| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 3119 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect |
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| 6 | 6 | | program under that Act, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | APRIL30, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. N |
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| 10 | 10 | | UNNof Iowa (for himself, Mr. VASQUEZ, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. FINSTAD, |
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| 11 | 11 | | Ms. B |
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| 12 | 12 | | UDZINSKI, Mr. COSTA, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. |
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| 13 | 13 | | M |
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| 14 | 14 | | CDONALDRIVET, and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following bill; |
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| 15 | 15 | | which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to |
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| 16 | 16 | | the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Appropriations, for a pe- |
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| 17 | 17 | | riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- |
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| 18 | 18 | | sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- |
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| 19 | 19 | | mittee concerned |
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| 20 | 20 | | A BILL |
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| 21 | 21 | | To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish |
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| 22 | 22 | | the ReConnect program under that Act, and for other |
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| 23 | 23 | | purposes. |
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| 24 | 24 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ReConnecting Rural 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | America Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 30 | 30 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 32 | 32 | | SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 1 |
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| 33 | 33 | | SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS. 2 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (a) I |
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| 35 | 35 | | NGENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec-3 |
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| 36 | 36 | | trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 4 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) by striking subsections (a) through (f) and 5 |
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| 38 | 38 | | inserting the following: 6 |
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| 39 | 39 | | ‘‘(a) P |
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| 40 | 40 | | URPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 7 |
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| 41 | 41 | | provide assistance in the form of grants, loans, and com-8 |
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| 42 | 42 | | binations of grants and loans for the costs of the construc-9 |
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| 43 | 43 | | tion, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equip-10 |
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| 44 | 44 | | ment for broadband service in rural areas. 11 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ‘‘(b) D |
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| 46 | 46 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 |
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| 47 | 47 | | ‘‘(1) B |
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| 48 | 48 | | ROADBAND SERVICE .—The term 13 |
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| 49 | 49 | | ‘broadband service’ means any technology identified 14 |
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| 50 | 50 | | by the Secretary as having the capacity to transmit 15 |
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| 51 | 51 | | data to enable a subscriber to the service to origi-16 |
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| 52 | 52 | | nate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, 17 |
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| 53 | 53 | | and video. 18 |
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| 54 | 54 | | ‘‘(2) R |
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| 55 | 55 | | URAL AREA.— 19 |
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| 56 | 56 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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| 57 | 57 | | N GENERAL.—The term ‘rural area’ 20 |
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| 58 | 58 | | means any area other than— 21 |
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| 59 | 59 | | ‘‘(i) an area described in clause (i) or 22 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (ii) of section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Con-23 |
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| 61 | 61 | | solidated Farm and Rural Development 24 |
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| 62 | 62 | | Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)); and 25 |
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| 65 | 65 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 66 | 66 | | ‘‘(ii) a city, town, or incorporated area 1 |
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| 67 | 67 | | that has a population of greater than 2 |
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| 68 | 68 | | 20,000 inhabitants. 3 |
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| 69 | 69 | | ‘‘(B) U |
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| 70 | 70 | | RBAN AREA GROWTH .—The Sec-4 |
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| 71 | 71 | | retary may, by regulation only, consider an area 5 |
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| 72 | 72 | | described in section 343(a)(13)(F)(i)(I) of that 6 |
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| 73 | 73 | | Act to not be a rural area for purposes of this 7 |
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| 74 | 74 | | section. 8 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ‘‘(C) E |
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| 76 | 76 | | XCLUSION OF CERTAIN POPU -9 |
