[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 157 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10618-H10621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BROADBAND DATA IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce be discharged from further consideration of the 
Senate bill (S. 1492) to improve the quality of Federal and State data 
regarding the availability and quality of broadband services and to 
promote the deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of 
the Nation, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 1492

       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 ``Broadband Data Improvement 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The deployment and adoption of broadband technology has 
     resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety 
     for communities across the Nation, improved health care and 
     educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for 
     all Americans.
       (2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of 
     broadband technology is vital to ensuring that our Nation 
     remains competitive and continues to create business and job 
     growth.
       (3) Improving Federal data on the deployment and adoption 
     of broadband service will assist in the development of 
     broadband technology across all regions of the Nation.
       (4) The Federal Government should also recognize and 
     encourage complementary state efforts to improve the quality 
     and usefulness of broadband data and should encourage and 
     support the partnership of the public and private sectors in 
     the continued growth of broadband services and information 
     technology for the residents and businesses of the Nation.

     SEC. 3. IMPROVING FEDERAL DATA ON BROADBAND.

       (a) Improving FCC Broadband Data.--Within 120 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
     Commission shall issue an order in WC docket No. 07-38 which 
     shall, at a minimum--
       (1) revise or update, if determined necessary, the existing 
     definitions of advanced telecommunications capability, or 
     broadband;
       (2) establish a new definition of second generation 
     broadband to reflect a data rate that is not less than the 
     data rate required to reliably transmit full-motion, high-
     definition video; and
       (3) revise its Form 477 reporting requirements to require 
     filing entities to report broadband connections and second 
     generation broadband connections by 5-digit postal zip code 
     plus 4-digit location.
       (b) Exception.--The Commission shall exempt an entity from 
     the reporting requirements of subsection (a)(3) if the 
     Commission determines that a compliance by that entity with 
     the requirements is cost prohibitive, as defined by the 
     Commission.
       (c) Improving Section 706 Inquiry.--Section 706 of the 
     Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 nt) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``regularly'' in subsection (b) and 
     inserting ``annually'';
       (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
       ``(c) Measurement of Extent of Deployment.--In determining 
     under subsection (b) whether advanced telecommunications 
     capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable 
     and timely fashion, the Commission shall consider data 
     collected using 5-digit postal zip code plus 4-digit 
     location.
       ``(d) Demographic Information for Unserved Areas.--As part 
     of the inquiry required by subsection (b), the Commission 
     shall, using 5-digit postal zip code plus 4-digit location 
     information, compile a list of geographical areas that are 
     not served by

[[Page H10619]]

     any provider of advanced telecommunications capability (as 
     defined by section 706(c)(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 
     1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 nt)) and to the extent that data from the 
     Census Bureau is available, determine, for each such unserved 
     area--
       ``(1) the population;
       ``(2) the population density; and
       ``(3) the average per capita income.'';
       (4) by inserting ``an evolving level of'' after 
     ``technology,'' in paragraph (1) of subsection (e), as 
     redesignated.
       (d) Improving Census Data on Broadband.--The Secretary of 
     Commerce, in consultation with the Federal Communications 
     Commission, shall expand the American Community Survey 
     conducted by the Bureau of the Census to elicit information 
     for residential households, including those located on native 
     lands, to determine whether persons at such households own or 
     use a computer at that address, whether persons at that 
     address subscribe to Internet service and, if so, whether 
     such persons subscribe to dial-up or broadband Internet 
     service at that address.

     SEC. 4. STUDY ON ADDITIONAL BROADBAND METRICS AND STANDARDS.

       (a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a 
     study to consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics 
     or standards that may be used by industry and the Federal 
     Government to provide users with more accurate information 
     about the cost and capability of their broadband connection, 
     and to better compare the deployment and penetration of 
     broadband in the United States with other countries. At a 
     minimum, such study shall consider potential standards or 
     metrics that may be used--
       (1) to calculate the average price per megabyte of 
     broadband offerings;
       (2) to reflect the average actual speed of broadband 
     offerings compared to advertised potential speeds;
       (3) to compare the availability and quality of broadband 
     offerings in the United States with the availability and 
     quality of broadband offerings in other industrialized 
     nations, including countries that are members of the 
     Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and
       (4) to distinguish between complementary and substitutable 
     broadband offerings in evaluating deployment and penetration.
       (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a 
     report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce on the results of the study, with 
     recommendations for how industry and the Federal 
     Communications Commission can use such metrics and 
     comparisons to improve the quality of broadband data and to 
     better evaluate the deployment and penetration of comparable 
     broadband service at comparable rates across all regions of 
     the Nation.

     SEC. 5. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND SPEED AND PRICE ON 
                   SMALL BUSINESSES.

