House Commerce Democrats Offer Quintet of Tech/Broadband Bills

House Commerce Committee Democrats have introduced a quintet of tech-related, particularly broadband-related, bills that would, among other things, help displaced workers get broadband for re-training, address the "homework gap," better target broadband subsidies, and boost tribal access. The 21st Century Worker Opportunity Act by Rep Debbie Dingell (D-MI) would give workers "displaced by automation" a credit toward broadband service for job retraining and distance learning; The Innovation Corps Act of 2017 by Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA) would provide grants for that retraining and forgive a portion of debt of recent grads who would help with that retraining; The Wi-Fi Capable Mobile Devices Act by Rep Peter Welch (D-VT) would allow low-income students to use a parent's Lifeline connection for homework by accessing it through a Wi-Fi connection using unlicensed spectrum; The Rural Wireless Act by Rep Dave Loebsack (D-IA) would require the Federal Communications Commission to use "more reliable" data when determining where to spend on increased deployment; and The Tribal Digital Access Act by Rep Raul Ruiz (D-CA) would add "Indian Country" to the definition of areas eligible for Universal Service Fund Lifeline support. It remains to be seen how far the bills get in a Congress controlled by Republicans with their own ideas about how to deploy broadband and spend federal subsidy dollars.