Tribal Connect Act of 2020
Latest action · Aug 13, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 13, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Tribal Connect Act of 2020
This bill expands tribal access to the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support (E-rate) program, which provides discounted broadband internet access and telecommunications services to certain schools and libraries. It also establishes a pilot program to provide E-rate support to certain community-serving institutions.
First, a tribe may designate a tribal library or tribal library consortium, including a public-serving library of a tribal college or university, as a library or library consortium that is eligible for E-rate support. The tribe may make this designation regardless of whether the library or consortium is eligible for certain assistance from a state library administrative agency.
In addition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must establish a program to provide E-rate support to tribes for qualifying essential community-serving institutions (e.g., community centers). E-rate support may be provided to institutions designated by tribes if (1) the institutions are exclusively owned by the tribes; and (2) the institutions intend to deliver publicly available internet access to students, teachers, librarians, and community members.
Further, the bill requires the FCC to (1) provide technical assistance and training, (2) develop performance measures, and (3) review and submit annual reports.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Sep 10, 2020.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AK | Lisa Murkowski | Sep 10, 2020 | |
| R-AZ | Martha McSally | Sep 10, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 13, 2020Introduced in Senate
- Aug 13, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 7973 | Tribal Connect Act of 2020 | Related bill | Aug 7, 2020 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
- Congressional oversight
- Educational technology and distance education
- Government information and archives
- Indian social and development programs
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Libraries and archives
- Native Americans
- Performance measurement
- Telecommunication rates and fees
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 13, 2020Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.