December 5, 2008
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House

H.R. 267, Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001
Sponsor: Rep. Phil English, R-Pa.
Introduced: Jan. 30, 2001
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 267 would provide a tax incentive for businesses deploying broadband services to rural areas. Companies building the infrastructure for current broadband services could claim a 10-percent tax credit for the costs and a 20-percent credit for building out next generation, or faster, broadband services. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced a companion bill, S. 88.
H.R. 1171, Universal Service Support Act
Sponsor: Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga.
Introduced: March 22, 2001
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 1171 would lift the caps on the amount of money rural telephone providers can receive from the universal service fund. The bill seeks to funnel more money to rural companies so they could upgrade their infrastructure and accommodate high-speed Internet traffic. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., introduced a similar measure, S. 500.
H.R. 1415, Tech Bond Initiative
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.
Introduced: April 4, 2001
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 1415 would grant bondholders a new type of tax incentive in an effort to expand high-speed Internet access into communities. The bill was one of five introduced the same day by a bloc of New York House members who hope the measures will spur job growth in upstate New York. The other measures were H.R. 1416, H.R. 1417, H.R. 1418 and H.R. 1419. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced a companion package of bills: S. 426, S. 428, S. 429, S. 430, S. 431 and S. 432.
H.R. 1416, Broadband Expansion Grant Initiative
Sponsor: Rep. John LaFalce, D-N.Y.
Introduced: April 4, 2001
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 1416 would provide grants and other incentives to the private sector in an effort promote new communications technologies, including high-speed Internet connections. The bill was one of five introduced the same day by a bloc of New York House members who hope the measures will spur job growth in upstate New York. The other measures were H.R. 1415, H.R. 1417, H.R. 1418 and H.R. 1419. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced a companion package of bills: S. 426, S. 428, S. 429, S. 430, S. 431 and S. 432.
H.R. 1542, Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act
Sponsor: Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La.
Introduced: April 24, 2001
Committees: House Energy and Commerce, Judiciary
Final Action: Passed by the House
Description: H.R. 1542 seeks to spur deployment of high-speed Internet networks by freeing the regional Bell operating companies from regulations in the Internet marketplace. It would let the so-called Baby Bells provide data services across long-distance boundaries before proving that their markets are open to competition, and it would free the Bells of an obligation in the 1996 Telecommunications Act that they offer competitors access to Bell infrastructure. The House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee approved the bill on a 19-14 vote two days after it was introduced, and the full committee approved it on a 32-23 vote May 9, 2001.
H.R. 1697, Broadband Competition and Incentives Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Introduced: May 3, 2001
Committees: House Energy and Commerce, Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1697 would require the Baby Bell telephone companies to keep their infrastructure open to competitors that offer high-speed Internet access. The measure also would prohibit the Bells from offering long-distance services if they retain an 85 percent share of their local telephone markets and prohibit discriminatory taxes on broadband Internet services. In addition, the legislation would offer up to $3 billion in direct loans to companies deploying broadband services. The measure was one of two introduced by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Chris Cannon, R-Utah, to compete with another broadband bill, H.R. 1542, cosponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., and ranking Democrat John Dingell, D-Mich. The second bill is H.R. 1698.
H.R. 1698, American Broadband Competition Act
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah
Introduced: May 3, 2001
Committees: House Energy and Commerce, Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1698 seeks to ensure competition in the telecommunications industry by applying antitrust laws to telecom services. Under the measure, if a court found that a firm violated the 1996 Telecommunications Act, it also would be deemed to have violated antitrust laws. The measure was one of two introduced by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Chris Cannon, R-Utah, to compete with another broadband bill, H.R. 1542, cosponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., and ranking Democrat John Dingell, D-Mich. The second bill is H.R. 1697.
H.R. 2038, Rural Broadband Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.
Introduced: May 25, 2001
Committees: House Energy and Commerce, Agriculture
Description: H.R. 2038 seeks to encourage deployment of high-speed Internet services to rural America. The bill would allow the Rural Utilities Service, in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to provide low-interest loans to companies that expand broadband access to rural areas. The measure is patterned after laws that encouraged the expansion of electricity and telephone services to rural areas in the past. A Senate companion bill, S. 966, was introduced the same day.
H.R. 2120, Broadband Antitrust Restoration and Reform Act
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah
Introduced: June 12, 2001
Committee: House Judiciary, Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2120 seeks to ensure the application of the antitrust laws to local telephone monopolies. The bill, introduced to compete with another measure, H.R. 1542, would grant the attorney general authority to deny a Bell long-distance data application if the company "is likely to use its monopoly power" in an anti-competitive way. The House Judiciary Committee rejected H.R. 2120 on a 15-19 vote. Two related measures, H.R. 1697 and H.R. 1698, were introduced.
