S.Amdt. 266

SA 266. Mr. SANDERS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 98 proposed by Mr. Inouye (for himself and Mr. Baucus) to
the bill H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations for job
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal
stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 48, strike line 21 and all that follows through
page 56, line 23, and insert the following:
(C) provide wireless voice service to unserved or
underserved areas;
(D) provide broadband education, awareness, training,
access, equipment, and support to--
(i) schools, libraries, medical and healthcare providers,
community colleges and other institutions of higher
education, and other community support organizations and
entities to facilitate greater use of broadband service by or
through these organizations;
(ii) organizations and agencies that provide outreach,
access, equipment, and support services to facilitate greater
use of broadband service by low-income, unemployed, aged, and
otherwise vulnerable populations; and
(iii) job-creating strategic facilities located within a
State-designated economic zone, Economic Development District
designated by the Department of Commerce, Renewal Community
or Empowerment Zone designated by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development, or Enterprise Community designated by
the Department of Agriculture.
(E) improve access to, and use of, broadband service by
public safety agencies; and
(F) stimulate the demand for broadband, economic growth,
and job creation.
(2) The Assistant Secretary may consult with the chief
executive officer of any State with respect to--
(A) the identification of areas described in subsection
(1)(A) or (B) located in that State; and
(B) the allocation of grant funds within that State for
projects in or affecting the State.
(3) The Assistant Secretary shall--
(A) establish and implement the grant program as
expeditiously as practicable;
(B) ensure that all awards are made before the end of
fiscal year 2010;
(C) seek such assurances as may be necessary or appropriate
from grantees under the program that they will substantially
complete projects supported by the program in accordance with
project timelines, not to exceed 2 years following an award;
and
(D) report on the status of the program to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House and the Senate, the Committee
on Energy and Commerce of the House, and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, every 90
days.
(4) To be eligible for a grant under the program an
applicant shall--
(A) be a State or political subdivision thereof, a
nonprofit foundation, corporation, institution or
association, Indian tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or
other non-governmental entity in partnership with a State or
political subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or Native
Hawaiian organization if the Assistant Secretary determines
the partnership consistent with the purposes this section;
(B) submit an application, at such time, in such form, and
containing such information as the Assistant Secretary may
require;
(C) provide a detailed explanation of how any amount
received under the program will be used to carry out the
purposes of this section in an efficient and expeditious
manner, including a demonstration that the project would not
have been implemented during the grant period without Federal
grant assistance;
(D) demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Assistant
Secretary, that it is capable of carrying out the project or
function to which the application relates in a competent
manner in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and
local laws;
(E) demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Assistant
Secretary, that it will appropriate (if the applicant is a
State or local government agency) or otherwise
unconditionally obligate, from non-Federal sources, funds
required to meet the requirements of paragraph (5);
(F) disclose to the Assistant Secretary the source and
amount of other Federal or State funding sources from which
the applicant receives, or has applied for, funding for
activities or projects to which the application relates; and
(G) provide such assurances and procedures as the Assistant
Secretary may require to ensure that grant funds are used and
accounted for in an appropriate manner.
(5) The Federal share of any project may not exceed 80
percent, except that the Assistant Secretary may increase the
Federal share of a project above 80 percent if--
(A) the applicant petitions the Assistant Secretary for a
waiver; and
(B) the Assistant Secretary determines that the petition
demonstrates financial need.
(6) The Assistant Secretary may make competitive grants
under the program to--
(A) acquire equipment, instrumentation, networking
capability, hardware and software, digital network
technology, and infrastructure for broadband services;
(B) construct and deploy broadband service related
infrastructure;
(C) deploy necessary infrastructure for the provision of
wireless voice service;
(D) ensure access to broadband service by community anchor
institutions;
(E) facilitate access to broadband service by low-income,
unemployed, aged, and otherwise vulnerable populations in
order to provide educational and employment opportunities to
members of such populations;
(F) construct and deploy broadband facilities that improve
public safety broadband communications services; and
(G) undertake such other projects and activities as the
Assistant Secretary finds to be consistent with the purposes
for which the program is established.
(7) The Assistant Secretary--
(A) shall require any entity receiving a grant pursuant to
this section to report quarterly, in a format specified by
the Assistant Secretary, on such entity's use of the
assistance and progress fulfilling the objectives for which
such funds were granted, and

[[Page S1578]]

the Assistant Secretary shall make these reports available to
the public;
(B) may establish additional reporting and information
requirements for any recipient of any assistance made
available pursuant to this section;
(C) shall establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure
appropriate use and compliance with all terms of any use of
funds made available pursuant to this section;
(D) may, in addition to other authority under applicable
law, deobligate awards to grantees that demonstrate an
insufficient level of performance, or wasteful or fraudulent
spending, as defined in advance by the Assistant Secretary,
and award these funds competitively to new or existing
applicants consistent with this section; and
(E) shall create and maintain a fully searchable database,
accessible on the Internet at no cost to the public, that
contains at least the name of each entity receiving funds
made available pursuant to this section, the purpose for
which such entity is receiving such funds, each quarterly
report submitted by the entity pursuant to this section, and
such other information sufficient to allow the public to
understand and monitor grants awarded under the program.
(8) Concurrent with the issuance of the Request for
Proposal for grant applications pursuant to this section, the
Assistant Secretary shall, in coordination with the Federal
Communications Commission, publish the non-discrimination and
network interconnection obligations that shall be contractual
conditions of grants awarded under this section.
(9) Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Commission shall complete a rulemaking to develop a
national broadband plan. In developing the plan, the
Commission shall--
(A) consider the most effective and efficient national
strategy for ensuring that all Americans have access to, and
take advantage of, advanced broadband services;
(B) have access to data provided to other Government
agencies under the Broadband Data Improvement Act (47 U.S.C.
1301 note);
(C) evaluate the status of deployments of broadband
service, including the progress of projects supported by the
grants made pursuant to this section; and
(D) develop recommendations for achieving the goal of
nationally available broadband service for the United States
and for promoting broadband adoption nationwide.
(10) The Assistant Secretary shall develop and maintain a
comprehensive nationwide inventory map of existing broadband
service capability and availability in the United States that
entities and depicts the geographic extent to which broadband
service capability is deployed and available from a
commercial provider or public provider throughout each State:
Provided, That not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of the Act, the Assistant Secretary shall make the
broadband inventory map developed and maintained pursuant to
this section accessible to the public.
(11) For purposes of this section, the term ``wireless
voice service'' means the provision of two-way, real-time,
voice communications using a mobile service.
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