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| 77 | 77 | | LATIONS.—The term ‘rural area’ does not in-10 |
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| 78 | 78 | | clude any population described in subparagraph 11 |
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| 79 | 79 | | (H) or (I) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consoli-12 |
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| 80 | 80 | | dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 13 |
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| 81 | 81 | | U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)). 14 |
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| 82 | 82 | | ‘‘(c) G |
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| 83 | 83 | | RANTS, LOANS, ANDCOMBINATIONS.— 15 |
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| 84 | 84 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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| 85 | 85 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 16 |
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| 86 | 86 | | grants, loans, and combinations of grants and loans 17 |
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| 87 | 87 | | to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to pro-18 |
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| 88 | 88 | | vide funds for the construction, improvement, or ac-19 |
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| 89 | 89 | | quisition of facilities and equipment for the provision 20 |
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| 90 | 90 | | of broadband service in rural areas. 21 |
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| 91 | 91 | | ‘‘(2) P |
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| 92 | 92 | | ROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for 22 |
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| 93 | 93 | | a grant, loan, or grant and loan combination under 23 |
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| 94 | 94 | | paragraph (1), in addition to the requirements of 24 |
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| 96 | 96 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 97 | 97 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 98 | 98 | | subsection (d), the project that is the subject of the 1 |
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| 99 | 99 | | grant, loan, or grant and loan combination shall— 2 |
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| 100 | 100 | | ‘‘(A) provide broadband service of at 3 |
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| 101 | 101 | | least— 4 |
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| 102 | 102 | | ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans-5 |
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| 103 | 103 | | mission capacity; and 6 |
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| 104 | 104 | | ‘‘(ii) a 100-Mbps upstream trans-7 |
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| 105 | 105 | | mission capacity; and 8 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (4), be carried 9 |
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| 107 | 107 | | out in a proposed service territory in which at 10 |
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| 108 | 108 | | least 75 percent of the households lack access 11 |
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| 109 | 109 | | to broadband service of at least— 12 |
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| 110 | 110 | | ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans-13 |
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| 111 | 111 | | mission capacity; and 14 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans-15 |
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| 113 | 113 | | mission capacity. 16 |
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| 114 | 114 | | ‘‘(3) P |
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| 115 | 115 | | RIORITY.—In making grants, loans, and 17 |
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| 116 | 116 | | grant and loan combinations under paragraph (1), 18 |
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| 117 | 117 | | the Secretary— 19 |
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| 118 | 118 | | ‘‘(A) shall give priority to applications for 20 |
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| 119 | 119 | | projects to provide broadband service in a pro-21 |
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| 120 | 120 | | posed service territory in which at least 90 per-22 |
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| 121 | 121 | | cent of households lack access to broadband 23 |
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| 122 | 122 | | service of at least— 24 |
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| 124 | 124 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 |
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| 125 | 125 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 126 | 126 | | ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans-1 |
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| 127 | 127 | | mission capacity; and 2 |
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| 128 | 128 | | ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans-3 |
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| 129 | 129 | | mission capacity; and 4 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ‘‘(B) may give priority to applications for 5 |
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| 131 | 131 | | projects to provide broadband service— 6 |
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| 132 | 132 | | ‘‘(i) in proposed service territories— 7 |
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| 133 | 133 | | ‘‘(I) with a population of less 8 |
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| 134 | 134 | | than 10,000 permanent residents; 9 |
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| 135 | 135 | | ‘‘(II) that are experiencing out-10 |
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| 136 | 136 | | migration and have adopted a stra-11 |
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| 137 | 137 | | tegic community investment plan 12 |
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| 138 | 138 | | under section 379H(d) of the Consoli-13 |
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| 139 | 139 | | dated Farm and Rural Development 14 |
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| 140 | 140 | | Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v(d)) that includes 15 |
