Note, as of August 21, 2020, this bill is still a proposal. Much of the content was included in the House-passed relief bill of May, 2020, but the Senate has refused to vote on it.
On Thursday, April 11, 2019 U.S. Senator Patty Murray introduced the Digital Equity Act of 2019. The full text of the act is available here.
On September 25, the House bill for the Digital Equity Act of 2019 was introduced. The bill, H.R. 4486, was sponsored by Representative Jerry McNerney of California; Representative Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Assistant House Speaker; and Representative Yvette D. Clarke of New York, Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Like its Senate counterpart, the House proposal would authorize up to $250 million a year in funding for state and community digital inclusion efforts. Half the proposed funding would support the development and implementation of comprehensive digital equity plans in each state. The other half would create an annual $125 million Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program to support digital inclusion projects undertaken by individual organizations and communities. Here’s NDIA blog post with a link to the official press release.
On April 30, 2019, NDIA launched a page dedicated to the Digital Equity Act. It includes the ability for organizations to endorse the act, as well as additional material and updates.
Key documents include:
- One-page description of Digital Equity Act
- Section-by-Section Description of Digital Equity Act
- Spreadsheet of Home Internet by State and Income
- Spreadsheet of Home Internet by Congressional District
To help spread the word, here is a social media kit