§ 1705 — Grants For Broadband Connectivity

(a) In this section: (1) The term “Assistant Secretary” means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. (2) The term “broadband” or “broadband service” has the meaning given the term “broadband internet access service” in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. (3) The term “Commission” means the Federal Communications Commission. (4) The term “covered broadband project” means a competitively and technologically neutral project for the deployment of fixed broadband service that provides qualifying broadband service in an eligible service area. (5) The term “covered partnership” means a partnership between— (A) a State, or 1 or more political subdivisions of a State; and (B) a provider of fixed broadband service. (6) The term “Department” means the Department of Commerce. (7) The term “eligible service area” means a census block in which broadband service is not available at 1 or more households or businesses in the census block, as determined by the Assistant Secretary on the basis of— (A) the maps created under section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)); or (B) if the maps described in subparagraph (A) are not available, the most recent information available to the Assistant Secretary, including information provided by the Commission. (8) The term “eligible entity” means— (A) a Tribal Government; (B) a Tribal College or University; (C) the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on behalf of the Native Hawaiian Community, including Native Hawaiian Education Programs; (D) a Tribal organization; or (E) a Native Corporation. (9) The term “Native Corporation” has the meaning given the term in section 1602 of title 43. (10) The term “Native Hawaiian” has the meaning given the term in section 4221 of title 25. (11) The term “qualifying broadband service” means broadband service with— (A) a download speed of not less than 25 megabits per second; (B) an upload speed of not less than 3 megabits per second; and (C) a latency sufficient to support real-time, interactive applications. (12) The term “Tribal Government” means the governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually recognized (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of December 27, 2020, pursuant to section 5131 of title 25. (13) The term “Tribal land” means— (A) any land located within the boundaries of— (i) an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or (ii) a former reservation within Oklahoma; (B) any land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held— (i) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian; (ii) by an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or (iii) by a dependent Indian community; (C) any land located within a region established pursuant to section 1606(a) of title 43; (D) Hawaiian Home Lands, as defined in section 4221 of title 25; or (E) those areas or communities designated by the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior that are near, adjacent, or contiguous to reservations where financial assistance and social service programs are provided to Indians because of their status as Indians. (14) The term “unserved”, with respect to a household, means— (A) the household lacks access to qualifying broadband service; and (B) no broadband provider has been selected to receive, or is otherwise receiving, Federal or State funding subject to enforceable build out commitments to deploy qualifying broadband service in the specific area where the household is located by dates certain, even if such service is not yet available, provided that the Federal or State agency providing the funding has not deemed the service provider to be in default of its buildout obligations under the applicable Federal or State program. (b) There is appropriated to the Assistant Secretary, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, to remain available until expended— (1) $1,000,000,000 for grants under subsection (c); and (2) $300,000,000 for grants under subsection (d). (1) The Assistant Secretary shall use the funds made available under subsection (b)(1) to implement a program to make grants to eligible entities to expand access to and adoption of— (A) broadband service on Tribal land; or (B) remote learning, telework, or telehealth resources. (2) From the amounts appropriated under subsection (b)(1), the Assistant Secretary shall award a grant to each eligible entity that submits an application that the Assistant Secretary approves after consultation with the Commission to prevent duplication of funding. (A) The amounts appropriated under subsection (b)(1) shall be made available to eligible entities on an equitable basis, and not less than 3 percent of those amounts shall be made available for the benefit of Native Hawaiians. (B) The Assistant Secretary may use not more than 2 percent of amounts appropriated under subsection (b)(1) for administrative purposes, including the provision of technical assistance to Tribal Governments to help those Governments take advantage of the program established under this subsection. (i) Not later than 18 months after receiving an allocation of funds pursuant to a specific grant award under this subsection, an eligible entity shall commit the funds in accordance with the approved application of the entity. (ii) Any grant funds not committed by an eligible entity by the deadline under clause (i) shall be made available to other eligible entities for the purposes provided in this subsection. (i) Not