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| 141 | 141 | | considerations for improving and ex-16 |
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| 142 | 142 | | panding broadband service; 17 |
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| 143 | 143 | | ‘‘(III) with a high percentage of 18 |
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| 144 | 144 | | low income families or persons (as de-19 |
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| 145 | 145 | | fined in section 501(b) of the Housing 20 |
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| 146 | 146 | | Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b))); or 21 |
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| 147 | 147 | | ‘‘(IV) that are isolated from 22 |
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| 148 | 148 | | other significant population centers; 23 |
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| 149 | 149 | | ‘‘(ii) that would ensure that all labor-24 |
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| 150 | 150 | | ers and mechanics employed by contractors 25 |
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| 152 | 152 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 |
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| 153 | 153 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 154 | 154 | | or subcontractors on the construction work 1 |
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| 155 | 155 | | performed on projects financed, in whole or 2 |
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| 156 | 156 | | in part, with the grant, loan, or grant and 3 |
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| 157 | 157 | | loan combination shall be paid wages at 4 |
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| 158 | 158 | | rates not less than those prevailing on 5 |
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| 159 | 159 | | similar construction in the immediate local-6 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ity as determined by the Secretary of 7 |
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| 161 | 161 | | Labor in accordance with sections 3141 8 |
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| 162 | 162 | | through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 9 |
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| 163 | 163 | | United States Code; 10 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ‘‘(iii) that would provide rapid and ex-11 |
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| 165 | 165 | | panded deployment of fixed and mobile 12 |
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| 166 | 166 | | broadband service on cropland and ranch-13 |
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| 167 | 167 | | land within the service territory for use in 14 |
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| 168 | 168 | | various applications of precision agri-15 |
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| 169 | 169 | | culture; or 16 |
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| 170 | 170 | | ‘‘(iv) submitted by an eligible entity 17 |
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| 171 | 171 | | that has provided broadband service or 18 |
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| 172 | 172 | | other utility service for not less than 5 19 |
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| 173 | 173 | | years in rural areas in the State in which 20 |
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| 174 | 174 | | the project would be carried out. 21 |
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| 175 | 175 | | ‘‘(4) A |
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| 176 | 176 | | DDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT - 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | ONLY AWARDS.—To be eligible for assistance under 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | paragraph (1) in the form of a grant only, in addi-24 |
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| 179 | 179 | | tion to the requirements of subsection (d)— 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 182 | 182 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 183 | 183 | | ‘‘(A) an entity shall be— 1 |
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| 184 | 184 | | ‘‘(i) a Tribal organization (as defined 2 |
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| 185 | 185 | | in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina-3 |
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| 186 | 186 | | tion and Education Assistance Act (25 4 |
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| 187 | 187 | | U.S.C. 5304)); 5 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ‘‘(ii) a colonia; 6 |
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| 189 | 189 | | ‘‘(iii) a persistent poverty county, as 7 |
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| 190 | 190 | | determined by the Secretary; or 8 |
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| 191 | 191 | | ‘‘(iv) a socially vulnerable community, 9 |
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| 192 | 192 | | as determined by the Secretary; or 10 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ‘‘(B) the project that is the subject of the 11 |
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| 194 | 194 | | grant shall be carried out in a proposed service 12 |
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| 195 | 195 | | territory in which at least 90 percent of house-13 |
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| 196 | 196 | | holds lack access to broadband service of at 14 |
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| 197 | 197 | | least— 15 |
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| 198 | 198 | | ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans-16 |
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| 199 | 199 | | mission capacity; and 17 |
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| 200 | 200 | | ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans-18 |
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| 201 | 201 | | mission capacity. 19 |
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| 202 | 202 | | ‘‘(d) E |
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| 203 | 203 | | LIGIBILITY.— 20 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ‘‘(1) E |
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| 205 | 205 | | LIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 21 |
