[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1210-1214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                DIGITAL GLOBAL ACCESS POLICY ACT OF 2017

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 600) to promote Internet access in developing 
countries

[[Page 1211]]

and update foreign policy toward the Internet, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 600

       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 ``Digital Global Access Policy 
     Act of 2017'' or the ``Digital GAP Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to--
       (1) encourage the efforts of developing countries to 
     improve mobile and fixed access to the Internet in order to 
     catalyze innovation, spur economic growth and job creation, 
     improve health, education, and financial services, reduce 
     poverty and gender inequality, mitigate disasters, promote 
     democracy and good governance, and strengthen cybersecurity;
       (2) promote build once policies and approaches and the 
     multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance; and
       (3) ensure the effective use of United States foreign 
     assistance resources toward this end.

     SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The number of Internet users worldwide has more than 
     tripled from 1 billion to 3.2 billion since 2005, yet the 
     growth rate of Internet access is slowing: An estimated 4.2 
     billion people, or 60 percent of the world's population, 
     remain offline, an estimated 75 percent of the offline 
     population lives in just 20 countries, and rural, female, 
     elderly, illiterate, and low-income populations are being 
     left behind.
       (2) Studies suggest that women across the developing world 
     are disproportionately affected by a digital gap, and that 
     bringing an additional 600 million women online would 
     contribute $13 billion to $18 billion to annual GDP across 
     144 developing countries.
       (3) Internet access in developing countries is most often 
     hampered by a lack of infrastructure and a poor regulatory 
     environment for investment.
       (4) Build once policies and approaches, which seek to 
     coordinate public and private sector investments in roads and 
     other critical infrastructure, can minimize the number and 
     scale of excavation and construction activities when 
     installing telecommunications infrastructure in rights-of-
     way, thereby reducing installation costs for high-speed 
     Internet networks and serving as a development best practice.

     SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 
     States to consult, partner, and coordinate with the 
     governments of foreign countries, international 
     organizations, regional economic communities, businesses, 
     civil society, and other stakeholders in a concerted effort 
     to close the digital gap by promoting--
       (1) first-time Internet access to mobile or broadband 
     Internet for at least 1.5 billion people in developing 
     countries by 2020 in both urban and rural areas;
       (2) Internet deployment and related coordination, capacity 
     building, and build once policies and approaches in 
     developing countries, including actions to encourage--
       (A) standardization of build once policies and approaches 
     for the inclusion of broadband conduit in rights-of-way 
     projects that are funded, co-funded, or partially financed by 
     the United States or any international organization that 
     includes the United States as a member, in consultation with 
     telecommunications providers, unless a cost-benefit analysis 
     determines that the cost of such approach outweighs the 
     benefits;
       (B) adoption and integration of build once policies and 
     approaches into the development and investment strategies of 
     national and local government agencies of developing 
     countries and donor governments and organizations that will 
     enhance coordination with the private sector for road 
     building, pipe laying, and other major infrastructure 
     projects; and
       (C) provision of increased financial support by 
     international organizations, including through grants, loans, 
     and technical assistance, to expand information and 
     communications access and Internet connectivity;
       (3) policy changes that encourage first-time affordable 
     access to the Internet in developing countries, including 
     actions to encourage--
       (A) integration of universal and gender-equitable Internet 
     access goals, to be informed by the collection of related 
     gender disaggregated data, and Internet tools into national 
     development plans and United States Government country-level 
     development strategies;
       (B) reforms of competition laws and spectrum allocation 
     processes that may impede the ability of companies to provide 
     Internet services; and
       (C) efforts to improve procurement processes to help 
     attract and incentivize investment in Internet 
     infrastructure;
       (4) the removal of tax and regulatory barriers to Internet 
     access;
       (5) the use of the Internet to increase economic growth and 
     trade, including--
       (A) policies and strategies to remove restrictions to e-
     commerce, cross-border information flows, and competitive 
     marketplaces; and
       (B) entrepreneurship and distance learning enabled by 
     access to technology;
       (6) use of the Internet to bolster democracy, government 
     accountability, transparency, and human rights, including 
     through the establishments of policies, initiatives, and 
     investments that--
       (A) support the development of national Internet plans that 
     are consistent with United States human rights goals, 
     including freedom of expression, religion, assembly, and 
     association;
       (B) expand online access to government information and 
     services to enhance government accountability and service 
     delivery, including for areas in which government may have 
     limited presence;
       (C) advance the principles of responsible Internet 
     governance, including commitments to maintain open and 
     equitable access; and
       (D) support programs, research, and technologies that 
     safeguard human rights and fundamental freedoms online, and 
     enable political organizing and activism, free speech, and 
     religious expression that are in compliance with 
     international human rights standards;
       (7) Internet access and inclusion into Internet 
     policymaking for women, people with disabilities, minorities, 
     low-income and marginalized groups, and underserved 
     populations;
       (8) cybersecurity and data protection, including 
     international use of the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology (NIST) Framework for Improving Critical 
     Infrastructure Cybersecurity, that are industry-led and 
     globally recognized cybersecurity standards and best 
     practices; and
       (9) inter-agency coordination and cooperation across all 
     executive branch agencies regarding the construction and 
     promotion of Internet initiatives as a greater part of United 
     States foreign policy.

     SEC. 5. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT.

       In pursuing the policy described in section 4, the 
     President should direct United States representatives to 
     appropriate international bodies to use the influence of the 
     United States, consistent with the broad development goals of 
     the United States, to advocate that each such body--
       (1) commit to increase efforts and coordination to promote 
     affordable and gender-equitable Internet access, in 
     partnership with stakeholders and consistent with host 
     countries' absorptive capacity;
       (2) integrate affordable and gender-equitable Internet 
     access data into existing economic and business assessments, 
     evaluations, and indexes such as the Millennium Challenge 
     Corporation constraints analysis, the Doing Business Report, 
     International Monetary Fund Article IV assessments and 
     country reports, the Open Data Barometer, and the 
     Affordability Drivers Index;
       (3) standardize inclusion of broadband conduit as part of 
     highway or comparable construction projects in developing 
     countries, in consultation with telecommunications providers, 
     unless such inclusion would create an undue burden, is not 
     necessary based on the availability of existing broadband 
     infrastructure, or a cost-benefit analysis determines that 
     the cost outweighs the benefits;
       (4) provide technical assistance to the regulatory 
     authorities in developing countries to remove unnecessary 
     barriers to investment in otherwise commercially viable 
     projects and strengthen weak regulations or develop new 
     regulations to support market growth and development;
       (5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based targets, 
     including targets with gender-disaggregated data, to measure 
     the effectiveness of efforts to promote Internet access; and
       (6) promote and protect human rights online, such as the 
     freedoms of expression, religion, assembly, and association, 
     through resolutions, public statements, projects, and 
     initiatives, and advocate that other member states of such 
     bodies are held accountable when major violations are 
     uncovered.

     SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ORGANIZATION.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Secretary of State should seek to enhance the efficiency 
     and effectiveness of United States foreign assistance efforts 
     to carry out the policies and objectives established by this 
     Act, including by redesignating an existing Assistant 
     Secretary position in the Department of State to be the 
     Assistant Secretary for Cyberspace to lead the Department's 
     diplomatic cyberspace policy generally, including for 
     cybersecurity, Internet access, Internet freedom, and to 
     promote an open, secure, and reliable information and 
     communications technology infrastructure.
       (b) Activities.--In recognition of the added value of 
     technical knowledge and expertise in the policymaking and 
     diplomatic channels, the Secretary of State shall--
       (1) update existing training programs relevant to policy 
     discussions;
       (2) promote the recruitment of candidates with technical 
     expertise into the Civil Service and the Foreign Service; and
       (3) work to improve inter-agency coordination and 
     cooperation on cybersecurity and Internet initiatives.

