[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2575. Mr. CRAMER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 2499 proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to 
condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in 
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and 
harassment of these communities inside and outside China; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. KEEPING CRITICAL CONNECTIONS EMERGENCY FUND.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Keeping Critical Connections Act of 2020''.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission;
       (2) the term ``covered program'' means a program 
     established by a small business broadband provider under 
     which the small business broadband provider, at any time 
     during the COVID-19 emergency period, voluntarily--
       (A) provides a customer with free or discounted broadband 
     service, or free upgrades of existing service to meet certain 
     capacity and speed needs, due specifically to the presence of 
     a student in the household of the customer who needs distance 
     learning capability; or
       (B) refrains from disconnecting broadband service provided 
     to an existing customer due to nonpayment or underpayment if 
     the customer--
       (i) has a household income, at the time of the nonpayment 
     or underpayment, that does not exceed 135 percent of the 
     Federal poverty guidelines (as determined by the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services);
       (ii) is unable to make a full payment due specifically to 
     the economic impact of the national emergency described in 
     paragraph (3); and
       (iii) provides sufficient documentation to the provider to 
     show that the customer meets the criteria under clauses (i) 
     and (ii);
       (3) the term ``COVID-19 emergency period'' means the period 
     during which the national emergency declaration by the 
     President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 
     et seq.) with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
     19) is in effect; and
       (4) the term ``small business broadband provider'' means a 
     broadband provider that provides broadband service to fewer 
     than 500,000 customers.
       (c) Funding.--
       (1) Appropriation.--Out of any funds in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 
     Commission $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to remain 
     available until expended, to reimburse small business 
     broadband providers for the costs of carrying out a covered 
     program.
       (2) Rules.--The Commission shall promulgate rules on an 
     expedited basis, and without regard to section 553 of title 
     5, United States Code, regarding the provision of 
     reimbursements to small business broadband providers under 
     paragraph (1).
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