ``(iii) supporting--
                                    ``(I) the construction of wireless 
                                infrastructure, including poles, 
                                towers, base stations, or other 
                                structures, regardless of whether the 
                                structure has an existing antenna 
                                facility, that is used or will be used 
                                for the provision of wireless service; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) the retrofitting of existing 
                                towers or vertical structures, such as 
                                water towers, grain elevators, or 
                                center pivots, to accommodate wireless 
                                infrastructure.
            ``(12) Remote area.--The term `remote area' means the 
        frontier and remote ZIP Code areas published by the Economic 
        Research Service.
            ``(13) Underserved.--The term `underserved' means, with 
        respect to eligible land, that the eligible land lacks access 
        to broadband internet access service that is capable of a speed 
        of not less than--
                    ``(A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; 
                and
                    ``(B) a 20-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.
            ``(14) Unserved.--The term `unserved' means, with respect 
        to eligible land, eligible land that lacks access to broadband 
        internet access service that is capable of a speed of not less 
        than--
                    ``(A) a 25-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; 
                and
                    ``(B) a 3-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.
    ``(c) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
        program, to be known as the `Last Acre Program', to make grants 
        and loans to covered providers on a competitive basis to 
        provide qualifying connectivity to unserved and underserved 
        eligible land.
            ``(2) Limitation.--Of the amounts made available under 
        subsection (k) for a fiscal year for assistance under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary may award not more than 10 percent to 
        agricultural research centers described in subsection 
        (b)(5)(B).
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) Cybersecurity.--The Secretary may allow a covered 
        provider to use a portion of the assistance provided to the 
        covered provider under subsection (c), as necessary, to address 
        the cybersecurity requirements under subsection (g).
            ``(2) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall not award any 
        assistance under subsection (c) for broadband internet access 
        service--
                    ``(A) to an inhabitable residence that is 
                identified as serviceable or as to be served due to an 
                enforceable commitment to deploy on the broadband maps; 
                or
                    ``(B) on a commercial basis to surrounding areas 
                outside the eligible land.
            ``(3) Federal share.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the Federal share of a project 
                carried out using assistance under subsection (c) shall 
                be not more than 80 percent of the total cost of the 
                project.
                    ``(B) Limited resource farmers or ranchers.--The 
                Secretary may increase the Federal share of the costs 
                described in subparagraph (A) to 90 percent if the 
                covered producer of the applicable eligible land is a 
                limited resource farmer or rancher.
    ``(e) Bid Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--To apply for assistance under subsection 
        (c), a covered provider shall submit to the Secretary an 
        application in such manner and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require, including--
                    ``(A) the measures by which the covered producer 
                has engaged with the covered provider to identify the 
                appropriate qualifying connectivity plan to serve the 
                eligible land of the covered producer;
                    ``(B) a description of how the assistance provided 
                under subsection (c) would be used to establish 
                qualifying connectivity on the unserved or underserved 
                eligible land of a covered producer, including the 
                entire acreage in need of qualifying connectivity;
                    ``(C) the amount of the Federal share for the 
                project and the amount of the non-Federal share for the 
                project;
                    ``(D) whether the covered provider is capable of 
                carrying out the specific funded activities in 
                compliance with all Federal, State, and local laws;
                    ``(E) whether the covered provider has the 
                financial and managerial capacity to meet the specific 
                commitments contained in the application, including 
                buildout obligations;
                    ``(F) whether the covered provider has the 
                technical and operational capability to construct and 
                operate broadband networks;
                    ``(G) whether the eligible land of the covered 
                producer--
                            ``(i) is unserved or underserved; and
                            ``(ii) is not subject to an enforceable 
                        commitment to deploy broadband by the applicant 
                        or another covered provider, as determined 
                        according to the broadband maps; and
                    ``(H) any additional information that the Secretary 
                determines necessary to ensure the effective function 
                of the program under this section.
            ``(2) Registration of covered providers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than the date on which 
                the Secretary establishes the program under this 
                section pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary shall 
                create an online portal within which covered providers 
                may register voluntarily with the Secretary for 
                purposes of the program under this section.
                    ``(B) Registration requirements.--To register with 
                the Secretary under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall require a covered provider to submit the minimum 
                amount of information necessary for the covered 
                provider to demonstrate to the Secretary that the 
                covered provider--
                            ``(i) is capable of carrying out activities 
                        for which assistance is provided under 
                        subsection (c) in compliance with all 
                        applicable Federal, State, and local laws;
                            ``(ii) has the financial and managerial 
                        capacity to meet commitments necessary to carry 
                        out the projects for which assistance is 
                        received under subsection (c); and
                            ``(iii) has the technical and operational 
                        capability--
                                    ``(I) to construct and operate 
                                broadband networks; and
                                    ``(II) to meet the requirement 
                                described in paragraph (1) of 
                                subsection (g) and provide the 
                                cybersecurity certification required 
                                under paragraph (2) of that subsection.
