Bill > S4317

This bill, the Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act, has several key provisions: 1. It increases the expenditure limit for the "rip and replace" program, which provides funding for the replacement of telecommunications equipment deemed a national security threat, from $1.9 billion to $4.98 billion and appropriates an additional $3.08 billion in funding for this program. 2. It makes changes to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides discounts on broadband internet service for eligible households. These changes include requiring the use of the National Verifier to determine eligibility, repealing eligibility through a provider's existing low-income program, and limiting eligibility through the Community Eligibility Provision of the free lunch and breakfast programs. The bill also repeals the ACP's connected device subsidy. 3. It requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop and implement antifraud controls, performance goals, and performance measures for the ACP. 4. It appropriates an additional $6 billion for the ACP for fiscal year 2024. 5. It requires the FCC to hold new auctions for certain unassigned spectrum bands, including the "AWS-3 bands," within 2 years of the bill's enactment, regardless of whether the FCC's auction authority has expired.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4317/all-info