later than 4 years after receiving an allocation of funds pursuant to a specific grant award under this subsection, an eligible entity shall expend the grant funds. (ii) The Assistant Secretary may extend the period under clause (i) for an eligible entity that proposes to use the grant funds for construction of broadband infrastructure if the eligible entity certifies that— (I) the eligible entity has a plan for use of the grant funds; (II) the construction project is underway; or (III) extenuating circumstances require an extension of time to allow the project to be completed. (iii) The Assistant Secretary may, for good cause shown, extend the period under clause (i) for an eligible entity that proposes to use the grant funds for an eligible use other than construction of broadband infrastructure, based on a detailed showing by the eligible entity of the need for an extension. (iv) Any grant funds not expended by an eligible entity by the deadline under clause (i) shall be made available to other eligible entities for the purposes provided in this subsection. (C) If the Assistant Secretary awards multiple grants to an eligible entity under this subsection, the deadlines under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall apply individually to each grant award. (5) An eligible entity may use grant funds made available under this subsection for— (A) broadband infrastructure deployment, including support for the establishment of carrier-neutral submarine cable landing stations; (B) affordable broadband programs, including— (i) providing free or reduced-cost broadband service; and (ii) preventing disconnection of existing broadband service; (C) distance learning; (D) telehealth; (E) digital inclusion efforts; and (F) broadband adoption activities. (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an eligible entity may use not more than 2 percent of grant funds received under this subsection for administrative purposes. (B) An eligible entity that proposes to use grant funds for the construction of broadband infrastructure may use an amount of the grant funds equal to not more than 2.5 percent of the total project cost for planning, feasibility, and sustainability studies related to the project. (A) An eligible entity may enter into a contract with a subgrantee, including a non-Tribal entity, as part of its use of grant funds pursuant to this subsection. (B) An eligible entity that enters into a contract with a subgrantee for use of grant funds received under this subsection shall— (i) before entering into the contract, after a reasonable investigation, make a determination that the subgrantee— (I) is capable of carrying out the project for which grant funds will be provided in a competent manner in compliance with all applicable laws; (II) has the financial capacity to meet the obligations of the project and the requirements of this subsection; and (III) has the technical and operational capability to carry out the project; and (ii) stipulate in the contract reasonable provisions for recovery of funds for nonperformance. (8) In using grant funds received under this subsection for new construction of broadband infrastructure, an eligible entity shall prioritize projects that deploy broadband infrastructure to unserved households. (1) The Assistant Secretary shall use the funds made available under subsection (b)(2) to implement a program under which the Assistant Secretary makes grants on a competitive basis to covered partnerships for covered broadband projects. (A) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(b)(7)), provide the Assistant Secretary any data collected by the Commission pursuant to title VIII of that Act (47 U.S.C. 641 et seq.). (B) The Assistant Secretary shall rely on the data provided under subparagraph (A) in carrying out this subsection to the greatest extent practicable. (3) To be eligible for a grant under this subsection, a covered partnership shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Assistant Secretary may require, which application shall, at a minimum, include a description of— (A) the covered partnership; (B) the covered broadband project to be funded by the grant, including— (i) the speed or speeds at which the covered partnership plans to offer broadband service; and (ii) the cost of the project; (C) the area to be served by the covered broadband project (in this paragraph referred to as the “proposed service area”); (D) any support provided to the provider of broadband service that is part of the covered partnership through— (i) any grant, loan, or loan guarantee provided by a State to the provider of broadband service for the deployment of broadband service in the proposed service area; (ii) any grant, loan, or loan guarantee with respect to the proposed service area provided by the Secretary of Agriculture— (I) under title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.), including— (aa) any program to provide grants, loans, or loan guarantees under sections 601 through 603 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.); and (bb) the Community Connect Grant Program established under section 604 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb–3); or (II) the broadband loan and grant pilot program known as the “Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program” or the “ReConnect Program” authorized under section 779 of division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 348); (iii) any high-cost universal service support provided under