[[Page 1212]]

       (c) Offset.--To offset any costs incurred by the Department 
     of State to carry out the designation of an Assistant 
     Secretary for Cyberspace in accordance with subsection (a), 
     the Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions within 
     the Department of State, unless otherwise authorized or 
     required by law, as the Secretary determines to be necessary 
     to fully offset such costs.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--The redesignation of the 
     Assistant Secretary position in the Department of State 
     described in subsection (a) may not be construed as 
     increasing the number of Assistant Secretary positions at the 
     Department above the current level of 24 as authorized in 
     section 1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 
     of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)).

     SEC. 7. USAID.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the 
     United States Agency for International Development should--
       (1) integrate efforts to expand Internet access, develop 
     appropriate technologies, and enhance digital literacy into 
     the education, development, and economic growth programs of 
     the agency, where appropriate;
       (2) expand the utilization of information and 
     communications technologies in humanitarian aid and disaster 
     relief responses and United States operations involving 
     stabilization and security to improve donor coordination, 
     reduce duplication and waste, capture and share lessons 
     learned, and augment disaster preparedness and risk 
     mitigation strategies; and
       (3) establish and promote guidelines for the protection of 
     personal information of individuals served by humanitarian, 
     disaster, and development programs implemented directly 
     through the United States Government, through contracts 
     funded by the United States Government, and by international 
     organizations.

     SEC. 8. PEACE CORPS.

       Section 3 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502) is 
     amended by--
       (1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (e); and
       (2) adding at the end the following new subsections:
       ``(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to technology 
     can transform agriculture, community economic development, 
     education, environment, health, and youth development which 
     are the sectors in which Peace Corps currently develops 
     positions for Volunteers.
       ``(g) In giving attention to the programs, projects, 
     training, and other activities referred to in subsection (f), 
     the Peace Corps should develop positions for Volunteers that 
     are focused on leveraging technology for development, 
     education, and social and economic mobility.''.

     SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the President shall transmit to the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate plans to promote 
     partnerships by United States development agencies, including 
     the United States Agency for International Development and 
     the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and international 
     agencies funded by the United States Government with the 
     private sector and other stakeholders to expand affordable 
     and gender equitable access to the Internet in developing 
     countries, including the following elements:
       (1) Methods for stakeholders to partner with such agencies 
     in order to provide Internet access or Internet 
     infrastructure in developing countries.
       (2) Methods of outreach to stakeholders to explore 
     partnership opportunities for expanding Internet access or 
     Internet infrastructure, including coordination with the 
     private sector, when financing roads and telecommunications 
     infrastructure.
       (3) Methods for early consultation with stakeholders 
     concerning projects in telecommunications and road 
     construction to provide Internet access or Internet 
     infrastructure.

     SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the President shall transmit to the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on 
     efforts to implement the policies specified in this Act and a 
     discussion of the plans and existing efforts by the United 
     States Government in developing countries to accomplish the 
     following:
       (1) Developing a technical and regulatory road map for 
     promoting Internet access in developing countries and a path 
     to implementing such road map.
       (2) Identifying the regulatory barriers that may unduly 
     impede Internet access, including regulation of wireline 
     broadband deployment or the infrastructure to augment 
     wireless broadband deployment.
       (3) Strengthening and supporting development of regulations 
     that incentivize market growth and sector development.
       (4) Encouraging further public and private investment in 
     Internet infrastructure, including broadband networks and 
     services.
       (5) Increasing gender-equitable Internet access and 
     otherwise encourage or support Internet deployment, 
     competition, and adoption.
       (6) Improving the affordability of Internet access.
       (7) Promoting technology and cybersecurity capacity 
     building efforts and consult technical experts for advice 
     regarding options to accelerate the advancement of Internet 
     deployment, adoption, and usage.
       (8) Promoting Internet freedom globally and include civil 
     society and the private sector in the formulation of 
     policies, projects, and advocacy efforts to protect human 
     rights online.
       (9) Promoting and strengthening the multi-stakeholder model 
     of Internet governance and actively participate in multi-
     stakeholder international fora, such as the Internet 
     Governance Forum.
       (10) Advancing a strategy to promote--
       (A) global cybersecurity policy consistent with the 
     National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
     Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 
     Cybersecurity;
       (B) global Internet freedom principles, such as the 
     freedoms of expression, religion, assembly, and association, 
     while combating efforts to impose restrictions on such 
     freedoms; and
       (C) improved inter-agency coordination and cooperation on 
     cybersecurity and Internet initiatives.

     SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Broadband.--The term ``broadband'' means an Internet 
     Protocol-based transmission service that enables users to 
     send and receive voice, video, data, graphics, or a 
     combination thereof.
       (2) Broadband conduit.--The term ``broadband conduit'' 
     means a conduit for fiber optic cables that support broadband 
     or wireless facilities for broadband service.
       (3) Build once policies and approaches.--The term ``build 
     once policies and approaches'' means policies or practices 
     that minimize the number and scale of excavation and 
     construction activities when installing telecommunications 
     infrastructure in rights-of-way.
       (4) Cyberspace.--The term ``cyberspace'' means the 
     interdependent network of information technology 
     infrastructures, and includes the Internet, 
     telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded 
     processors and controllers in critical industries, and 
     includes the virtual environment of information and 
     interactions between people.
       (5) Stakeholders.--The term ``stakeholders'' means the 
     private sector, the public sector, cooperatives, civil 
     society, the technical community that develops Internet 
     technologies, standards, implementation, operations, and 
     applications, and other groups that are working to increase 
     Internet access or are impacted by the lack of Internet 
     access in their communities.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include any extraneous materials in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Today, more than 60 percent of the world's population lacks access to 
broadband, lacks access to the Internet. That means 3 billion people 
have been left out of the biggest technological revolution of our time. 
Three billion people are being denied the benefits of the free flow of 
information and game-changing innovations in health, education, and 
commerce; and 3 billion consumers remain out of the reach of American 
goods and services.
  Women and girls are disproportionately affected by this digital gap, 
despite serving as the principal consumers, caregivers, educators, 
peacemakers, and income earners across the developing world. Bringing 
women online is going to deepen the benefit of existing investments in 
governance and global health, and it is going to accelerate economic 
growth.
  So this bill closes that digital gap. It promotes efforts by 
developing countries to accelerate Internet deployment through the 
standardization of cost-effective, build-once policies. It partners 
with the private sector, and it creates a favorable investment climate.
  At the same time, it reduces duplication of effort among U.S. 
Government agencies by demanding improved interagency coordination and 
collaboration

[[Page 1213]]

