# 114-hr-3152: Rural Broadband Initiative Act

114-hr-3152, Rural Broadband Initiative Act, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by RICHARD NOLAN (D-MN); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3152
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-3152
- Congress: 114
- Title: Rural Broadband Initiative Act
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit.
- Introduced: 2015-07-22
- Sponsor: RICHARD NOLAN (D-MN)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Rural Broadband Initiative Act This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish an Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and an Under Secretary for Rural Broadband Initiatives appointed by the President to head the Office. The Under Secretary is responsible for administering all rural broadband-related grant and loan programs previously administered by the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service and must: conduct nationwide outreach to rural areas; foster the development of a comprehensive rural broadband strategic vision; plan coordination of federal resources for state, regional, and local governments to assist rural areas; assess all relevant technologies; serve as a single information source for and coordinate all federal rural broadband programs and services; and provide technical assistance to state, regional, and local governments. The Under Secretary must also: submit to the President and Congress a comprehensive rural broadband strategy; submit to Congress a plan to establish a Rural Broadband Advisory Panel; establish a web-based clearinghouse that describes options, opportunities, resources, successful public-private partnerships, funding sources, and technology tutorials; and revise the rules and qualification criteria for the loan and loan guarantee programs. USDA must report to Congress on the resources and staff necessary to carry out this bill, and the Government Accountability Office must review the report.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2016-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2016-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-6037: Sam Farr Peace Corps Enhancement Act
- 114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016
- 114-hr-5090: To ensure that air transportation between the United States and the European Union complies with the intent of article 17 bis of the United States-European Uni…
- 114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika virus.
- 114-hr-4626: BRACE Act
- 114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

## Sources
- [114-hr-3152 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3152)

## Related
- [114-hr-6037: Sam Farr Peace Corps Enhancement Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-6037)
- [114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5292)
- [114-hr-5090: To ensure that air transportation between the United States and the European Un…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5090)
- [114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika viru…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5044)
- [114-hr-4626: BRACE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4626)
- [114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4592)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3152 (as of 2025-11-18).