H.R. 2139, Rural America Broadband Deployment Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: June 12, 2001
Committee: House Agriculture, Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2139 seeks to expand access to the high-speed Internet to rural communities in an effort to help agricultural producers. The bill, which estimates that farmers could have saved $5.8 billion in 2000 if they had had broadband access, would authorize the Agriculture secretary to make loans for high-speed Internet development in rural areas. It would authorize $100 million per year from fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2004 for the loans and define broadband as Internet connection speeds of at least 200 kilobits per second.
H.R. 2401, Rural America Digital Accessibility Act
Sponsor: Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y.
Introduced: June 28, 2000
Committee: House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Science
Description: H.R. 2401 consists of several rural development initiatives, four of which are designed to bridge the "digital divide" by expanding high-speed Internet access to rural America. The bill would: grant bondholders a new type of tax incentive in an effort to expand high-speed Internet access; authorize grants and other incentives to the private sector to promote broadband services; help small and medium-sized businesses receive technological assistance from educational institutions; and authorize more federal research funding to increase broadband's reach. Similar House and Senate bills were introduced: H.R. 1415, H.R. 1416, S. 426, S. 428 and S. 430.
H.R. 2597, Broadband Deployment and Telework Incentive Act
Sponsor: Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo.
Introduced: July 23, 2001
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 2597 would amend the tax code to provide incentives to both providers and potential users of high-speed Internet access in rural and underserved areas. The bill would offer tax credits to companies that deploy broadband services, to employers who allow their employees to telework, and to both employers and employees for telework equipment. The telework incentives are designed to spur demand for high-speed Internet access in the rural and underserved regions.
H.R. 2669, Rural Telecommunications Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Introduced: July 27, 2001
Committees: House Agriculture, Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2669 seeks to speed the deployment of high-speed Internet access to rural areas. The bill, sponsored by Congressional Rural Caucus Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., would authorize $500 million in loans and $2 million in grants annually for 10 years to expand broadband services. The proposal is patterned after programs that expanded electricity to rural areas. Both the House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2002 agriculture spending bill, H.R. 2330, would provide funding for rural telecommunications grants and loans.
H.R. 2847, Rural America Technology Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa
Introduced: Sept. 6, 2001
Committees: House Agriculture, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2847 seeks to expand high-speed Internet access to rural states like Iowa, which is the home of bill sponsor Leonard Boswell, a Democrat. The measure would provide tax credits to high-tech firms that create jobs in rural areas and offer grants to colleges in rural states to ensure adequate tech training. It also would create an Office of Rural Technology within the Agriculture Department to serve as a clearinghouse on technology grants, programs and other information.
H.R. 3142, Rural Exemption Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif.
Introduced: Oct. 16, 2001
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 3142 seeks to encourage the spread of high-speed Internet services by requiring state regulators to treat voice telephone services in rural areas separately from advanced data services, including broadband.
H.R. 3672, Research on High-Performance Networking for Science Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Larson, D-Conn.
Introduced: Feb. 4, 2002
Committee: House Science
Description: H.R. 3672 would authorize demonstration projects designed to foster the use of high-speed Internet connections in teaching science, math and technology. Under the bill, the National Science Foundation would conduct research on novel uses for high-performance computers in schools. The measure would authorize $10 million a year from fiscal 2003 through fiscal 2005.

Senate

S. 88, Broadband Internet Access Act
Sponsor: Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Introduced: Jan. 22, 2001
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 88 would provide a tax incentive for businesses deploying broadband services to rural areas. Companies building the infrastructure for current broadband services could claim a 10-percent tax credit for the costs and a 20-percent credit for building out next generation, or faster, broadband services. Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., introduced a House companion bill, H.R. 267, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced a related bill, S. 150.
S. 150, Broadband Deployment Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Introduced: Jan. 23, 2001
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 150 would provide tax breaks to companies that deploy high-speed Internet services. The bill would authorize a tax credit of 10 percent of the total expenditures a provider incurs to extend broadband services to underserved areas. It also would require the Treasury Department to conduct a study on the impact the tax credit would have on the competitiveness of potential broadband carriers and report the results to Congress.
S. 426, Technology Bond Initiative
Sponsor: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Introduced: March 1, 2001
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 426 would grant bondholders a new type of tax incentive in an effort to expand high-speed Internet access into communities. The bill is one of six high-tech-related measures that sponsor Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced the same day in an effort to fulfill a 2000 campaign pledge to spur job growth in upstate New York. The other bills were S. 428, S. 429, S. 430, S. 431 and S. 432.
S. 428, Broadband Expansion Grant Initiative
Sponsor: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Introduced: March 1, 2001
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 428 would authorize grants and other incentives to the private sector to promote new communications technologies, including high-speed Internet connections. The bill is one of six high-tech-related measures that sponsor Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced the same day in an effort to fulfill a 2000 campaign pledge to spur job growth in upstate New York. The other bills were S. 426, S. 429, S. 430, S. 431 and S. 432.
