S. 4201: A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to accelerate the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, and for other purposes.
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S. 4201: A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to accelerate the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, and for other purposes.
116th Congress · introduced 2020-07-02 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-07-02 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to accelerate the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, and for other purposes.
Plain summary
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take specified actions to expedite the provision of broadband internet access service in unserved rural areas. Specifically, the FCC must modify the framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, which aims to facilitate the provision of broadband service to areas that are wholly unserved. Among other requirements, the FCC (1) must accept long-form applications prior to such auction from applicants that are willing to commit to a specified schedule for deploying broadband internet access service, and (2) shall not require applicants to be designated as eligible telecommunications carriers in order to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. In addition, the bill establishes a deadline of October 1, 2020, for the FCC to create broadband maps that depict the extent of availability of broadband service in the United States and the areas that remain unserved.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions to accelerate the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, and for other purposes.
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH] · 6 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN)
Agencies named in this bill
- Federal Communications Commission: its federal spending and other bills that name it
Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s4201.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s4201 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116