[RTC List] Broadband Stimulus Legislation

[Don Grossman]

Below is a snipit from  HR 1 PP version regarding BroadBand.  This is  
not the only section but this one contains the dollars appointed.
Also to keep in mind this is not the final bill as that will not be  
released to the public until AFTER it has been approved.

Make sure you are up to date on your tax code and Rural  
Electrification Act of 1936

6 GENERAL PROVISIONS—THIS TITLE
7 SEC. 101. Funds appropriated by this Act and made
8 available to the United States Department of Agriculture
9 for broadband direct loans and loan guarantees, as author
10 ized under title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
11 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) and for grants, shall be available for
12 broadband infrastructure in any area of the United States
13 notwithstanding title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of
14 1936:

Full drafts, changes and details can be found here

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.+1:

For your convienance you can download the PDF here

http://www.willitsonline.com/~don/ESA2009/



6 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
7 ADMINISTRATION
8 BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
9 For an amount for ‘‘Broadband Technology Opportu
10 nities Program’’, $7,000,000,000, to remain available until
11 September 30, 2010: Provided, That of the funds provided
12 under this heading, $6,650,000,000 shall be expended pur
13 suant to section 201 of this Act, of which: not less than
14 $200,000,000 shall be available for competitive grants for
15 expanding public computer center capacity, including at
16 community colleges and public libraries; not less than
17 $250,000,000 shall be available for competitive grants for
18 innovative programs to encourage sustainable adoption of
19 broadband service; and $10,000,000 shall be transferred to
20 ‘‘Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General’’ for
21 the purposes of audits and oversight of funds provided
22 under this heading and such funds shall remain available
23 until expended: Provided further, That 50 percent of the
24 funds provided in the previous proviso shall be used to sup
25 port projects in rural communities, which in part may be

VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:49 Feb 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00713  
Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1.PP H1 rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
714
HR 1 PP

1 transferred to the Department of Agriculture for adminis
2 tration through the Rural Utilities Service if deemed nec
3 essary and appropriate by the Secretary of Commerce, in
4 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, and only if
5 the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the
6 Senate are notified not less than 15 days in advance of the
7 transfer of such funds: Provided further, That of the funds
8 provided under this heading, up to $350,000,000 may be
9 expended pursuant to Public Law 110–385 (47 U.S.C. 1301
10 note) and for the purposes of developing and maintaining
11 a broadband inventory map pursuant to section 201 of this
12 Act: Provided further, That of the funds provided under this
13 heading, amounts deemed necessary and appropriate by the
14 Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Federal
15 Communications Commission (FCC), may be transferred to
16 the FCC for the purposes of developing a national
17 broadband plan or for carrying out any other FCC respon
18 sibilities pursuant to section 201 of this Act, and only if
19 the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the
20 Senate are notified not less than 15 days in advance of the
21 transfer of such funds: Provided further, That not more
22 than 3 percent of funds provided under this heading may
23 be used for administrative costs, and this limitation shall
24 apply to funds which may be transferred to the Department
25 of Agriculture and the FCC.



On Feb 13, 2009, at 9:39 AM, Larry Goldberg wrote:

> Got this today from WISPA (Wireless ISP Assn.) regarding the  
> stimulus bill:
> From: announcements-bounces at wispa.org [mailto:announcements-bounces at wispa.org 
> ] On Behalf Of Tom DeReggi
> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:40 PM
> To: announcements at wispa.org
> Subject: Re: [WISPA Announcements] WISPA Urges Conference Committee  
> to AmendBroadband Stimulus Legislation
>
> The bad news is... This simulus bill is all happening too fast.  
> Because its all on short notice, its not clear if our message gets  
> heard in time, nor whether there is time for legislators to write  
> amendments on our behalf, if they heard it.  The broadband piece is  
> just one small component of the many pages that Congress must debate  
> in the stimulus package. What I'm getting at is, in contrary to  
> public opinion in the media, Broadband topics are not getting the  
> attention that they deserve in this proceeding at the congressional  
> level. We can only do the best we can, to attempt to get the message  
> out, and put it on the record. I'm suspecting that most of the  
> battle will get fought after legislation, lobbying for actual rules  
> of implentation, such as with NTIA.
>
> I think we also need to be reminded that the Broadband Stimulus is  
> not likely going to be the only proceeding this year regarding  
> Broadband.  Everytime we get a message to legislators, that message  
> is eventually heard, to effect the writting of future proposed bills  
> that could be brought to Congress. There is a new National Broadband  
> Policy that needs to be defined by our new President, both in  
> Congress and at the FCC. This is just stage one to help influence  
> that policy.
>
> Tom DeReggi
> RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc


Don Grossman
WillitsOnline LLC
Office 707-459-0824
don at willitsonline.com