       (a) In General.--The Small Business Administration Office 
     of Advocacy shall conduct a study evaluating the impact of 
     broadband speed and price on small businesses.
       (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Office shall submit a report to 
     the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation, the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
     Entrepreneurship, the House of Representatives Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce, and the House of Representatives 
     Committee on Small Business on the results of the study, 
     including--
       (1) a survey of broadband speeds available to small 
     businesses;
       (2) a survey of the cost of broadband speeds available to 
     small businesses;
       (3) a survey of the type of broadband technology used by 
     small businesses; and
       (4) any policy recommendations that may improve small 
     businesses access to comparable broadband services at 
     comparable rates in all regions of the Nation.

     SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection 
     (b) are--
       (1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State 
     have access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
       (2) to achieve improved technology literacy, increased 
     computer ownership, and home broadband use among such 
     citizens and businesses;
       (3) to establish and empower local grassroots technology 
     teams in each State to plan for improved technology use 
     across multiple community sectors; and
       (4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe for 
     broadband services and information technology investment.
       (b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development 
     Grant Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall award 
     grants, taking into account the results of the peer review 
     process under subsection (d), to eligible entities for the 
     development and implementation of statewide initiatives to 
     identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband 
     services within each State.
       (2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under subsection (b) 
     shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
       (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
       (1) submit an application to the Secretary of Commerce, at 
     such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may require; and
       (2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount 
     equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the 
     grant.
       (d) Peer Review; Nondisclosure.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation require 
     appropriate technical and scientific peer review of 
     applications made for grants under this section.
       (2) Review procedures.--The regulations required under 
     paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific 
     peer review group--
       (A) be provided a written description of the grant to be 
     reviewed;
       (B) provide the results of any review by such group to the 
     Secretary of Commerce; and
       (C) certify that such group will enter into voluntary 
     nondisclosure agreements as necessary to prevent the 
     unauthorized disclosure of confidential and proprietary 
     information provided by broadband service providers in 
     connection with projects funded by any such grant.
       (e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity 
     under subsection (b) shall be used--
       (1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service 
     deployment in each State;
       (2) to identify and track--
       (A) areas in each State that have low levels of broadband 
     service deployment;
       (B) the rate at which residential and business users adopt 
     broadband service and other related information technology 
     services; and
       (C) possible suppliers of such services;
       (3) to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and 
     businesses of broadband service and related information 
     technology services, including whether or not--
       (A) the demand for such services is absent; and
       (B) the supply for such services is capable of meeting the 
     demand for such services;
       (4) to identify the speeds of broadband connections made 
     available to individuals and businesses within the State, 
     and, at a minimum, to rely on the data rate benchmarks for 
     broadband and second generation broadband identified by the 
     Federal Communications Commission to promote greater 
     consistency of data among the States;
       (5) to create and facilitate in each county or designated 
     region in a State a local technology planning team--
       (A) with members representing a cross section of the 
     community, including representatives of business, 
     telecommunications labor organizations, K-12 education, 
     health care, libraries, higher education, community-based 
     organizations, local government, tourism, parks and 
     recreation, and agriculture; and
       (B) which shall--
       (i) benchmark technology use across relevant community 
     sectors;
       (ii) set goals for improved technology use within each 
     sector; and
       (iii) develop a tactical business plan for achieving its 
     goals, with specific recommendations for online application 
     development and demand creation;
       (6) to work collaboratively with broadband service 
     providers and information technology companies to encourage 
     deployment and use, especially in unserved and underserved 
     areas, through the use of local demand aggregation, mapping 
     analysis, and the creation of market intelligence to improve 
     the business case for providers to deploy;
       (7) to establish programs to improve computer ownership and 
     Internet access for unserved and underserved populations;
       (8) to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning 
     the use and demand for broadband service and related 
     information technology services;
       (9) to facilitate information exchange regarding the use 
     and demand for broadband services between public and private 
     sectors; and
       (10) to create within each State a geographic inventory map 
     of broadband service, and where feasible second generation 
     broadband service, which shall--
       (A) identify gaps in such service through a method of 
     geographic information system mapping of service availability 
     at the census block level; and
       (B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide broadband 
     deployment in terms of households with high-speed 
     availability.
       (f) Participation Limit.--For each State, an eligible 
     entity may not receive a new grant under this section to fund 
     the activities described in subsection (d) within such State 
     if such organization obtained prior grant awards under this 
     section to fund the same activities in that State in each of 
     the previous 4 consecutive years.
       (g) Reporting.--The Secretary of Commerce shall--
       (1) require each recipient of a grant under subsection (b) 
     to submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the 
     grant; and
       (2) create a web page on the Department of Commerce web 
     site that aggregates relevant information made available to 
     the public by grant recipients, including, where appropriate, 
     hypertext links to any geographic inventory maps created by 
     grant recipients under subsection (e)(10).
       (h) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Eligible Entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
     non-profit organization that is selected by a State to work 
     in partnership