section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254); (iv) any grant provided under section 1305 of this title; (v) amounts made available for the Education Stabilization Fund under the heading “DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION” in title VIII of division B of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 564); or (vi) any other grant, loan, or loan guarantee provided by the Federal Government for the provision of broadband service. (4) In awarding grants under this subsection, the Assistant Secretary shall give priority to applications for covered broadband projects as follows, in decreasing order of priority: (A) Covered broadband projects designed to provide broadband service to the greatest number of households in an eligible service area. (B) Covered broadband projects designed to provide broadband service in an eligible service area that is wholly within any area other than— (i) a county, city, or town that has a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants; and (ii) the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town described in clause (i). (C) Covered broadband projects that are the most cost-effective, prioritizing such projects in areas that are the most rural. (D) Covered broadband projects designed to provide broadband service with a download speed of not less than 100 megabits per second and an upload speed of not less than 20 megabits per second. (E) Any other covered broadband project that meets the requirements of this subsection. (A) Not later than 1 year after receiving grant funds under this subsection, a covered partnership shall expend the grant funds. (B) The Assistant Secretary may extend the period under subparagraph (A) for a covered partnership that proposes to use the grant funds for construction of broadband infrastructure if the covered partnership certifies that— (i) the covered partnership has a plan for use of the grant funds; (ii) the construction project is underway; or (iii) extenuating circumstances require an extension of time to allow the project to be completed. (C) Any grant funds not expended by an covered partnership by the deadline under subparagraph (A) shall be made available to other covered partnerships for the purposes provided in this subsection. (A) As a condition of receiving a grant under this subsection, the Assistant Secretary shall prohibit a provider of broadband service that is part of a covered partnership receiving the grant— (i) from using the grant amounts to repay, or make any other payment relating to, a loan made by any public or private lender; (ii) from using grant amounts as collateral for a loan made by any public or private lender; and (iii) from using more than $50,000 of the grant amounts to pay for the preparation of the grant. (B) The Assistant Secretary may not require a provider of broadband service that is part of a covered partnership to be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier pursuant to section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)) to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection or as a condition of receiving a grant under this subsection. (1) Not earlier than 30 days, and not later than 60 days, after December 27, 2020, the Assistant Secretary shall— (A) issue a notice inviting eligible entities and covered partnerships to submit applications for grants under this section, which shall contain details about how awarding decisions will be made; and (B) outline— (i) the requirements for applications for grants under this section; and (ii) the allowed uses of grant funds awarded under this section. (A) During the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the Assistant Secretary issues the notice under paragraph (1), an eligible entity or covered partnership may submit an application for a grant under this section. (i) Not later than 90 days after receiving an application under subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary shall approve or deny the application. (ii) The Assistant Secretary may deny an application submitted under subparagraph (A) only if— (I) the Assistant Secretary provides the applicant an opportunity to cure any defects in the application; and (II) after receiving the opportunity under subclause (I), the applicant still fails to meet the requirements of this section. (C) An eligible entity or covered partnership may submit only 1 application under this paragraph. (D) An application submitted by an eligible entity or a covered partnership under this paragraph shall describe each proposed use of grant funds. (E) Not later than 14 days after approving an application for a grant under this paragraph, the Assistant Secretary shall allocate the grant funds to the eligible entity or covered partnership. (i) If an eligible entity or covered partnership does not submit an application by the deadline under subparagraph (A), or the Assistant Secretary does not approve an application submitted by an eligible entity or a covered partnership under that subparagraph, the Assistant Secretary shall make the amounts allocated for, as applicable— (I) the eligible entity under subsection (c) available to other eligible entities on an equitable basis; or (II) the covered partnership under subsection (d) to other covered partnerships. (ii) The Assistant Secretary shall initiate a second notice and application process described in this subsection to reallocate any funds made available to other eligible entities or covered partnerships under clause (i). (3) In implementing