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| 206 | 206 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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| 207 | 207 | | N GENERAL.—To be eligible to ob-22 |
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| 208 | 208 | | tain a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina-23 |
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| 209 | 209 | | tion under subsection (c), an entity shall— 24 |
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| 212 | 212 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 213 | 213 | | ‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary an appli-1 |
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| 214 | 214 | | cation at such time, in such manner, and 2 |
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| 215 | 215 | | containing such information as the Sec-3 |
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| 216 | 216 | | retary may require; 4 |
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| 217 | 217 | | ‘‘(ii) agree to complete buildout of the 5 |
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| 218 | 218 | | broadband infrastructure described in the 6 |
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| 219 | 219 | | application by not later than 5 years after 7 |
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| 220 | 220 | | the initial date on which assistance under 8 |
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| 221 | 221 | | subsection (c) is made available; and 9 |
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| 222 | 222 | | ‘‘(iii) participate or agree to partici-10 |
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| 223 | 223 | | pate in— 11 |
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| 224 | 224 | | ‘‘(I) the Affordable Connectivity 12 |
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| 225 | 225 | | Program established under section 13 |
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| 226 | 226 | | 904(b) of division N of the Consoli-14 |
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| 227 | 227 | | dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 15 |
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| 228 | 228 | | U.S.C. 1752(b)); 16 |
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| 229 | 229 | | ‘‘(II) the Lifeline program under 17 |
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| 230 | 230 | | subpart E of part 54 of title 47, Code 18 |
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| 231 | 231 | | of Federal Regulations (or any suc-19 |
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| 232 | 232 | | cessor regulation); or 20 |
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| 233 | 233 | | ‘‘(III) any successor Federal 21 |
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| 234 | 234 | | internet affordability assistance pro-22 |
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| 235 | 235 | | gram. 23 |
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| 238 | 238 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 239 | 239 | | ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An entity eligible to 1 |
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| 240 | 240 | | obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com-2 |
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| 241 | 241 | | bination under subsection (c) may include— 3 |
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| 242 | 242 | | ‘‘(i) a State or local government, in-4 |
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| 243 | 243 | | cluding any agency, subdivision, instru-5 |
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| 244 | 244 | | mentality, or political subdivision of a 6 |
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| 245 | 245 | | State or local government; 7 |
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| 246 | 246 | | ‘‘(ii) a territory or possession of the 8 |
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| 247 | 247 | | United States; 9 |
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| 248 | 248 | | ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 10 |
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| 249 | 249 | | section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 11 |
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| 250 | 250 | | and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 12 |
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| 251 | 251 | | 5304)); 13 |
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| 252 | 252 | | ‘‘(iv) a cooperative or mutual organi-14 |
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| 253 | 253 | | zation; 15 |
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| 254 | 254 | | ‘‘(v) an organization of 2 or more in-16 |
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| 255 | 255 | | corporated areas that have established an 17 |
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| 256 | 256 | | intermunicipal legal agreement for the pur-18 |
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| 257 | 257 | | pose of delivering communication services 19 |
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| 258 | 258 | | to residents; 20 |
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| 259 | 259 | | ‘‘(vi) a corporation; and 21 |
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| 260 | 260 | | ‘‘(vii) a limited liability company or 22 |
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| 261 | 261 | | limited liability partnership. 23 |
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| 262 | 262 | | ‘‘(C) I |
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| 263 | 263 | | NELIGIBLE ENTITIES .—An indi-24 |
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| 264 | 264 | | vidual or legal general partnership that is 25 |
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| 266 | 266 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 |
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| 267 | 267 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 268 | 268 | | formed with individuals shall not be eligible to 1 |
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| 269 | 269 | | obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com-2 |
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| 270 | 270 | | bination under subsection (c). 3 |
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| 271 | 271 | | ‘‘(D) L |
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| 272 | 272 | | IMITATION.— 4 |
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| 273 | 273 | | ‘‘(i) I |
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| 274 | 274 | | N GENERAL.—An eligible entity 5 |