with the private sector. And it calls on the State Department to 
consolidate the responsibilities held by three separate coordinators 
for cyber policy, technology, and information under a single Assistant 
Secretary for Cyberspace.
  So let me explain something here, Mr. Speaker, if the U.S. Agency for 
International Development is helping to finance the construction of a 
rural road in Ghana, the private sector should be invited to lay down 
broadband conduit before the concrete is poured, obviously. Why dig the 
same road twice? The bottom line is that, as this infrastructure 
expansion is going on right now, we have the ability to get the private 
sector in to lay that broadband, and that is what this bill does. It is 
smart economics, smart development. It advances key U.S. values. And, 
frankly, it is good for American industry as well.
  So I thank my cosponsors--Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, 
Eliot Engel, and Grace Meng--for their efforts on this bill, which, by 
the way, the predecessor bill passed unanimously last September here.
  I strongly urge Members to support the Digital GAP Act here again 
this year so we can get it to the President's desk without delay.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
rise in support of this bill.
  I want to thank Chairman Ed Royce, and I am pleased to cosponsor this 
bill that he has introduced to make it easier for people around the 
world to harness the power of the Internet. This bill passed in the 
last Congress but didn't make it through the Senate, so I am glad we 
are taking it up again.
  Mr. Speaker, we know the way this incredible tool has shaped the 
world in the last generation. The Internet can instantaneously connect 
people across the world from each other who a few years ago would never 
cross paths in a lifetime. It allows citizens and journalists living 
under oppressive regimes or in war zones to get information out to the 
world. It allows entrepreneurs in emerging markets to sell their 
products in global markets.
  To be sure, the power of the Internet can cut both way. ISIS has 
proved all too adept at using social media to recruit fighters and 
spread its hateful message. But put to its highest purpose, the 
Internet can help drive economic growth and spread stability and 
prosperity.
  Unfortunately, too few people around the world have access to this 
tool. Roughly 60 percent of the world's population is not online, and 
the growth rate of Internet access is slowing. If you live in a poor 
community or a rural area, sometimes just because you are a woman, it 
is harder to take advantage of the Internet.
  We know where that lack of access is holding populations back. Three-
quarters of those who are offline live in just 20 countries. If we 
could close that gap, think of what it might mean for all of those 
people struggling to make ends meet, and that is exactly what this bill 
aims to do.
  Chairman Royce's legislation calls on the administration to ramp up 
efforts around the world to expand access to the Internet. It 
encourages the State Department, USAID, and the Peace Corps to focus on 
Internet access as a diplomatic and development priority. And it states 
clearly that expanding Internet access, especially in the developing 
world, is an American foreign policy priority.
  So I am glad to support this measure. I thank the chairman for all 
his hard work.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Bass).
  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5537, the Digital 
Global Access Policy Act or the Digital GAP Act. I commend Chairman 
Royce's timely piece of legislation, which aims to facilitate greater 
coordination between the U.S. and foreign governments, international 
organizations, regional economic communities, businesses, and civil 
society regarding the promotion of information technology and 
cybersecurity in developing economies.
  The focus of the critical IT sector, particularly in developing 
countries, is the goal of not only Chairman Royce's Digital GAP bill 
but also of a possible companion bill in the Senate sponsored last year 
by Senator Markey.
  I understand that Senator Markey plans to reintroduce his bill in the 
Senate, and it is my hope that we can work with the Senate in support 
of this legislation. Both bills address the critical issue of the U.S. 
working with developing economies on the core issue of information 
technology and cybersecurity.
  In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the information technology 
sector has literally taken off and enabled young, innovative, and 
talented entrepreneurs to develop IT-related solutions to everyday 
problems.
  Last summer, I traveled with Senator Markey and Representative 
Maloney to Nigeria and Senegal where we met with a number of local IT 
experts. What was clear from our in-depth discussions is that Internet 
access has quickly become a critical component of economies and 
economic growth throughout the developing world.
  Many developing economies, which have traditionally had to navigate 
institutional or infrastructural impediments, are able to utilize 
information technology to resolve everyday problems. Case in point, 
telephone land lines in some developing economies are often in need of 
constant repair and maintenance. As a result, over the years, land 
lines became the preserve of the middle class and affluent sectors of 
capital cities.
  This is no longer the case because astute entrepreneurs have found a 
way to circumvent this impediment by buying and/or renting out cell 
phones for public use. Today, in just about any country you visit in 
Sub-Saharan Africa, you will see countless men, women, and children 
using cell phones.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from California.
  Ms. BASS. On our codel, our visit to Senegal included a meeting with 
the CEO of Wari, an 8-year-old company providing an innovative platform 
offering convenient service and an aggregation of products and services 
of various partners. Wari has over 220 million users of the platform 
throughout 40 countries.
  We also met with the director of Millennium Connect Africa. Formerly 
with Hughes Satellite Systems, Mr. Diop was educated at Wharton and 
UCLA and worked in the U.S. for 20 years. His company is a subsidiary 
of Wari.
  In Kenya, IT entrepreneurs have excelled in the development of a host 
of innovative apps. For example, a young Kenyan innovator developed an 
app called iCow to better enable dairy farmers to keep current with 
market prices.
  Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, there are many examples of IT 
expertise. The importance of an IT-literate population complements the 
ongoing push for capability training.
  To the degree the U.S. Government can actively participate in this 
important process is to the mutual benefit of this country and a 
spectrum of developing countries worldwide.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
reclaim the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has 17 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  In closing, when we talk about the world becoming more 
interconnected, one of the main drivers of that trend is the Internet. 
Our enemies have taken advantage of this tool for destructive purposes. 
As we push back against that threat, our foreign policy should also 
help as many people as possible to use this tool in a positive way.