                    ``(C) Prohibitions.--In registering covered 
                providers under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
                not--
                            ``(i) require a covered provider to provide 
                        any proprietary business information for 
                        purposes of registering under that 
                        subparagraph; or
                            ``(ii) require a covered provider to 
                        participate in the program under this section.
                    ``(D) Public availability.--The Secretary may make 
                a list of covered providers registered under 
                subparagraph (A) publicly available.
            ``(3) Bidding.--
                    ``(A) In general.--After the Secretary receives a 
                complete initial bid application under paragraph (1), 
                the Secretary shall allow covered providers registered 
                under paragraph (2)(A) that operate contiguous to, 
                near, or partially on the eligible land that is the 
                subject of the initial bid application to submit 
                competing bid applications for the proposed service 
                area.
                    ``(B) Notification to covered providers.--Not less 
                frequently than once every 30 days, the Secretary 
                shall--
                            ``(i) post on an internet website of the 
                        Secretary that is accessible to covered 
                        providers the necessary identifying information 
                        of eligible land contained in a complete 
                        initial bid application; and
                            ``(ii) not later than 24 hours after the 
                        time at which the information described in 
                        clause (i) is posted, send notice of that post 
                        to covered providers registered under paragraph 
                        (2)(A) by electronic mail.
                    ``(C) Challenges.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 45 
                        business days after the date on which the 
                        Secretary posts the information described in 
                        subparagraph (B)(i), a covered provider may 
                        submit to the Secretary notice of a challenge 
                        of any posted eligible land at which--
                                    ``(I) the qualifying connectivity 
                                of the covered provider is available to 
                                the entire portion of land in the 
                                initial bid application without 
                                assistance under subsection (c);
                                    ``(II) the covered provider could 
                                initiate qualifying connectivity 
                                through a routine installation within 
                                10 business days of a request with no 
                                extraordinary monetary charges or 
                                delays attributable to the extension of 
                                the network of the covered provider; or
                                    ``(III) the covered provider has an 
                                enforceable commitment to deploy 
                                broadband to the eligible land.
                            ``(ii) Adjudication of challenges.--
                                    ``(I) Process.--The Secretary shall 
                                establish a transparent, evidence-
                                based, and expeditious process for 
                                adjudicating a challenge submitted 
                                under clause (i) with respect to a 
                                location within 90 business days of the 
                                date on which the Secretary posts the 
                                information described in subparagraph 
                                (B)(i).
                                    ``(II) Requirement.--The process 
                                established by the Secretary under 
                                subclause (I) shall include making 
                                publicly available on the website of 
                                the Secretary a written notice 
                                describing the outcome and reason for 
                                the decision of the Secretary with 
                                respect to each challenge submitted 
                                under clause (i).
                                    ``(III) Limitation.--The Secretary 
                                may not award any assistance under 
                                subsection (c) for a particular 
                                application until all challenges with 
                                respect to the eligible land described 
                                in that application have been fully 
                                adjudicated.
                            ``(iii) New solicitation.--If, after 
                        adjudicating a challenge under clause (i), the 
                        Secretary determines that the land subject to 
                        the challenge is eligible land that is unserved 
                        or underserved, the Secretary shall transmit to 
                        each covered provider registered under 
                        paragraph (2)(A) a bid notification for the 
                        provision of qualifying connectivity to the 
                        eligible land.
                    ``(D) Competing bid applications.--A covered 
                provider registered under paragraph (2)(A) that 
                receives a notification under subparagraph (B)(ii) or a 
                notification under subparagraph (C)(iii) and wishes to 
                submit a competing bid application for provision of 
                qualifying connectivity to the eligible land described 
                in that notification shall, not later than 120 days 
                after the date on which the covered provider registered 
                under paragraph (2)(A) receives the notification, 
                submit to the Secretary a competing bid application to 
                provide that qualifying connectivity in accordance with 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(E) Evaluation.--Not later than 30 business days 
                after the date on which the 120-day period described in 
                subparagraph (D) ends, the Secretary shall evaluate the 
                bid applications received and select the applicant 
                that--
                            ``(i) presents the lowest cost to the 
                        Secretary for the provision of qualifying 
                        connectivity to the eligible land that is 
                        unserved or underserved; and
                            ``(ii) best demonstrates to the covered 
                        producer the ability to provide downstream and 
                        upstream transmission capacity that can 
                        reliably support the specific connectivity 
                        needs of all on-farm applications described in 
                        the bid application, including mobility, if 
                        mobility was included in the bid application.
                    ``(F) Enhanced speeds.--
                            ``(i) Finding.--Congress finds that there 
                        are unique connectivity needs to support the 
                        adoption of precision agriculture.
                            ``(ii) Prioritization.--In selecting bid 
                        applicants under subparagraph (E), the 
                        Secretary may give priority to a covered 
                        provider that offers enhanced service speeds 
                        that are greater than those described in 
                        subsection (b)(11)(A)(i), if the applicant 
                        demonstrates that the proposal to serve the 
                        eligible land of a covered producer that is 
                        unserved or underserved requires such enhanced 
                        service speeds.