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| 275 | 275 | | described in this paragraph that provides 6 |
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| 276 | 276 | | telecommunications or broadband service 7 |
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| 277 | 277 | | to at least 20 percent of the households in 8 |
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| 278 | 278 | | the United States may not receive an 9 |
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| 279 | 279 | | amount of funds under this section for a 10 |
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| 280 | 280 | | fiscal year in excess of 15 percent of the 11 |
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| 281 | 281 | | funds authorized and appropriated under 12 |
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| 282 | 282 | | subsection (i) for the fiscal year. 13 |
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| 283 | 283 | | ‘‘(ii) S |
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| 284 | 284 | | TATES AND STATE AGENCIES 14 |
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| 285 | 285 | | AND INSTRUMENTALITIES .—A State or an 15 |
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| 286 | 286 | | agency or instrumentality of a State may 16 |
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| 287 | 287 | | not, in total, receive an amount of funds 17 |
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| 288 | 288 | | under this section for a fiscal year in ex-18 |
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| 289 | 289 | | cess of 15 percent of the funds authorized 19 |
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| 290 | 290 | | and appropriated under subsection (i) for 20 |
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| 291 | 291 | | the fiscal year. 21 |
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| 292 | 292 | | ‘‘(E) P |
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| 293 | 293 | | REVIOUS AWARDS .—An entity to 22 |
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| 294 | 294 | | which a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina-23 |
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| 295 | 295 | | tion is made under subsection (c) shall not use 24 |
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| 296 | 296 | | the grant, loan, or grant and loan combination 25 |
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| 298 | 298 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 |
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| 299 | 299 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 300 | 300 | | to deploy broadband service in a service area in 1 |
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| 301 | 301 | | which broadband service is deployed by any 2 |
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| 302 | 302 | | other entity that has received a broadband 3 |
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| 303 | 303 | | grant or loan from the Rural Utilities Service, 4 |
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| 304 | 304 | | the National Telecommunications and Informa-5 |
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| 305 | 305 | | tion Administration, the Department of the 6 |
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| 306 | 306 | | Treasury, the Federal Communications Com-7 |
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| 307 | 307 | | mission, or a State broadband grant program, 8 |
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| 308 | 308 | | unless the service provided by the other entity 9 |
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| 309 | 309 | | does not provide to at least 75 percent of the 10 |
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| 310 | 310 | | households in the service area access to 11 |
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| 311 | 311 | | broadband service of at least— 12 |
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| 312 | 312 | | ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans-13 |
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| 313 | 313 | | mission capacity; and 14 |
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| 314 | 314 | | ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans-15 |
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| 315 | 315 | | mission capacity. 16 |
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| 316 | 316 | | ‘‘(2) E |
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| 317 | 317 | | QUITY REQUIREMENTS .— 17 |
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| 318 | 318 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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| 319 | 319 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary may re-18 |
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| 320 | 320 | | quire an entity to provide a cost share in an 19 |
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| 321 | 321 | | amount not to exceed 25 percent of the amount 20 |
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| 322 | 322 | | of the grant (including the grant in a grant and 21 |
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| 323 | 323 | | loan combination) under subsection (c) re-22 |
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| 324 | 324 | | quested in the application of the entity. 23 |
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| 325 | 325 | | ‘‘(B) W |
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| 326 | 326 | | AIVER.—The Secretary may waive 24 |
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| 327 | 327 | | the cost share requirement under subparagraph 25 |
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| 330 | 330 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 331 | 331 | | (A) for entities or projects described in sub-1 |
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| 332 | 332 | | section (c)(4). 2 |
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| 333 | 333 | | ‘‘(3) T |
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| 334 | 334 | | ECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING .— 3 |
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| 335 | 335 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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| 336 | 336 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary may 4 |
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| 337 | 337 | | provide to eligible entities described in para-5 |
