Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025

Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a process to vet applicants for certain funding programs that support affordable broadband deployment in high-cost areas, including rural communities.

Specifically, the FCC must conduct a rulemaking to develop a vetting process for applicants seeking funding under high-cost universal service programs for the deployment of a broadband-capable network and the provision of supported services over the network. The FCC must require applications for such funding to document each applicant’s technical, financial, and operational capabilities related to the proposed deployment, as well as a reasonable business plan. 

The FCC must evaluate applications against reasonable and well-established standards and must consider each applicant’s history of compliance with the requirements of other government broadband funding programs. After the rulemaking is finalized, funds may only be awarded to applicants that satisfy the standards established therein. 

Finally, the FCC must set financial penalties for applicants that default in some manner during the evaluation process before they are authorized to begin receiving support.  

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 98 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 98

To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting 
  process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service 
                            program funding.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 15, 2025

Mrs. Capito (for herself, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Curtis) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting 
  process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service 
                            program funding.

    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 Protection Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. VETTING PROCESS FOR PROSPECTIVE HIGH-COST UNIVERSAL SERVICE 
              FUND APPLICANTS.

    Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Vetting of High-Cost Fund Recipients.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `covered funding' means any new 
                offer of high-cost universal service program funding, 
                including funding provided through a reverse 
                competitive bidding mechanism provided under this 
                section, for the deployment of a broadband-capable 
                network and the provision of supported services over 
                the network; and
                    ``(B) the term `new covered funding award' means an 
                award of covered funding that is made based on an 
                application submitted to the Commission on or after the 
                date on which rules are promulgated under paragraph 
                (2).
            ``(2) Commission rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall 
        initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a vetting process 
        for applicants for, and other recipients of, a new covered 
        funding award.
            ``(3) Contents.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In promulgating rules under 
                paragraph (2), the Commission shall provide that, 
                consistent with principles of technology neutrality, 
                the Commission will only award covered funding to 
                applicants that can demonstrate that they meet the 
                qualifications in subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Qualifications described.--An applicant for a 
                new covered funding award shall include in the initial 
                application a proposal containing sufficient detail and 
                documentation for the Commission to ascertain that the 
                applicant possesses the technical, financial, and 
                operational capabilities, and has a reasonable business 
                plan, to deploy the proposed network and deliver 
                services with the relevant performance characteristics 
                and requirements defined by the Commission and as 
                pledged by the applicant.
                    ``(C) Evaluation of proposal.--The Commission shall 
                evaluate a proposal described in subparagraph (B) 
                against--
                            ``(i) reasonable and well-established 
                        technical, financial, and operational 
                        standards, including the technical standards 
                        adopted by the Commission in orders of the 
                        Commission relating to Establishing the Digital 
                        Opportunity Data Collection (WC Docket No. 19-
                        195) (or orders of the Commission relating to 
                        modernizing any successor collection) for 
                        purposes of entities that must report broadband 
                        availability coverage; and
                            ``(ii) the applicant's history of complying 
                        with requirements in Commission and other 
                        government broadband deployment funding 
                        programs.
                    ``(D) Penalties for pre-authorization defaults.--In 
                adopting rules for any new covered funding award, the 
                Commission shall set a penalty for pre-authorization 
                defaults of at least $9,000 per violation and may not 
                limit the base forfeiture to an amount less than 30 
                percent of the applicant's total support, unless the 
                Commission demonstrates the need for lower penalties in 
                a particular instance.''.
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