[House Report 118-248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress   }                                             {   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                             { 118-248

======================================================================



 
               FEDERAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT TRACKING ACT

                                _______
                                

October 25, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3343]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3343) to require the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to 
Congress a plan for the Assistant Secretary to track the 
acceptance, processing, and disposal of certain Form 299s, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Committee Action.................................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Oversight Findings and Recommendations...........................     5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     6
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     6
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings......................     6
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     6
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits.......     6
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     6
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 3343, the ``Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking 
Act,'' would direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
Communications and Information to develop a plan to track the 
acceptance, processing, and disposal of applications to deploy 
communications facilities on federal property.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The United States faces a persistent digital divide. 
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 
approximately 8.3 million homes and businesses lack access to 
high-speed broadband.\1\ A significant amount of these unserved 
locations are near property owned by the federal government. 
This property is managed by agencies such as the Department of 
Interior, Department of Agriculture, and General Services 
Administration (GSA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC, National Broadband Map: It Keeps 
Getting Better, https://www.fcc.gov/national-broadband-map-it-keeps-
getting-better, (May 30, 2023); FCC National Broadband Map, https://
broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home (last accessed June 23, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2018, Congress directed GSA to develop a common 
application for federal agencies to use for requests to site 
communications facilities on federal property.\2\ This common 
application is the Special Form (SF) 299.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\47 U.S.C. Sec. 1455(b)(3)(A).
    \3\Gen. Serv. Admin., Standard Form 299, https://www.gsa.gov/
system/files/SF-299%20OMB
%20Control%20Number%200596-0249.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Federal agencies have historically taken a significant 
amount of time to review SF-299s, and the process is often 
opaque to the parties involved.\4\ Indeed, even though an SF-
299 is required for applications, different agencies can 
require additional information.\5\ Further, agencies are not 
always clear on what they need or where applications are in the 
review process. Agencies can go silent ``for long stretches of 
time regarding the status of applications or what else might be 
needed to deem an application `complete,''' followed by 
``serial requests for additional information that could have 
been caught earlier or avoided altogether with better guidance 
and communication upfront.''\6\ This process leads to 
uncertainty and significant project delays.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Breaking Barriers: Streamlining Permitting to Expedite Broadband 
Deployment, Hearing before the Sub. on Commc'n. and Tech., H. Comm. on 
Energy and Commerce, 118th Cong. (2023) (``Permitting Hearing'') 
(Testimony of Michael Saperstein).
    \5\Id.
    \6\Permitting Hearing (Written Testimony of Michael Romano).
    \7\See Permitting Hearing (Written Testimony of Michael Romano at 
8).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    On April 19, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology held a hearing on several pieces of legislation, 
including a discussion draft titled ``Federal Broadband 
Deployment Tracking Act.'' The title of the hearing was 
``Breaking Barriers: Streamlining Permitting to Expedite 
Broadband Deployment.'' The Subcommittee received testimony 
from:
           Michael Romano, Executive Vice President, 
        NTCA--The Rural Broadband Association;
           Michael Saperstein, Senior Vice President of 
        Government Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer, Wireless 
        Infrastructure Association;
           Michael O'Rielly, President, MPORielly 
        Consulting, LLC;
           Louis Finkel, Senior Vice President of 
        Government Relations, National Rural Electric 
        Cooperative Association; and
           Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel, 
        Electronic Frontier Foundation.
    H.R. 3343 was introduced on May 15, 2023, by Representative 
Austin Pfluger (R-TX) and Representative Darren Soto (D-FL).
    On May 17, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology met in open markup session and forwarded H.R. 3343, 
without amendment, to the full Committee by a voice vote. On 
May 24, 2023, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce met in 
open markup session and ordered H.R. 3343, without amendment, 
favorably reported to the House by a record vote of 51 yeas and 
0 nays.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during 
the Committee consideration:


                 OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII, the Committee held a hearing and made findings that 
are reflected in this report.

   NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that H.R. 3343 would result in no new or increased budget 
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or 
revenues.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, the following is 
the cost estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office 
pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:




    H.R. 3343 would require the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration to report to the Congress, no later 
than 180 days after enactment, on how it plans to track 
requests to place and operate communications facilities on 
federal land.
    Using information about the cost of similar provisions, CBO 
estimates that the cost of the report would not be significant; 
any spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Hughes. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general 
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to 
expedite broadband deployment by streamlining the permitting 
process at the federal, state, and local level.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of 
H.R. 3343 is known to be duplicative of another Federal 
program, including any program that was included in a report to 
Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the 
most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

              RELATED COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following 
related hearing was used to develop or consider H.R. 3343:
           On April 19, 2023, the Subcommittee on 
        Communications and Technology held a hearing on several 
        pieces of legislation, including a discussion draft 
        titled ``Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act.'' 
        The title of the hearing was ``Breaking Barriers: 
        Streamlining Permitting to Expedite Broadband 
        Deployment.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from:
                   Michael Romano, Executive Vice 
                President, NTCA--The Rural Broadband 
                Association;
                   Michael Saperstein, Senior Vice 
                President of Government Affairs and Chief 
                Strategy Officer, Wireless Infrastructure 
                Association;
                   Michael O'Rielly, President, 
                MPORielly Consulting, LLC;
                   Louis Finkel, Senior Vice 
                President of Government Relations, National 
                Rural Electric Cooperative Association; and
                   Ernesto Falcon, Senior 
                Legislative Counsel, Electronic Frontier 
                Foundation.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

       EARMARK, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS

    Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the 
Committee finds that H.R. 3343 contains no earmarks, limited 
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that the Act may be cited as the 
``Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act.''

Section 2. Plan for Assistant Secretary to track the acceptance, 
        processing, and disposal of certain Form 299s

    Subsection (a) would direct the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information (Assistant 
Secretary) to submit to Congress a plan to track the 
acceptance, processing, and disposal of each Form 299 for 
communications use authorization; provide applicants with 
additional transparency on the status of their Form 299; and 
how the plan could be implemented expeditiously. The Assistant 
Secretary would also be required to identify any potential 
barriers to implementing this plan.
    Subsection (b) would define key terms used in H.R. 3343.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation does not amend any existing Federal 
statute.