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| 338 | 338 | | graph (1) that are applying for assistance 6 |
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| 339 | 339 | | under this section for a project described in 7 |
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| 340 | 340 | | subsection (c)(3)(A) technical assistance and 8 |
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| 341 | 341 | | training— 9 |
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| 342 | 342 | | ‘‘(i) to prepare reports and surveys 10 |
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| 343 | 343 | | necessary to request grants, loans, and 11 |
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| 344 | 344 | | grant and loan combinations under this 12 |
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| 345 | 345 | | section for broadband deployment; 13 |
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| 346 | 346 | | ‘‘(ii) to improve management, includ-14 |
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| 347 | 347 | | ing financial management, relating to the 15 |
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| 348 | 348 | | proposed broadband deployment; 16 |
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| 349 | 349 | | ‘‘(iii) to prepare applications for 17 |
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| 350 | 350 | | grants, loans, and grant and loan combina-18 |
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| 351 | 351 | | tions under this section; or 19 |
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| 352 | 352 | | ‘‘(iv) to assist with other areas of 20 |
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| 353 | 353 | | need identified by the Secretary. 21 |
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| 354 | 354 | | ‘‘(B) F |
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| 355 | 355 | | UNDING.—Not less than 3 percent 22 |
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| 356 | 356 | | and not more than 5 percent of amounts appro-23 |
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| 357 | 357 | | priated under subsection (i) to carry out this 24 |
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| 358 | 358 | | section for a fiscal year shall be used for tech-25 |
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| 360 | 360 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 361 | 361 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 362 | 362 | | nical assistance and training under this para-1 |
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| 363 | 363 | | graph. 2 |
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| 364 | 364 | | ‘‘(e) B |
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| 365 | 365 | | ROADBANDSERVICE.— 3 |
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| 366 | 366 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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| 367 | 367 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 4 |
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| 368 | 368 | | for purposes of this section, the minimum acceptable 5 |
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| 369 | 369 | | level of broadband service for a rural area shall be 6 |
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| 370 | 370 | | at least— 7 |
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| 371 | 371 | | ‘‘(A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission 8 |
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| 372 | 372 | | capacity; and 9 |
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| 373 | 373 | | ‘‘(B) a 100-Mbps upstream transmission 10 |
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| 374 | 374 | | capacity. 11 |
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| 375 | 375 | | ‘‘(2) A |
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| 376 | 376 | | DJUSTMENTS.—At least once every 2 12 |
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| 377 | 377 | | years, the Secretary shall review, and may adjust 13 |
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| 378 | 378 | | through notice published in the Federal Register, 14 |
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| 379 | 379 | | the minimum acceptable level of broadband service 15 |
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| 380 | 380 | | established under paragraph (1) and broadband 16 |
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| 381 | 381 | | buildout requirements under paragraph (3) to en-17 |
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| 382 | 382 | | sure that high quality, cost-effective broadband serv-18 |
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| 383 | 383 | | ice is provided to rural areas over time. 19 |
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| 384 | 384 | | ‘‘(3) B |
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| 385 | 385 | | ROADBAND BUILDOUT REQUIREMENTS .— 20 |
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| 386 | 386 | | ‘‘(A) D |
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| 387 | 387 | | EFINITION OF BROADBAND BUILD -21 |
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| 388 | 388 | | OUT REQUIREMENT .—In this paragraph, the 22 |
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| 389 | 389 | | term ‘broadband buildout requirement’ means 23 |
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| 390 | 390 | | the level of internet service an applicant receiv-24 |
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| 391 | 391 | | ing assistance under this section must agree, at 25 |
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| 392 | 392 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 08, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3119.IH H3119 |
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| 393 | 393 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 |
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| 394 | 394 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 395 | 395 | | the time the application is finalized, to provide 1 |
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| 396 | 396 | | for the duration of any project-related agree-2 |
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| 397 | 397 | | ment between the applicant and the Depart-3 |
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| 398 | 398 | | ment. 4 |
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| 399 | 399 | | ‘‘(B) E |
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| 400 | 400 | | STABLISHMENT OF BROADBAND 5 |
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| 401 | 401 | | BUILDOUT REQUIREMENTS .—The Secretary 6 |
