RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Rural Utilities Service distance learning, telemedicine, and broadband program For an additional amount for “Rural Utilities Service—Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program”, $2,000,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That of the funds made available under this heading in this Act, $74,000,000 shall be for the cost of broadband loans, as authorized by section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act: Provided further, That, of the funds made available under this heading in this Act, $1,926,000,000 shall be for the broadband loan and grant pilot program established by section 779 of Public Law 115–141 under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.): Provided further, That at least 50 percent of the households to be served by a project receiving a loan or grant from funds provided under the preceding proviso shall be in a rural area, as defined in section 601(b)(3) of the Rural Electrification Act, without sufficient access to broadband defined for such funds as having speeds of not less than 25 megabits per second downloads and 3 megabits per second uploads: Provided further, That 10 percent of the amounts made available under this heading in this Act for the pilot program shall be set aside for service areas where at least 90 percent of households to be served by a project receiving a loan or grant are in a rural area without sufficient access to broadband, as defined in the preceding proviso: Provided further, That, to the extent possible, projects receiving funds provided under this heading in this Act for the pilot program must build out service to at least 100 megabits per second downloads and 20 megabits per second uploads: Provided further, That, in administering the pilot program under this heading in this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 135 STAT. 1352 may, for purposes of determining entities eligible to receive assistance, consider those communities which are “Areas Rural in Character”, as defined in section 343(a)(13)(D) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act: Provided further, That not more than $50,000,000 of the funds made available under this heading in this Act for the pilot program may be used for the purpose of the preceding proviso: Provided further, That pole attachment fees and replacements charged by electric cooperatives for the shared use of their utility poles shall be an eligible use of funds provided under this heading in this Act for the pilot program to enable the deployment of broadband in rural areas: Provided further, That the Secretary shall waive any matching funds required for pilot program projects funded from amounts provided under this heading in this Act for Alaska Native Corporations for federally-recognized Tribes, on substantially underserved Trust areas, as defined in 7 U.S.C. 936f(a)(2), and residents of a rural area that was recognized as a colonia as of October 1, 1989, and for projects in which 75 percent of the service area is a persistent poverty county or counties: Provided further, That for purposes of the preceding proviso, the term “persistent poverty counties” means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, and 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5–6 year average, or any territory or possession of the United States: Provided further, That, in addition to other funds available for such purpose, not more than four percent of the amounts provided under this heading in this Act shall be for administrative costs to carry out the pilot program and broadband loans: Provided further, That up to three percent of the amounts provided under this heading in this Act shall be for technical assistance and predevelopment planning activities to support rural communities, of which $5,000,000 shall have a priority for the establishment and growth of cooperatives to offer broadband, which shall be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for “Rural Development, Salaries and Expenses”: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall collaborate, to the extent practicable, with the Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to carry out the amounts provided under this heading in this Act for the pilot program: Provided further, That the Secretary may transfer funds provided under this heading in this Act between broadband loans, as authorized by section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act, and the pilot program to accommodate demand: Provided further, That no funds shall be transferred pursuant to the preceding proviso until the Secretary notifies in writing and receives approval from the Committees on Appropriations and Agriculture of both Houses of Congress at least 30 days in advance of the transfer of such funds or the use of such authority: Provided further, That for purposes of the amounts provided under this heading in this Act for the pilot program, the Secretary shall adhere to the notice, reporting, and service area assessment requirements set forth in section 701(a)–(d) of the Rural Electrification Act (7 U.S.C. 950cc(a)–(d)): Provided further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 135 STAT. 1353 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, and to section 251(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.