H.R. 800 · 115th Congress
New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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HuffmanSponsor20 cosponsors · 20 D
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Nolan
MP
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Pocan
JC
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Conyers
AH
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Hastings
JM
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McGovern
TO
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O’Halleran
MT
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Thompson
JG
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Garamendi
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Kind
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Ryan
CS
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Shea-Porter
CP
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Pingree
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Slaughter
BM
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McCollum
SJ
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Jackson Lee
KE
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Ellison
TW
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Walz
RG
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Grijalva
DS
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Soto
BO
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O’Rourke2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a rural broadband office within the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and authorize new grants and loans for developing broadband in rural, underserved, and tribal areas.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Feb 1, 2017
New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017
This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a rural broadband office within the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and authorize new grants and loans for developing broadband in rural, underserved, and tribal areas.
The bill establishes the Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives and the position of Under Secretary for Rural Broadband Initiatives to:
- administer all rural broadband-related grant and loan programs currently administered by the Rural Utilities Service,
- conduct specified outreach and coordination activities, and
- conduct and release to the public an inventory of federal and state property on which a broadband facility could be constructed.
The bill establishes the Breaking Ground on Rural Broadband Program and the Tribal Broadband Assistance Program to provide grants, loans, or loan guarantees for the development of broadband in rural, underserved, and tribal areas.
The bill modifies existing programs to authorize USDA to: (1) provide grants, in addition to loans and loan guarantees permitted under current law, for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in rural areas; and (2) give priority to multijurisdictional projects for the development of broadband or telecommunications services through the collaboration and participation of multiple stakeholders in the service area.
The bill authorizes federal land management agencies to retain and use certain rental fees for communications activities on federal lands. The agencies may use the fees for specified activities related to administering and managing communications sites.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017
Latest action (Feb 24, 2017): Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit.
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications · Origin: House · Introduced: Feb 1, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.