S. 430, Broadband Rural Research Investment Act
Sponsor: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Introduced: March 1, 2001
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 430 would authorize additional investments in the National Science Foundation for research in new broadband technology to increase services in remote and rural areas. The bill is one of six high-tech-related measures that sponsor Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced the same day in an effort to fulfill a 2000 campaign pledge to spur job growth in upstate New York. The other bills were S. 426, S. 428, S. 429, S. 431 and S. 432.
S. 500, Universal Service Support Act
Sponsor: Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
Introduced: March 8, 2001
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 500 would lift the caps on the amount of money rural telephone providers can receive from the universal service fund. The goal of the bill is to funnel more money to rural companies so they could upgrade their infrastructure and accommodate high-speed Internet traffic.
S. 966, Rural Broadband Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
Introduced: May 25, 2001
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 966 seeks to encourage deployment of high-speed Internet services to rural America. The bill would allow the Rural Utilities Service, in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to provide low-interest loans to companies that expand broadband access to rural areas. The measure is patterned after laws that encouraged the expansion of electricity and telephone services to rural areas in the past.
S. 1056, Community Telecommunications Planning Act
Sponsor: Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Introduced: June 14, 2001
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1056 seeks to help rural and underserved communities gain access to high-speed telecommunications services by authorizing federal grants toward that goal. The grants could be used to help communities create plans for rolling out such services, and to conduct technical assessments and other analytical work.
S. 1126, Broadband Deployment and Competition Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Introduced: June 28, 2000
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1126 is one of two bills designed to expand access to the high-speed Internet throughout the nation by 2007. (The other bill is S. 1127.) The measure would exempt the regional Bell telephone companies from rules that they make their packet-switching and fiber-optics equipment -- the technologies essential to the rollout of broadband services -- available to their competitors at less than cost. It also would give the Baby Bells wholesale and retail pricing flexibility for broadband services. But the Bells still would have to give their competitors access to local telephone networks and facilities, and the deregulation for rolling out high-speed Internet access could be revoked if the Bells do not provide broadband services to all of their customers within five years or if they deny competitors access to their telephone networks and facilities.
S. 1127, Rural Broadband Deployment Act
Sponsor: Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Introduced: June 28, 2000
Committee: Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1127 is one of two designed to expand access to the high-speed Internet throughout the nation by 2007. The measure would provide broader deregulation of broadband technologies to the regional Bell telephone companies than the related bill, S. 1126, but would limit that deregulation to rural communities.
S. 2430, Broadband Regulatory Parity Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Breaux, D-La.
Introduced: April 30, 2002
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 2430 would require the FCC to update regulations for high-speed Internet providers in an effort to ensure regulatory parity among all firms that provide such service with competing technologies. The bill aims to deregulate the broadband market by making regulations the same for both telephone companies that provide services over digital subscriber lines, cable firms that provide services over modems, and wireless and satellite providers. Cable, wireless and satellite providers currently face fewer marketplace restrictions. The bill would give the FCC 120 days to complete new rules, and the agency could not increase regulatory restrictions.
S. 2448, Broadband Telecommunications Deployment Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C.
Introduced: May 2, 2002
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 2448 aims to increase access to the high-speed Internet in rural and inner-city areas. Money from an existing telephone tax would go toward building broadband infrastructure in those communities. The legislation also would fund grants to the National Institute of Standards and Technology and universities to research broadband technology, improve Internet speeds and develop new online applications. Grant money also could go to colleges without a connection to the Internet, as well to libraries and museums that wish to digitize their collections. Finally, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration would be responsible for studying the effect that a lack of broadband access in rural communities might have on homeland security. Some officials in the telecom industry have said that the bill would lead to government-sponsored networks. They favor competing legislation, S. 2430.
S. 2582, National Broadband Strategy Act
Sponsor: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
Introduced: June 5, 2002
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 2582 aims to promote the construction of high-speed Internet networks by requiring the Bush administration to craft a national strategy on broadband within six months of enactment. Lieberman has criticized lawmakers for focusing on short-term advances in Internet speed rather than a long-term policy. The report would cover barriers to the creation of widespread broadband access, proposals on research and development and a plan to encourage competition for Internet service in private industry. The bill is one of several designed to foster broadband deployment.
S. 2863, Consumer Broadband Deregulation Act
Sponsor: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Introduced: Aug. 1, 2002
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S.2863 seeks to foster the deployment of high-speed Internet services by deregulating the market. The bill would resist government-mandated open access to broadband infrastructure and encourage greater use of wireless technology in the broadband field. It also would enhance the FCC's tools for enforcing current telecommunications law while favoring a hands-off approach to the deployment of new facilities by telephone companies.

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