Signed into law
Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025
This act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to vet the qualifications of applicants for certain funding programs that support affordable broadband deployment in high-cost areas (e.g., rural communities).
- Measure
- S. 98 · 119th Congress
- Latest action
- May 11, 2026
- Policy changes
- 3
- Source
- CRS summary (Public Law) · Congress.gov
Became Public Law No: 119-89.
Read it yourself · The summaries below are the Congressional Research Service’s. Under each one you can open the bill’s own wording, or read the full text (enrolled (sent to the President)).
What it would cost
Congressional Budget Office estimate
March 10, 2025 · As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on February 5, 2025 · Read CBO’s estimate
Open the estimate for CBO’s figures; we haven’t copied them here yet.
Dollar amounts in the bill itself
The bill’s text doesn’t provide or authorize any money directly.
Fines and penalties
The most a violator can be fined.
- $9,000 Sec. 2(D) Penalties for pre-authorization defaults In adopting rules for any new covered funding award, the Commission shall set a penalty for pre-authorization defaults of at least $9,000 per violation and may not limit the base forfeiture to an amount less than 30 percent of the applicant’s total support, unless the Commission demonstrates the need for lower penalties in a particular instance.
Read from the bill’s text by matching dollar amounts and the words around them; check the linked section before relying on a figure.
Who wrote it
Sponsor
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)Joined by 4 cosponsors, 2 of them from the day it was introduced. Introduced January 15, 2025.
All 4 cosponsors
- Sen. John R. Curtis (R-UT) · original
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) · original
- Sen. Gary C. Peters (D-MI)
- Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA)
How Congress voted
No recorded vote: this bill moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, so there is no record of how individual members voted.
Your delegation
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In their own words
What members have said about this bill, quoted exactly and linked to the source.
We haven’t found public statements from members about this bill yet.
What it changes — and your vote
One person, one vote · Anyone may read. To vote, verify your identity once with a government-issued ID — we keep no copy of it. Verify to vote
Provision 1
Specifically, the FCC must develop a vetting process for applicants seeking funding under high-cost universal service programs for the deployment of a broadband-capable network and the provision of supported services over the network.
The FCC must require applicants to submit a proposal that contains sufficient detail and documentation for the FCC to ascertain that the applicant possesses the technical, financial, and operational capabilities related to the proposed deployment and has a reasonable business plan. The FCC must evaluate applications against reasonable and well-established standards and must consider each applicant’s history of compliance with the requirements of other government broadband funding programs.
›Read the bill’s wording · Sec. 2(closest match)
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Provision 2
The FCC must establish this vetting process through a rulemaking proceeding.
After the rule is finalized, funds may only be awarded to applicants that satisfy the standards established therein.
›Read the bill’s wording · Sec. 2(closest match)
The summary doesn’t name a section, so these are the sections whose wording matches it most closely.
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Provision 3
Finally, the FCC must set financial penalties for applicants that default in some manner during the evaluation process before they are authorized to begin receiving support.
›Read the bill’s wording · Sec. 2(closest match)
The summary doesn’t name a section, so these are the sections whose wording matches it most closely.
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