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| 402 | 402 | | shall establish broadband buildout requirements 7 |
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| 403 | 403 | | that— 8 |
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| 404 | 404 | | ‘‘(i) utilize the same metrics used to 9 |
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| 405 | 405 | | define the minimum acceptable level of 10 |
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| 406 | 406 | | broadband service under paragraph (1); 11 |
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| 407 | 407 | | and 12 |
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| 408 | 408 | | ‘‘(ii) reasonably ensure— 13 |
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| 409 | 409 | | ‘‘(I) the repayment of all loans; 14 |
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| 410 | 410 | | and 15 |
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| 411 | 411 | | ‘‘(II) the financed network is 16 |
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| 412 | 412 | | technically capable of providing 17 |
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| 413 | 413 | | broadband service for the lifetime of 18 |
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| 414 | 414 | | any project-related agreement. 19 |
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| 415 | 415 | | ‘‘(C) S |
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| 416 | 416 | | UBSTITUTE SERVICE STANDARDS 20 |
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| 417 | 417 | | FOR UNIQUE SERVICE TERRITORIES .— 21 |
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| 418 | 418 | | ‘‘(i) I |
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| 419 | 419 | | N GENERAL.—If an applicant 22 |
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| 420 | 420 | | shows that it would be cost prohibitive to 23 |
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| 421 | 421 | | meet the broadband buildout requirements 24 |
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| 422 | 422 | | established under this paragraph for the 25 |
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| 424 | 424 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 |
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| 425 | 425 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 426 | 426 | | entirety of a proposed service territory due 1 |
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| 427 | 427 | | to the unique characteristics of the pro-2 |
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| 428 | 428 | | posed service territory, the Secretary and 3 |
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| 429 | 429 | | the applicant may agree to utilize sub-4 |
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| 430 | 430 | | stitute standards for any unserved portion 5 |
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| 431 | 431 | | of the project. 6 |
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| 432 | 432 | | ‘‘(ii) R |
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| 433 | 433 | | EQUIREMENT.—Any substitute 7 |
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| 434 | 434 | | service standards described in clause (i) 8 |
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| 435 | 435 | | should continue to consider the best tech-9 |
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| 436 | 436 | | nology available to meet the needs of the 10 |
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| 437 | 437 | | residents in the unserved area.’’; 11 |
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| 438 | 438 | | (2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), and 12 |
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| 439 | 439 | | (i) as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; 13 |
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| 440 | 440 | | (3) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated)— 14 |
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| 441 | 441 | | (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 15 |
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| 442 | 442 | | ‘‘L |
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| 443 | 443 | | OANS ANDLOANGUARANTEES.—’’ and in-16 |
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| 444 | 444 | | serting ‘‘L |
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| 445 | 445 | | OANS.—’’; and 17 |
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| 446 | 446 | | (B) in paragraph (1)— 18 |
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| 447 | 447 | | (i) in the matter preceding subpara-19 |
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| 448 | 448 | | graph (A), by striking ‘‘or loan guar-20 |
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| 449 | 449 | | antee’’; and 21 |
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| 450 | 450 | | (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 22 |
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| 451 | 451 | | (I) by striking clause (ii); 23 |
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| 452 | 452 | | (II) by striking ‘‘Secretary—’’ in 24 |
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| 453 | 453 | | the matter preceding clause (i) and all 25 |
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| 455 | 455 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 |
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| 456 | 456 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 457 | 457 | | that follows through ‘‘in the case’’ in 1 |
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| 458 | 458 | | the matter preceding subclause (I) of 2 |
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| 459 | 459 | | clause (i) and inserting ‘‘Secretary in 3 |
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| 460 | 460 | | the case’’; and 4 |
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| 461 | 461 | | (III) by redesignating subclauses 5 |
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| 462 | 462 | | (I) and (II) as clauses (i) and (ii), re-6 |
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| 463 | 463 | | spectively, and indenting appro-7 |
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| 464 | 464 | | priately; 8 |
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| 465 | 465 | | (4) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated), by 9 |
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| 466 | 466 | | striking ‘‘or loan guarantee’’ each place it appears; 10 |