[[Page H10620]]

     with State agencies and private sector partners in 
     identifying and tracking the availability and adoption of 
     broadband services within each State.
       (2) Nonprofit Organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
     organization'' means an organization--
       (A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such 
     Code;
       (B) no part of the net earnings of which inures to the 
     benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or individual;
       (C) that has an established competency and proven record of 
     working with public and private sectors to accomplish 
     widescale deployment and adoption of broadband services and 
     information technology; and
       (D) the board of directors of which is not composed of a 
     majority of individuals who are also employed by, or 
     otherwise associated with, any Federal, State, or local 
     government or any Federal, State, or local agency.
       (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
       (j) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed as giving any public or private entity 
     established or affected by this Act any regulatory 
     jurisdiction or oversight authority over providers of 
     broadband services or information technology.

                    Amendment Offered by Mr. Markey

  Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Markey:
       In section 213, strike ``Senate Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation'' and insert ``Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives''.
       In section 214(b), strike ``Assistant Secretary and the 
     Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation'' 
     and insert ``Assistant Secretary, the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee 
     on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives''.
       In the matter appearing immediately after section 216, 
     strike ``TITLE II'' and insert ``Subtitle B''.

  Mr. MARKEY (during the reading). Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1492. Title I of 
S. 1492 is the Broadband Data Improvement Act. This Act puts the 
country further down the path toward universal broadband deployment, a 
goal we must achieve. It does so by improving the quality of data that 
the Federal Communications Commission collects concerning broadband 
deployment and adoption. It requires annual reports on the state of 
broadband deployment and also requires the Commission to conduct 
consumer surveys on broadband use, price, speed, and availability. 
Importantly, Title I requires a comparison of broadband deployment at 
home with broadband deployment abroad. Armed with this information, 
policy makers will be able to make more informed decisions to increase 
broadband penetration and drive its deployment.
  Title I also directs the Secretary of Commerce to develop a grant 
program to help take stock of broadband availability in States. 
Unfortunately, Title I does not require the construction of a 
nationwide map depicting broadband deployment. I am hopeful that we can 
work toward that goal as this legislation is implemented. And while I 
am disappointed that Title I does not authorize funding for this 
crucial grant program, directing the Secretary of Commerce to establish 
it is a victory for American consumers.
  Even though the Broadband Data Improvement Act does not include every 
provision from the similar bill that passed the House unanimously, it 
is a solid step in the right direction, and it deserves our full 
support.
  Title II of S. 1492 is largely based on legislation authorized by 
Rep. Melissa Bean and aims to promote the safety of children on the 
Internet and protect them from online predators and cybercrimes. It 
directs the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, the Nation's foremost 
consumer protection agency, to carry out a nationwide educational 
campaign on the safe use of the Internet by children. This legislation 
will ensure that the FTC's educational efforts are both wide-ranging 
and inclusive of other governmental and private organizations that are 
dedicated to safe Internet use. It also ensures that the FTC keeps 
Congress apprised of its activities through submission of annual 
reports.
  Title II also further promotes children's Internet safety by 
directing the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to establish a working group of government, industry, and 
public interest. To keep Congress informed, the Assistant Secretary 
must submit a report 1 year after formation of the working group to the 
appropriate Committees.
  Finally, Title II promotes online safety education in schools. It 
focuses in particular on appropriate behavior in networking sites and 
chat rooms and awareness of cyber bullying.
  I congratulate Representatives Markey, Bean, and others who worked on 
this fine bill. I urge my colleagues to support its passage.
  Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1492, the 
Broadband Data Improvement Act. This is companion legislation to H.R. 
3919, the Broadband Census of America Act of 2007, which passed the 
House unanimously last November.
  Madam Speaker, an overarching telecommunications policy goal for the 
United States is achieving ubiquitously available, competitive, high 
speed, affordable broadband service for all Americans. Such broadband 
service capability is indispensable to various aspects of the United 
States economy, including public safety, education, entrepreneurial 
investment, innovation, job creation, health care delivery and energy 
efficiency.
  The ability of the United States to promote and achieve a 
competitive, high speed broadband infrastructure will also be a key 
factor in determining our nation's success in the fiercely competitive 
global economy. International competitors to the United States are 
achieving progress in broadband deployment and adoption. Many countries 
have broadband service capability superior to the United States in 
terms of choice, speed, and price.
  For the United States, offering broadband service capability at ever 
higher transmission speeds could spur new growth and investment in 
cutting-edge applications, services, and technologies that utilize 
higher bandwidth functionality.
  The Senate bill contains several provisions which directly stem from 
H.R. 3919, including the international comparison and the consumer 
survey. While I wish the Senate bill contained the more rigorous data 
collection and disclosure that was contained in the House-passed bill, 
I believe the Senate bill makes sorely-needed progress in bolstering 
the data collection needed for policymakers to have a better sense of 
America's progress, or lack thereof, in broadband deployment, speed, 
and affordability.
  Without question, ascertaining whether the Nation is achieving its 
broadband policy, goals has been stymied by a significant lack of data 
about the nature and extent of broadband service deployment and 
adoption throughout the country. The Government Accountability Office, 
GAO, in a May 2006 report, assessed the available data about broadband 
deployment and concluded that while such deployment is present in some 
form across the Nation, it remains difficult to decipher which 
geographic areas are un-served or underserved. Also difficult to 
determine is the type of service, the speed, and the price of broadband 
service capability available in discrete urban, suburban, and rural 
areas of the country.
  More and better data about the nature and extent of broadband 
deployment and adoption is clearly needed and this legislation is a 
first step in getting the better data policymakers need. Indeed, the 
dearth of basic information available to the public and policymakers 
concerning availability, speed, price, and type of broadband service 
technology is highly problematic for a nation which ostensibly has 
competitive, affordable broadband service for every citizen as its 
highest telecommunications policy goal.
  The fact that such information has not been obtained and is not 
readily available adversely affects the ability of policymakers to make 
sound decisions. For instance, the Federal Government could achieve 
significantly better performance from its multibillion dollar grant and 
subsidy programs, and effectively reform them, if better and more 
comprehensive data were readily available. Discerning which parts of 
the country are served by broadband service capability and which parts 
are un-served has proven elusive to policymakers.
  This goal of this legislative effort from the start was the creation 
of a nationwide map of broadband data. I believe the Secretary of 
Commerce should create a Web site through the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, depicting 
broadband inventory maps of all the States as outlined in the House-
passed bill. The House-passed bill provides a roadmap for the ideal 
type of searchable map and the mechanisms by which the NTIA could 
achieve this objective. NTIA has authority today to pursue this 
worthwhile endeavor and the Bush administration should have sought to 
implement this idea long ago, using information readily available from 
public sources, from the States, from the FCC, or from industry 
participants or organizations themselves. At a minimum, and as a first 
step, the pending legislation would require that the Secretary of 
Commerce should create a

