S. 323

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 323 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>

Calendar No. 421
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 323

To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to develop a National Strategy to Synchronize Federal 
Broadband Programs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 29, 2025

Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Welch) introduced the 
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation

May 21, 2026

Reported by Mr. Cruz, with amendments
[Omit the parts struck through and insert the parts printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to develop a National Strategy to Synchronize Federal 
Broadband Programs, 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 ``Proper Leadership to Align Networks 
for Broadband Act'' or the ``PLAN for Broadband Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 
and Information.
(3) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
``broadband internet access service'' has the meaning given the 
term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(4) Covered agencies.--The term ``covered agencies'' 
means--
(A) the Federal Communications Commission;
(B) the Department of Agriculture;
(C) the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration;
(D) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(E) the Appalachian Regional Commission;
(F) the Delta Regional Authority;
(G) the Denali Commission;
(H) the Economic Development Administration;
(I) the Department of Education;
(J) the Department of the Treasury;
(K) the Department of Transportation;
(L) the Institute of Museum and Library Services;
(M) the Northern Border Regional Commission;
(N) the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; and
(O) the Department of the Interior.
(5) Deployment locations map.--The term ``Deployment 
Locations Map'' has the meaning given the term in section 
60105(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (47 
U.S.C. 1704(a)).
(6) Federal broadband program.--The term ``Federal 
broadband program'' means any program administered by a covered 
agency that is directly or indirectly intended to increase the 
deployment of, access to, the affordability of, or the adoption 
of broadband internet access service.
(7) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal 
land management agency'' means--
(A) the National Park Service;
(B) the Bureau of Land Management;
(C) the Bureau of Reclamation;
(D) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
(E) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
(F) the Forest Service.
(8) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan'' 
means the implementation plan developed under section 4(a).
(9) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National 
Strategy to Synchronize Federal Broadband Programs developed 
under section 3(a).

SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRATEGY TO SYNCHRONIZE FEDERAL BROADBAND PROGRAMS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the covered 
agencies, shall develop and submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a National Strategy to Synchronize Federal Broadband Programs 
to--
(1) support better management of Federal broadband programs 
to deliver on the goal of providing access to high-speed, 
affordable broadband internet access service to all individuals 
in the United States, while ensuring that funding for Federal 
broadband programs is used in the most efficient and fiscally 
responsible manner;
(2) synchronize interagency coordination among covered 
agencies for Federal broadband programs;
(3) synchronize interagency coordination regarding the 
process for approving the grant of any permit, easement, right 
of way, or lease to, in, over, or on a building or any other 
property owned by the Federal Government for the right to 
install, construct, modify, or maintain infrastructure with 
respect to broadband internet access service; and
(4) reduce unnecessary barriers, eliminate unnecessary 
costs, and ease administrative burdens to participate in 
Federal broadband programs.
(b) Requirements.--The Strategy shall--
(1) list all--
(A) Federal broadband programs; and
(B) programs that exist at the State and local 
levels that are directly or indirectly intended to 
increase the deployment of, access to, the 
affordability of, or the adoption of broadband internet 
access service;
(2) describe current, as of the date on which the Strategy 
is submitted, Federal efforts to coordinate Federal broadband 
programs;
(3) identify gaps and limitations, including laws, 
regulations, and covered agency policies and practices, that 
hinder, or may hinder, coordination across Federal broadband 
programs;
(4) establish clear roles and responsibilities for the 
covered agencies, as well as clear goals, objectives, and 
performance measures, for--
(A) the management of all Federal broadband 
programs; and
(B) interagency coordination efforts with respect 
to Federal broadband programs;
(5) address the cost of the Strategy, the sources and types 
of resources and investments needed to carry out the Strategy, 
and where those resources and investments should be targeted 
based on balancing risk reductions with costs;
(6) address factors that increase the costs and 
administrative burdens of participation in Federal broadband 
programs, including with respect to access to infrastructure 
necessary for deployment of broadband internet access service;
(7) report information on the effectiveness of each Federal 
broadband program in terms of how many locations received 
broadband internet access service or other assistance under 
each Federal broadband program;
(8) address the extent to which covered agency policies and 
practices do or do not establish a technologically neutral 
program;
(9) recommend incentives, legislative solutions, and 
administrative actions to help State, local, and Tribal 
governments more efficiently--
(A) distribute, and effectively administer, funding 
received from Federal broadband programs and avoid 
duplication of--
(i) existing infrastructure with respect to 
broadband internet access service; and
(ii) funded projects with respect to 
broadband internet access service or such 
projects otherwise subject to enforceable 
deployment obligations;
(B) resolve conflicts with respect to the funding 
described in subparagraph (A);
(C) use the Deployment Locations Map as a key 
resource in carrying out subparagraphs (A) and (B); and
(D) promote the safe access to infrastructure or 
rights of way necessary for deployment of broadband 
internet access service, whether privately or 
government owned or cooperatively organized for 
broadband communications;
(10) recommend incentives, legislative solutions, and 
administrative actions to--
(A) improve the coordination and management of 
Federal broadband programs; and
(B) eliminate duplication with respect to Federal 
broadband programs and non-Federal programs with 
respect to broadband internet access service;
(11) describe current, as of the date on which the Strategy 
is submitted, efforts by covered agencies, Federal land 
management agencies, and State, local, and Tribal governments 
to streamline the process for granting a permit or access to an 
easement, right of way, or lease to, in, over, or on a building 
or any other property owned or controlled by a government for 
the right to install, construct, modify, or maintain 
infrastructure with respect to broadband internet access 
service;
(12) identify gaps and limitations with respect to allowing 
regional, interstate, or cross-border economic development 
organizations to participate in Federal broadband programs;
(13) with respect to the funding of infrastructure, propose 
a maximum amount for a subsidy or funding award to provide 
broadband internet access service to a single location, while 
allowing for consideration of high cost areas, including high 
cost Tribal areas;
(13)(14) address specific issues relating to closing the 
gap on Tribal lands with respect to broadband internet access 
service; and
(14)(15) identify measures to prevent fraud and misuse of 
amounts made available to carry out Federal broadband programs, 
ensure accountability for the use of such funding, and 
implement effective reporting requirements to measure the 
success of Federal broadband programs.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date on which 
the Assistant Secretary submits the Strategy to the appropriate 
committees of Congress under section 3(a), the Assistant Secretary 
shall develop and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an 
implementation plan for the Strategy.
(b) Implementation Plan.--The Implementation Plan shall, at a 
minimum--
(1) provide a plan for implementing the roles, 
responsibilities, goals, objectives, and performance measures 
for the management of Federal broadband programs and 
interagency coordination efforts identified in the Strategy;
(2) if the Strategy identifies policy and practices that 
result in programmatic differences among covered agencies with 
respect to Federal broadband programs, provide a plan to 
streamline and create consistent policies and practices across 
all covered agencies for the purposes of Federal broadband 
programs;
<DELETED> (3) for Federal broadband programs that are not 
technologically neutral, determine a ceiling on the amount of a 
subsidy or funding award to provide broadband internet access 
service to a single location, to be consistently applied and 
adopted by all covered agencies for the funding of 
infrastructure with respect to broadband internet access 
service;</DELETED>
(4)(3) provide a plan for holding the covered agencies 
accountable for the roles, responsibilities, goals, objectives, 
and performance measures identified in the Strategy;
(5)(4) describe the roles and responsibilities of the 
covered agencies, and the interagency mechanisms, to coordinate 
the implementation of the Strategy;
(6)(5) provide a plan for coordination among Federal 
broadband programs and for permitting processes for 
infrastructure with respect to broadband internet access 
service;
(7)(6) provide a plan for regular evaluation and public 
reporting of Federal broadband programs against clear 
objectives and performance measures, permitting processes for 
infrastructure with respect to broadband internet access 
service, and progress in implementing the Strategy;
(8)(7) with respect to the awarding of Federal funds or 
subsidies to support the deployment of broadband internet 
access service, provide a plan for the adoption of--
(A) common data sets regarding those awards, 
including a requirement that covered agencies use the 
maps created under title VIII of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 641 et seq.) and the Deployment 
Locations Map;
(B) applications regarding those awards, as 
described in section 903(e) of the ACCESS BROADBAND Act 
(47 U.S.C. 1307(e)); and
(C) rules for prohibiting awards by covered 
agencies in areas identified as served by the maps 
created under title VIII of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 641 et seq.) or in areas already 
subject to an award or enforceable deployment 
obligations by a covered agency under a Federal 
broadband program or a State, local, or Tribal program 
with respect to broadband internet access service;
(9)(8) provide a plan to monitor, publicly report, and 
reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal broadband programs, 
including wasteful spending resulting from fragmented, 
overlapping, and duplicative programs;
(10)(9) require consistent obligation and expenditure 
reporting by covered agencies for Federal broadband programs, 
which shall be consistent with section 903(c)(2) of the ACCESS 
BROADBAND Act (47 U.S.C. 1307(c)(2)) and the Deployment 
Locations Map;
(11)(10) provide a plan to increase awareness of, and 
participation in, Federal broadband programs relating to the 
affordability and adoption of broadband internet access 
service; and
(12)(11) describe the administrative and legislative action 
that is necessary to carry out the Strategy.
(c) Public Comment.--In developing the Implementation Plan, the 
Assistant Secretary shall publish a draft version of the Implementation 
Plan in the Federal Register for a period of notice and comment (and 
reply comment) that is not less than 60 days.

SEC. 5. BRIEFINGS AND IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) Briefing.--Not later than 21 days after the date on which the 
Assistant Secretary submits the Implementation Plan to the appropriate 
committees of Congress under section 4(a), the Assistant Secretary, and 
appropriate representatives from the covered agencies involved in the 
formulation of the Strategy, shall provide a briefing on the 
implementation of the Strategy to the appropriate committees of 
Congress.
(b) Implementation.--
(1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(A) implement the Strategy in accordance with the 
terms of the Implementation Plan; and
(B) not later than 90 days after the date on which 
the Assistant Secretary begins to implement the 
Strategy, and not less frequently than once every 90 
days thereafter until the date on which the 
Implementation Plan is fully implemented, brief the 
appropriate committees of Congress on the progress in 
implementing the Implementation Plan.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may 
be construed to affect the authority or jurisdiction of the 
Federal Communications Commission or confer upon the Assistant 
Secretary or any executive agency the power to direct the 
actions of the Federal Communications Commission, either 
directly or indirectly.

SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY AND REPORT.

Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Assistant 
Secretary submits the Implementation Plan to the appropriate committees 
of Congress under section 4(a), the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall commence a study--
(1) that shall--
(A) examine the efficacy of the Strategy and the 
Implementation Plan in coordinating funding across the 
Federal Government with respect to broadband internet 
access service;
(B) make recommendations regarding how to improve 
the Strategy and the Implementation Plan;
(C) examine any existing or new performance goals 
and measures for Federal broadband programs;
(D) examine any awards made by covered agencies 
under Federal broadband programs, or under State, 
local, and Tribal programs with respect to broadband 
internet access service--
(i) in areas identified as served with 
respect to broadband internet access service; 
or
(ii) that are duplicative of other awards 
under such a program; and
(E) identify programmatic changes that would 
prevent occurrences described in subparagraph (D) in 
the future; and
(2) the results of which the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress.

SEC. 7. BROADBAND FUNDING MAP REPORTING.

(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the head of each covered agency shall submit to the 
Assistant Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
containing a comprehensive update on the measures that each respective 
covered agency has taken since May 15, 2023, to coordinate with the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, pursuant to 
subsection (c)(2)(A) of the ACCESS BROADBAND Act (47 U.S.C. 
1307(c)(2)(A)), and the Federal Communications Commission to populate 
the Deployment Locations Map.
(b) Contents.--Each report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
(1) a description of the extent to which the covered agency 
submitting the report is submitting the data necessary to 
populate the Deployment Locations Map in a complete and timely 
manner; and
(2) identification of any outstanding challenges associated 
with the requirement for the submission of data described in 
paragraph (1).

SEC. 8. TRACKING AND IMPROVING PROCESSING TIMES FOR COMMUNICATIONS USE 
APPLICATIONS.

Section 6409(b)(3) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 
Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``(E) Tracking and improving processing times.--
``(i) Data controls.--An executive agency 
shall develop controls to ensure that data is 
sufficiently accurate and complete to track the 
processing time for each application described 
in subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Requirement to analyze, address, and 
report on delay factors.--With respect to the 
factors that contribute to delays in processing 
applications described in subparagraph (A), an 
executive agency shall--
``(I) analyze the factors as the 
delays are occurring;
``(II) take actions to address the 
factors; and
``(III) provide an annual report on 
the factors to--
``(aa) the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate;
``(bb) the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate;
``(cc) the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives;
``(dd) the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives; and
``(ee) each committee of 
Congress with jurisdiction over 
the executive agency.
``(iii) Method for alerting staff to at-
risk applications.--An executive agency shall 
establish a method to alert employees of the 
executive agency to any application described 
in subparagraph (A) with respect to which the 
executive agency is at risk of failing to meet 
the 270-day deadline under that 
subparagraph.''.

SEC. 9. MINIMUM BROADBAND PROJECT COST.

Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)) is 
amended--
(1) in clause (iii)(III), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); and
(3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
``(iv)(I) is subject to NEPA;
``(II) involves the construction of 
infrastructure for broadband; and
``(III) is likely to require a total 
investment of more than $5,000,000; or''.

SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, may be 
construed to confer authority on the Federal Government, or any State, 
local, or Tribal government, to regulate broadband internet access 
service.
Calendar No. 421

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 323

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to develop a National Strategy to Synchronize Federal 
Broadband Programs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

May 21, 2026

Reported with amendments