text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Broadband Enhancement Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. LOAN PROGRAM FOR DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICE IN RURAL 
                AREAS.
  
      (a) In General.--Part C of title I of the National 
  Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 
  U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
  section:
  
  ``SEC. 156. BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.
  
      ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to make loans and 
  other extensions of credit to provide funds for the costs of the 
  construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment 
  for the provision of broadband service in eligible rural communities.
      ``(b) Requirement To Make Loans and Other Extensions of Credit.--
  The Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture shall, in 
  consultation with the NTIA, make loans or other extensions of credit to 
  eligible entities to provide funds for the construction, improvement, 
  or acquisition of facilities and equipment (including consumer 
  equipment) for the provision of broadband service in eligible rural 
  communities.
      ``(c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible for a loan or other 
  extension of credit under this section is any non-Federal public or 
  private entity, including an incorporated or limited liability entity, 
  cooperative, non-profit organization, or limited dividend or mutual 
  association, that submits a plan for a project meeting the requirements 
  of subsection (e).
      ``(d) Broadband Service.--
              ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, broadband 
          service is any technology identified by the Rural Utilities 
          Service, in consultation with the NTIA, as having the capacity 
          to transmit data so as to enable a subscriber to such service 
          to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, or 
          video.
              ``(2) Modification.--The NTIA shall, from time to time as 
          advances in technology so warrant, review and recommend 
          modifications of rate-of-data transmission criteria for 
          purposes of the identification of technologies under paragraph 
          (1).
      ``(e) Project Requirements.--
              ``(1) In general.--A project meeting the requirements of 
          this subsection is any project determined to have the 
          capability--
                      ``(A) to deliver broadband service; and
                      ``(B) to make access to broadband service generally 
                  available throughout an eligible rural community.
              ``(2) Additional considerations.--For purposes of 
          determining whether or not to make a loan or other extension of 
          credit for a project under this section, the following matters 
          shall also be taken into consideration:
                      ``(A) The extent to which the area to be served by 
                  the project is unserved or underserved by broadband 
                  service.
                      ``(B) The size of the area to be served by the 
                  project.
                      ``(C) The potential number of subscribers to the 
                  broadband service available through the project.
              ``(3) Technological neutrality.--For purposes of 
          determining whether or not to make a loan or other extension of 
          credit for a project under this section, the type of technology 
          proposed to be employed under the project may not be taken into 
          consideration.
      ``(f) Terms and Conditions.--A loan or other extension of credit 
  under this section shall--
              ``(1) be made available in accordance with the requirements 
          of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et 
          seq.);
              ``(2) bear interest at an annual rate of not more than 2 
          percent per annum; and
              ``(3) have a term not to exceed the useful life of the 
          assets constructed, improved, or acquired with the proceeds of 
          the loan or extension of credit.
      ``(g) Limitation on Value of Loans and Credit.--The aggregate value 
  of all loans and other extensions of credit made under this section 
  shall not exceed $3,000,000,000.
      ``(h) Eligible Rural Community Defined.--In this section, the term 
  `eligible rural community' means any incorporated or unincorporated 
  place that--
              ``(1) has not more than 20,000 inhabitants, based on the 
          most recent available population statistics of the Bureau of 
          the Census; and
              ``(2) is not located in an area designated as a 
          Metropolitan Area by the Office of Management and Budget.
      ``(i) Sunset.--
              ``(1) In general.--No loan or other extension of credit may 
          be made under this section after September 30, 2006.
              ``(2) Construction.--Paragraph (1) shall not affect the 
          validity of any loan or extension of credit made under this 
          section before the date specified in that paragraph.''.
      (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby authorized to 
  be appropriated for the Department of Commerce such sums as may be 
  necessary to cover the cost, as defined in section 502 of the Federal 
  Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a), of loans and other 
  extensions of credit made under section 156 of the National 
  Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act, as 
  added by subsection (a).
target: Rural Broadband Enhancement Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to direct the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture to make loans or other extensions of credit to eligible entities (any non-Federal public or private entity that submits a qualifying project) to provide funds for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment for the provision of broadband telecommunications service in eligible rural communities (non-metropolitan areas with no more than 20,000 inhabitants). Prohibits any such loan or credit extension after September 20, 2006.
feat_title: To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to encourage deployment of broadband service to rural America.