Connecting America Act of 2009
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Connecting America Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) broadband providers a tax credit for investment in broadband equipment and services to enhance Internet access in unserved areas; and (2) a tax credit to holders of private activity bonds designated as Broadband America Bonds to finance the deployment of broadband services.
Establishes the Office of National Broadband Strategy in the Department of Commerce to assist entities in applying for funds for specified broadband and telecommunication programs. Requires such Office to establish a National Advisory Panel on broadband deployment and adoption to review and evaluate the status of industry efforts to promote broadband in underserved and unserved areas, the effectiveness of government programs that fund broadband deployment, and the effect of broadband deployment on economic competitiveness.
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand telecommunication services for rural healthcare providers.
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to educational institutions and other agencies to carry out PlugGED In programs to provide instruction in technology skills to secondary school students and students in high school equivalency programs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 14, 2009. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 14, 2009: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
KAY HUTCHISON (R-TX) introduced it on July 14, 2009. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 14, 2009, 6267 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6267 days ago, on July 14, 2009.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers