Rural Universal Service Equity Act of 2003

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Rural Universal Service Equity Act of 2003 - Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the need to reform the high cost support mechanism (with respect to universal telephone service) for rural, insular, and high cost areas.

Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in calculating Federal universal service support for eligible telecommunications carriers that serve such areas, to revise its support mechanism for high cost areas to provide support to each wire center in which the incumbent local exchange carrier's average cost per line exceeds the national average by such amount as the FCC determines appropriate for the purpose of ensuring the equitable distribution of universal service support throughout the United States. Requires: (1) the FCC to ensure that no State receives less Federal support than it would have received, up to ten percent of the total support distributed, under the FCC's previous support mechanism; and (2) the total amount of support for all States to be equal to the total support calculated under the support mechanism in existence before enactment of this Act.

States that nothing in this Act shall affect the support provided to rural telephone companies.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1380 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1380

  To distribute universal service support equitably throughout rural 
                    America, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 9, 2003

Mr. Smith (for himself, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Allen, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Hagel, Mr. 
    Coleman, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. 
  Fitzgerald) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To distribute universal service support equitably throughout rural 
                    America, 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 Universal Service Equity Act 
of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Federal Communications Commission's high cost 
        program for certain carriers provides no Federal support to 42 
        States.
            (2) Federal universal service support should be calculated 
        and targeted to small geographic regions within a State to 
        provide greater assistance to the rural consumers most in need 
        of support.
            (3) Local telephone competition and emerging technologies 
        are threatening the viability of Federal universal service 
        support.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To begin consideration of universal service reform.
            (2) To spread the benefits of the existing Federal high 
        cost support mechanism more equitably across the nation.

SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON NEED TO REFORM HIGH COST SUPPORT 
              MECHANISM.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on the 
need to reform the high cost support mechanism for rural, insular, and 
high cost areas. As part of the report, the Comptroller General shall 
provide an overview and discuss whether--
            (1) existing Federal and State high cost support mechanisms 
        ensure rate comparability between urban and rural areas;
            (2) the Federal Communications Commission and the States 
        have taken the necessary steps to remove implicit support;
            (3) the existing high cost support mechanism has affected 
        the development of local competition in urban and rural areas; 
        and
            (4) amendments to section 254 of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) are necessary to preserve and advance 
        universal service.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE SUPPORT FOR HIGH COST AREAS.

    Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Universal Service Support for High Cost Areas.--
            ``(1) Calculating support.--In calculating Federal 
        universal service support for eligible telecommunications 
        carriers that serve rural, insular, and high cost areas, the 
        Commission shall, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), revise the 
        Commission's support mechanism for high cost areas to provide 
        support to each wire center in which the incumbent local 
        exchange carrier's average cost per line for such wire center 
        exceeds the national average cost per line by such amount as 
        the Commission determines appropriate for the purpose of 
        ensuring the equitable distribution of universal service 
        support throughout the United States.
            ``(2) Hold harmless support.--In implementing this 
        subsection, the Commission shall ensure that no State receives 
        less Federal support calculated under paragraph (1) than the 
        State would have received, up to 10 percent of the total 
        support distributed, under the Commission's support mechanism 
        for high cost areas as in effect on the date of the enactment 
        of this subsection.
            ``(3) Limitation on total support to be provided.--The 
        total amount of support for all States, as calculated under 
        paragraphs (1) and (2), shall be equivalent to the total 
        support calculated under the Commission's support mechanism for 
        high cost areas as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
        this subsection.
            ``(4) Construction of limitation.--The limitation in 
        paragraph (3) shall not be construed to preclude fluctuations 
        in support on the basis of changes in the data used to make 
        such calculations.
            ``(5) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall 
        complete the actions (including prescribing or amending 
        regulations) necessary to implement the requirements of this 
        subsection.
            ``(6) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        `Commission's support mechanism for high cost areas' means 
        sections 54.309 and 54.311 of the Commission's regulations (47 
        CFR 54.309, 54.311), and regulations referred to in such 
        sections.''.

SEC. 5. NO EFFECT ON RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANIES.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the support 
provided to an eligible telecommunications carrier under section 214(e) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)) that is a rural 
telephone company (as defined in section 3 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 
153)).
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