                    ``(G) Treatment of proprietary information.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The prohibition under 
                        paragraph (2)(C)(i) shall not apply to a 
                        covered provider in the submission of a bid 
                        application under this subsection, including a 
                        competing bid application under subparagraph 
                        (D) or a challenge under subparagraph (C), if 
                        the proprietary information is necessary for 
                        the Secretary--
                                    ``(I) to determine the eligibility 
                                of a covered provider; or
                                    ``(II) to evaluate an initial bid 
                                application, competing bid application, 
                                or challenge.
                            ``(ii) Disclosure in notification.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--In the 
                                notification required under 
                                subparagraph (B), the Secretary--
                                            ``(aa) shall only disclose 
                                        the necessary and appropriate 
                                        information contained within an 
                                        initial bid application for the 
                                        purposes of facilitating 
                                        competing bid applications; and
                                            ``(bb) shall not divulge 
                                        proprietary information of the 
                                        applicable covered provider and 
                                        covered producer in the 
                                        application.
                                    ``(II) Requirement.--In a bid 
                                application under this subsection, 
                                including a competing bid application 
                                under subparagraph (D) or a challenge 
                                under subparagraph (C), an applicant 
                                shall clearly mark any proprietary 
                                information with the term `confidential 
                                proprietary information'.
                            ``(iii) Treatment.--If a covered provider 
                        provides in a bid application under this 
                        subsection, including a competing bid 
                        application under subparagraph (D) or a 
                        challenge under subparagraph (C), proprietary 
                        information that constitutes a trade secret, 
                        proprietary commercial or financial 
                        information, confidential business information, 
                        or data affecting national security, the 
                        Secretary shall treat the information in 
                        confidence to the greatest extent permitted by 
                        law.
                            ``(iv) Privacy.--Nothing in this section 
                        affects the applicability to this section of 
                        section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and 
                        Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8791).
            ``(4) Timeline.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For each project for which 
                assistance under subsection (c) is provided, the 
                Secretary shall establish service buildout milestones 
                and periodic certifications by recipients of the 
                assistance for purposes of project compliance and 
                implementation.
                    ``(B) Requirement.--The milestones required under 
                subparagraph (A) shall establish a maximum buildout 
                timeframe of not more than 4 years from the date on 
                which the assistance is provided.
                    ``(C) Penalties.--The Secretary shall establish and 
                enforce standardized penalties, fines, and sanctions 
                for noncompliance with a milestone or certification 
                established under subparagraph (A).
    ``(f) Priority.--In providing assistance under subsection (c), the 
Secretary shall give priority to applications to carry out projects in 
the following order:
            ``(1) Unserved eligible land in remote areas.
            ``(2) Other unserved eligible land.
            ``(3) Underserved eligible land in remote areas.
            ``(4) Other underserved eligible land.
    ``(g) Cybersecurity.--As a condition on receipt of assistance under 
subsection (c), a covered provider shall--
            ``(1) ensure that any structure, device, or system provided 
        or constructed using the assistance incorporates a layered 
        defense strategy as a means of defensible security 
        architecture; and
            ``(2) certify to the Secretary that the covered provider 
        maintains a regularly updated configuration management plan.
    ``(h) Prohibition.--In selecting recipients of assistance under 
subsection (c), the Secretary shall not advantage or disadvantage the 
selection of a recipient under this section based on consideration of 
the existence, or lack thereof, of any State law.
    ``(i) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall, on an annual 
basis--
            ``(1) submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
        and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of 
        the House of Representatives a report that describes the 
        outcome of the bids that occurred during the previous fiscal 
        year, including the number of parcels of eligible land for 
        which initial bid applications were submitted during the 
        previous fiscal year, the number of challenges filed under 
        subsection (e)(3)(C) during the previous fiscal year, the 
        outcomes of those challenges, the number of competing bid 
        applications received under this section, and the respective 
        amounts awarded for eligible land; and
            ``(2) make the report required under paragraph (1) publicly 
        available on the website of the Secretary.
    ``(j) Provision of Data to FCC.--The Secretary shall, on an annual 
basis, make the necessary data available to the Commission for 
inclusion on the broadband maps.
    ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary for 
each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.''.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 602 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950bb-1) is repealed.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE DATA COLLECTION ON 
              BROADBAND ADOPTION.

    To provide for the collection and analysis by the National 
Agricultural Statistics Service of more comprehensive broadband usage 
data, the Secretary of Agriculture shall update the computer usage and 
ownership survey and the census of agriculture conducted under section 
2 of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 (7 U.S.C. 2204g) to contain 
questions relating to--
            (1) whether the respondent subscribes to a broadband 
        internet access service for a farm site (as defined in section 
        607(b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936); and
            (2) if the respondent subscribes to the broadband internet 
        access service described in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) the download and upload speeds of the broadband 
                internet access service to which the respondent is 
                subscribed; and
                    (B) the purposes for which the internet access is 
                used, including the use of precision agriculture (as 
                defined in section 607(b) of the Rural Electrification 
                Act of 1936).
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