August 12, 2025
Mrs. Houchin (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Costa, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, and Mr. Soto) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate into the National Broadband Map of the Commission a layer that presents data on the location of agricultural areas, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Data Broadband Reporting and Integration for Deployment in Geographically Essential Areas Act
or the Data BRIDGE Act
.
Sec. 2. FCC National Broadband Map
(a) In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall update (and thereafter maintain) the map described in section 802(c)(1)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)(A)) in a manner that incorporates, as a layer of such map, data on the location of agricultural areas.
(b) Consultation
In carrying out this section, the Commission shall consult with—
(1)
the Secretary of Agriculture, including with respect to existing data of the Department of Agriculture related to the location of agricultural areas;
(2)
the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information;
(3)
representatives of States; and
(4)
representatives of other relevant stakeholders (as determined appropriate by the Commission).
(c) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Commission
The term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.
(2) State
The term State means each of the several States and the District of Columbia.