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| 467 | 467 | | (5) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated), in 11 |
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| 468 | 468 | | paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘1974)’’ and inserting 12 |
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| 469 | 469 | | ‘‘1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a))’’; and 13 |
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| 470 | 470 | | (6) by striking subsections (j) and (k) and in-14 |
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| 471 | 471 | | serting the following: 15 |
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| 472 | 472 | | ‘‘(i) F |
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| 473 | 473 | | UNDING.— 16 |
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| 474 | 474 | | ‘‘(1) A |
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| 475 | 475 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 17 |
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| 476 | 476 | | There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-18 |
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| 477 | 477 | | retary to carry out subsections (a) through (h) 19 |
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| 478 | 478 | | $650,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 20 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | 2030, to remain available until expended. 21 |
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| 480 | 480 | | ‘‘(2) A |
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| 481 | 481 | | DMINISTRATION.—Not more than 5 per-22 |
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| 482 | 482 | | cent of the amounts made available under para-23 |
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| 483 | 483 | | graphs (1) and (3) shall be available to the Sec-24 |
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| 485 | 485 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 |
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| 486 | 486 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 487 | 487 | | retary for the administration of subsections (a) 1 |
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| 488 | 488 | | through (h). 2 |
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| 489 | 489 | | ‘‘(3) D |
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| 490 | 490 | | IRECT FUNDING.— 3 |
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| 491 | 491 | | ‘‘(A) R |
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| 492 | 492 | | ESCISSION.—There is rescinded the 4 |
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| 493 | 493 | | unobligated balance of amounts made available 5 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | to carry out section 779 of division A of the 6 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public 7 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 399). 8 |
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| 497 | 497 | | ‘‘(B) D |
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| 498 | 498 | | IRECT FUNDING.—On the day after 9 |
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| 499 | 499 | | the execution of the rescission in subparagraph 10 |
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| 500 | 500 | | (A), there is appropriated to the Secretary, out 11 |
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| 501 | 501 | | of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise ap-12 |
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| 502 | 502 | | propriated, an amount equal to the amount re-13 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | scinded in subparagraph (A), to carry out sub-14 |
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| 504 | 504 | | sections (a) through (h), to remain available 15 |
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| 505 | 505 | | until expended. 16 |
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| 506 | 506 | | ‘‘(j) A |
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| 507 | 507 | | DDITIONALRURALBROADBAND PROGRAM 17 |
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| 508 | 508 | | L |
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| 509 | 509 | | OANS.— 18 |
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| 510 | 510 | | ‘‘(1) I |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 19 |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | direct loans in accordance with the requirements 20 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | under this section, as in effect on the day before the 21 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | date of enactment of the ReConnecting Rural Amer-22 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | ica Act of 2025. 23 |
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| 516 | 516 | | ‘‘(2) A |
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| 517 | 517 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 24 |
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| 518 | 518 | | There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-25 |
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| 521 | 521 | | •HR 3119 IH |
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| 522 | 522 | | retary to carry out this subsection $350,000,000 for 1 |
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| 523 | 523 | | each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain 2 |
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| 524 | 524 | | available until expended. 3 |
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| 525 | 525 | | ‘‘(k) T |
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| 526 | 526 | | ERMINATION OFAUTHORITY.—No grant, loan, 4 |
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| 527 | 527 | | or grant and loan combination may be made under this 5 |
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| 528 | 528 | | section after September 30, 2030.’’. 6 |
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| 529 | 529 | | (b) S |
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| 530 | 530 | | UNSET.—Beginning on the date that is 120 days 7 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, section 779 of 8 |
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| 532 | 532 | | division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 9 |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 399), shall have no force 10 |
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| 534 | 534 | | or effect. 11 |
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| 535 | 535 | | Æ |
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