Rural Broadband Modernization Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10288 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10288

  To ensure that assistance is available under the ReConnect program 
without regard to the technology used to provide broadband service, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 3, 2026

Mr. Schweikert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To ensure that assistance is available under the ReConnect program 
without regard to the technology used to provide broadband service, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Broadband Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF RECONNECT PROGRAM ASSISTANCE WITHOUT REGARD TO 
              TECHNOLOGY USED TO PROVIDE BROADBAND SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 779 of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) is amended by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ``Provided further, That to be eligible for a loan or 
grant under the program, a project must provide broadband with a 
transmission capacity of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps 
upstream; Provided further, That an application for a loan or grant 
under the program shall not be denied or given lesser preference on the 
basis of the kind of technology to be used to provide broadband, or on 
the basis of whether broadband is to be provided through a terrestrial, 
non-terrestrial, or low-Earth orbit satellite system, and section 
601(e)(3) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 shall apply to the 
program; Provided further, That, within 30 days after an award is made 
under the program, the Secretary shall make available to the public a 
report on the number of locations to be served and the kind of 
technology to be used to provide broadband, through use of the award; 
Provided further, That, on completion of a project, the Secretary shall 
make available to the public a report on the amount of assistance 
disbursed for the project and the number of locations at which 
broadband service was made available through the project.''.
    (b) Final Regulations.--Within 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue 
final regulations to implement the amendments made by this section.
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