this section, the Assistant Secretary shall adopt measures, including audit requirements, to— (A) ensure sufficient transparency, accountability, and oversight to provide the public with information regarding the award and use of grant funds under this section; (B) ensure that a recipient of a grant under this section uses the grant funds in compliance with the requirements of this section and the overall purpose of the applicable grant program under this section; and (C) deter waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds. (4) An eligible entity or covered partnership may not use grant funds received under this section to purchase or support any covered communications equipment or service (as defined in section 1608 of this title). (5) To the extent that the Assistant Secretary or the Inspector General of the Department determines that an eligible entity or covered partnership has expended grant funds received under this section in violation of this section, the Assistant Secretary shall recover the amount of funds that were so expended. (A) In this paragraph, the term “initial round of funding”— (i) means the allocation under paragraph (2)(E) of funds appropriated under subsection (b)(1); and (ii) does not include any reallocation of funds under paragraph (2)(F). (B) If Congress appropriates additional funds for grants under subsection (c) after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary— (i) may use a portion of the funds to fully fund any grants under that subsection for which the Assistant Secretary received an application and which the Assistant Secretary did not fully fund during the initial round of funding; and (ii) shall allocate any remaining funds through subsequent funding rounds consistent with the requirements of this section, except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (C) If Congress appropriates additional funds for grants under subsection (c) after the date of enactment of this Act— (i) the Assistant Secretary shall not be required to issue an additional notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection, but shall inform eligible entities that additional funding has been made available for grants under subsection (c) and describe the changes made to the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program under that subsection by section 60201 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; (ii) the requirement under paragraph (2)(C) of this subsection shall be applied individually to each round of funding for grants under subsection (c); (iii) paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection shall be applied by substituting “180-day period beginning on the date on which the Assistant Secretary informs eligible entities that additional funding has been made available for grants under subsection (c)” for “90-day period beginning on the date on which the Assistant Secretary issues the notice under paragraph (1)”; and (iv) notwithstanding paragraph (2)(F) of this subsection, in the case of funds appropriated under subsection (b)(1) that were not allocated during the initial round of funding, the Assistant Secretary may elect to allocate the funds during any subsequent round of funding for grants under subsection (c). (A) Not later than 1 year after receiving grant funds under this section, and annually thereafter until the funds have been expended, an eligible entity or covered partnership shall submit to the Assistant Secretary a report, with respect to the 1-year period immediately preceding the report date, that— (i) describes how the eligible entity or covered partnership expended the funds; (ii) certifies that the eligible entity or covered partnership complied with the requirements of this section and with any additional reporting requirements prescribed by the Assistant Secretary, including— (I) a description of each service provided with the grant funds; and (II) the number of locations or geographic areas at which broadband service was provided using the grant funds; and (iii) identifies each subgrantee that received a subgrant from the eligible entity or covered partnership and a description of the specific project for which grant funds were provided. (B) The Assistant Secretary shall provide the information collected under subparagraph (A) to the Commission and the Department of Agriculture to be used when determining whether to award funds for the deployment of broadband under any program administered by those agencies. (C) Not later than 5 days after receiving a report from an eligible entity under subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary shall transmit the report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (2) Not later than 6 months after the date on which the first grant is awarded under this section, and every 6 months thereafter until all of the grant funds awarded under this section are expended, the Inspector General of the Department and the Comptroller General of the United States shall each submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that reviews the grants awarded under this section during the preceding 6-month period. Each such report shall include recommendations to address waste, fraud, and abuse, if any. (g) The use of grant funds received under this section by an eligible entity, covered partnership, or subgrantee shall not impact the eligibility of, or otherwise disadvantage, the eligible entity, covered partnership, or subgrantee with respect to participation in any other Federal broadband program.