§614 Telecommunications Development Fund

Summary

Creates a corporate body called the Telecommunications Development Fund to help small businesses in the telecom field get money and grow. The Fund’s main office is in Washington, D.C., and it continues until it is dissolved. A five-person Board of Directors with experience in finance, banking, communications law, and public policy will run it. The Board picks a Chair each year and uses a small nominating group to add directors. The Fund keeps its money in a bank chosen by the Board Chair. Money comes from sums Congress provides for advances, gifts or donations the Fund accepts, and repayments or returns from loans and investments it makes. Money in the Fund can only be used to lend or invest in eligible small telecom businesses, give them financial advice, pay Fund staff and office costs, prepare research or analyses, and provide other services that match the Fund’s goals. Loans are made based on the business plan, available collateral, how well the loan furthers the Fund’s purposes, and other Board rules. The Fund can enter contracts, buy or sell property, accept gifts, hire staff, and sue or be sued. Its accounts must be audited each year by independent certified public accountants. The audit goes to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commission, and the Treasury must report each year’s audit to the President and Congress within 6 months after the fiscal year ends, including statements of assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and how funds were used. Eligible small business: telecom companies with $50,000,000 or less in average annual revenue over the prior 3 years. Telecommunications industry: businesses like broadcasting, telecom, cable, computer and data services, software, programming, advanced messaging, and electronics.