S.Amdt. 4303

SA 4303. Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr.
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. BROADBAND DEFENSE FUND.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
National Telecommunications Information Administration.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means a State of the United
States and the District of Columbia.
(4) Submarine cable landing station.--The term ``submarine
cable landing station'' means a cable landing station, as
that term is used in section 1.767(a)(5) of title 47, Code of
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), that can
be utilized to land a submarine cable by an entity that has
obtained a license under the first section of the Act
entitled ``An Act relating to the landing and operation of
submarine cables in the United States'', approved May 27,
1921 (47 U.S.C. 34) (commonly known as the ``Cable Landing
Licensing Act'').
(5) Team telecom.--The term ``Team Telecom'' means the
interagency working committee of the Federal Communications
Commission, the Department of Defense, the Department of
Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice, as
described in the Report and Order of the Federal
Communications Commission issued on October 1, 2020 entitled
``Process Reform for Executive Branch Review of Certain FCC
Applications and Petitions Involving Foreign Ownership''.
(6) Transport capacity.--The term ``transport capacity''--
(A) means broadband transmission capability that does not
predominantly serve end users or the last mile of the
transmission network; and
(B) may include interoffice transport, backhaul, Internet
connectivity, middle mile, or long-haul service used for
transport of broadband data between network locations other
than end-user premises or devices.
(b) Broadband Defense Fund.--
(1) NTIA administration.--Not later than 1 year after the
date on which amounts are made available under paragraph (1),
the Administration shall establish the Broadband Defense Fund
to provide--
(A) transport capacity in or to connect to States where the
headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command are
located; and
(B) open access carrier neutral submarine cable landing
stations in States where the headquarters of the United
States Indo-Pacific Command are located.
(2) Award of support.--The Administration shall establish a
process to award amounts from the Broadband Defense Fund
under this section in accordance with the following
requirements:
(A) Support shall be awarded only for deployment,
maintenance, and operation of transport broadband capacity,
in locations or on routes that are not supported or expected
to be supported under any other of the high-cost universal
service support programs of the Federal Communications
Commission.
(B) The Administration shall establish criteria for
awarding support in a manner consistent with this section,
including supporting the broadband needs of the United States
Indo-Pacific Command and the surrounding communities.
(3) Obligations of fund recipients.--
(A) In general.--The Administration shall ensure that each
recipient of amounts from the Broadband Defense Fund is
legally, technically, and financially qualified to complete
the required broadband deployment within the term of support.
(B) Access.--Recipients of amounts from the Broadband
Defense Fund shall provide carrier-neutral wholesale access
to landing spots and transport capacity supported by the
Fund--
(i) on just, reasonable, affordable, and reasonably non-
discriminatory terms, as determined by rules issued by the
Administration; and
(ii) at rates no higher than the national average wholesale
price of comparable wholesale telecommunications transport
services, as determined by the Administration.
(C) Vender vetting.--Any grant, subgrant, or contract
awarded using amounts from the Broadband Defense Fund
relating to a submarine cable landing station or undersea
transport capacity activity may only be

[[Page S7857]]

awarded to a vendor that has been vetted and approved by Team
Telecom.
(4) Appropriations.--The Broadband Defense Fund shall
consist of amounts appropriated to the Broadband Defense Fund
by an Act of Congress.
______