[[Page H10621]]

Web site to depict such nationwide data by including those maps created 
by grant recipients where appropriate. Ideally, grant recipients for 
State-wide efforts will be found in all the States and much of the 
rudimentary data to begin creating a truly robust national map can be 
developed at the state level and simply uploaded or linked to the Web 
site map or maps that NTIA creates.
  In addition, a concomitant goal of this legislative effort from the 
beginning was to improve the quantity and quality of broadband data 
collected by and available to the Federal Communications Commission. 
When we began this effort, the FCC's available data was woefully 
inadequate with respect to broadband deployment, availability, speed, 
price and other metrics. Worse, the data collected was in a form that 
often misrepresented the reality of broadband deployment in the 
country. The FCC took action this year to improve the data it collects 
but it did not go far enough in my opinion. This legislation also does 
not go far enough and certainly is not as thorough and complete with 
respect to the collection and reporting of data as the House-passed 
bill. Yet it does represent additional progress. Obviously nothing in 
this bill is designed or should be construed to in any way limit the 
ability of the FCC to collect better and more accurate data, or to 
utilize such data internally, or to publicly report such data in a way 
that is conducive to wise policymaking or otherwise consistent with its 
precedents for making non-proprietary data public.

  Again, this bill represents an important step in developing an 
overarching blueprint for broadband policy in the United States. As 
such, it is worthy of passage. Enacting this bill will also avail 
lawmakers of the opportunity to jump right into developing broader 
legislation early next year. By not having to re-pass this measure all 
over again, we will be able to more immediately pursue additional 
concrete broadband policy proposals legislatively, including those to 
promote greater broadband and voice competition, to rekindle the 
prospects for broadband innovation, affordability, and consumer choice, 
and to ensure that architectural openness and consumer privacy are 
hallmarks of our Nation's broadband policy.
  The legislation also includes language on Internet child safety. This 
is language that is similar to provisions spearheaded by our House 
colleague Representative Melissa Bean and we are pleased that her 
multi-year efforts have resulted in the inclusion of this language in 
the bill.
  I again want to thank Mr. Barton, Chairman Dingell, Mr. Stearns, and 
Mr. Upton for their cooperation in working on this bill. I again want 
to commend Senator Inouye and his staff, Jessica Rosenworcel, Margaret 
Cummisky, and Alex Hoehn-Saric, and the staff for the House Republican 
side, Neil Fried, David Cavicke, and Courtney Reinhard, and on the 
Democratic side I want to salute the excellent work of Amy Levine, Tim 
Powderly, Mark Seifert, and David Vogel. I urge members of the House to 
support the bill.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________