[[Page 1214]]

  So this bill, again, helps move us in the right direction. I want to, 
again, say I am grateful to Chairman Royce for bringing it forward.
  I am glad to support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say, as the author of this bill, it does take 
a lot of work, a lot of research, to put together legislation like 
this. And I did want to thank Joan Condon of the staff, and I wanted to 
thank Jessica Kelch, certainly Margot Sullivan, and Taylor Clausen for 
their efforts here.
  I think that as you get involved in this legislation and you see some 
of the lost opportunities in the past--I would just give one example. 
NetHope, an NGO, made a compelling case for this build-once policy that 
this puts in place.
  It was several years ago, as they explained, and Eliot Engel and I 
have been out to Liberia. There was a $100 million project for a road 
where there is no Internet use, and there is very little across 
Liberia. Had the donors had the foresight to just invite the private 
sector to lay the fiber-optic cable under that road while it was being 
constructed--and, as you know, you do that at a fraction of the cost. 
That is when they want to lay the cable--the cost would have been 1 
percent of the total investment. It would have been $1 million.
  But what is the consequence of that lack of foresight?
  You fast forward to 2014. I will tell you the consequences. Ebola 
ravaged Liberia, 10,000 people over the course of a single year; it 
crossed international borders, finally included the United States. 
There was a reason why the information did not get out, and that reason 
was because there was not Internet access in this region across 
Liberia, which was the same region where they would have put the 
Internet access. That is what physicians tell us.
  It is not a surprise that experts agree that the lack of Internet 
infrastructure hampered Ebola response efforts, according to the 
physicians, as donors and community health centers struggled to track 
the disease. They could not even coordinate their efforts, for those of 
you who remember that struggle.
  Now, all of a sudden there is renewed interest in improving the 
Internet architecture in Liberia, and now we find that the cost is so 
many, many, many multiples of what it had been had this bill been law, 
and that we had simply let those know in industry that that opportunity 
was there to lay that cable back when the road was originally being 
built.
  So we need this build-once strategy. We have got to have smart 
development. We can do better. We will. And I urge the Members to 
support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, as the House considers this legislation, 
I stand in support of expanding Internet access around the globe. In 
this fast growing and ever changing world, the gap between those who 
have and have not will be made even more dramatic for those without 
internet access. Internet access is a valuable commodity that helps 
millions of lives, and everyone should have access to it.
  In the 21st century, one thing is crystal clear: Access to the 
internet is critical. 4.2 billion people worldwide don't have access to 
the internet. This includes children starting school, young women 
starting businesses, and communities looking for ways to compete in the 
global market.
  Women are particularly impacted and left behind, something that 
shouldn't go unnoticed by this body. UNICEF reports that nearly 90% of 
the income women bring in is reinvested into their family, more than 
double what men reinvest. Women build up their communities, and we must 
do whatever we can to ensure they have the resources necessary to 
succeed.
  Not only will this bill reach those women who live in the dark 
without web services, it will promote the rights and values that make 
America exceptional. The freedoms of expression and assembly are 
fundamental rights, and the Internet can be a critical medium for 
promoting democracy. A report by the McKinsey Global Institute put it 
best when it said ``The Internet has fundamentally empowered the 
consumer [. . .] It saves the consumer time and gives customers access 
to products.'' In this great body, I hope we continue to stand for 
democracy, its values, and support those who wish to stand up for their 
rights.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 600.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________