Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025
Requires the FCC to check that companies applying for rural broadband subsidies can deliver what they promise.
What this law changes
From a secondary sourceRequires the FCC to check that companies applying for rural broadband subsidies can deliver what they promise.
This account is written from the official description of the bill. We have saved the law's official text and have not finished checking the account against it.
Transparency Score
The Transparency Score is the share of this law’s dollars that goes to what the law says it is for.
Transparency Score
Share of the text within the stated purpose:Not checked yetThe text of this law provides and authorizes no dollar amount. The score is the share of its text within the stated intent. That share is "Not checked yet": no reading of this law is approved by a person yet. 1 dollar figures in the text are caps, thresholds, penalties or figures in other laws, and are not spending.
How this is counted
- Transparency Score: dollars in sections a person approved as within the stated intent, divided by total dollars in the law. Shown as a percentage. Higher means more of the money goes to what the law says it is for.
- Beside it, the same two numbers the other way round: total dollars divided by dollars within the stated intent. 1.00 means every dollar is within the stated intent. When no dollar is within the stated intent this ratio cannot be computed, and the answer says so.
- Total dollars: appropriated dollars plus authorized dollars, read from the law's text by the rules below. Dollars in a section whose reading is unclear or was not read count in the total and are shown apart as unclear.
- A law whose text provides and authorizes no dollar amount reads "No money in this law". Its score is the share of its words that are in sections within the stated intent.
- The score reads "Not checked yet" until a person approves the law's reading of which sections are within the stated intent. The dollar totals need no reading and are shown before that.
- The dollar totals read "Not checked yet" when more than 10 percent of the dollars read could not be sorted by the rules.
- Every dollar amount in our saved text of the law is read: "$1,234,567", "$5 billion", "$2.5 million". Margin notes, page marks and the table of contents are left out. Each amount is kept with the words printed around it.
- Appropriated: the sentence says "there is appropriated", "is hereby appropriated" or "out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated"; or the amount is the one an appropriations paragraph ("For ..., $X") provides under an account heading of an appropriations act.
- Authorized: the sentence says "authorized to be appropriated". An authorization lets a later law provide the money. It provides none itself.
- A list under such a sentence ("there is appropriated the following: (1) ...; (2) ..."): an amount that begins an item is counted the same way as the sentence says, unless the sentence gives a total first. Then the items are parts of that total.
- "$X for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030" is counted as X times the number of years named (here 5). The yearly figure, the years and the product are all kept. "For each fiscal year" with no years named is counted once, and the answer says so.
- Open-ended: "such sums as may be necessary" names no amount. It is counted as an item and adds no dollars.
- Rescinded: "is hereby rescinded", "permanently cancelled", or an item of a list headed "the following funds are hereby rescinded". Shown apart. Not subtracted from the total.
- Not spending, and left out of the total: an amount after "not to exceed", "not more than", "up to", "less than", "in excess of" and like words; a fine or penalty; a limit the law raises ("the limitation is increased by $X"); a figure the law strikes from another law; and a figure inside words it writes into another law ("striking $X and inserting $Y"), unless the same sentence says the figure is authorized or appropriated.
- Counted once: an amount after "of which", after "Provided, That", or after "of the amounts made available" is a part of a total already counted. Where a paragraph ends "in all, $X", that total is counted and the amounts before it are its parts.
- An amount the rules cannot sort is "not classified". It is listed with its words and left out of the total. Nothing is guessed.
- Total dollars: appropriated dollars plus authorized dollars. The two are also shown apart.
What the law says it is for
Confirmed from the official recordThese are the law’s own words, and the words of Congress’s records, about what the law is for.
Official title
“To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding.”
The words under "An Act", Public Law 119-89, official text · Saved October 5, 2026 · Fingerprint fc5479b3e00ce981
Short title
“Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025”
The sentence that names the Act, Public Law 119-89, official text · Saved October 5, 2026 · Fingerprint fc5479b3e00ce981
Congress's summary · Congressional Research Service
“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). 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 quote stops here. The source has the full text.
Summary of the version: Public Law, Congressional Research Service summary: Public Law · Saved October 6, 2026 · Fingerprint f27d7a89f0d2bfa2
Committee report, purpose · Senate committee
“The purpose of S. 98 is to direct the Federal Communications Commission to initiate a rulemaking within 180 days establishing a vetting process for applicants seeking funding, including through a reverse competitive bidding mechanism, under the high-cost universal service program.”
"Purpose of the Bill", Senate Report 119-14: RURAL BROADBAND PROTECTION ACT OF 2025 · Saved October 6, 2026 · Fingerprint a80a6656290d0817
The law has no findings or purpose section.
Dollars in this law
Confirmed from the official recordThe text of this law provides and authorizes no dollar amount.
Left out of the total
- 1 figure is written into another law. What such a figure does is set by the other law.
Source: Public Law 119-89, official text · Saved October 5, 2026 · Fingerprint fc5479b3e00ce981
Other measures
Each measure has its own status. None is added into the score.
- Dollars in sections added along the way
- No money in this law
- Member-requested dollars as a share of appropriated dollars
- Not checked yet
No list of member-requested spending is printed in the 21 official records saved for this law, and no committee report says there is none.
- Open-ended amounts (“such sums as may be necessary”)
- 0 passagesConfirmed from the official record
- Other bills whose text this law contains
- 1 billConfirmed from the official record
- How the House passed it
- Voice vote, April 20, 2026Confirmed from the official record
- How the Senate passed it
- Voice vote, June 26, 2025Confirmed from the official record
- Committee report saved
- 1 reportConfirmed from the official record
- Hearing saved
- None in the official recordConfirmed from the official record
The bill's official record names no hearing.
A voice vote or unanimous consent leaves no record of how each member voted.
How these are counted
- Added along the way, sections: sections of the final law marked "added later", divided by the sections compared.
- Added along the way, words: words in those sections, divided by the words in the sections compared.
- Each text is read as a list of words. A run is 5 words in a row. For each section of the final law we count the share of its runs that appear anywhere in the first published text of the bill. 90 percent or more: in the first text. From 20 to 90 percent: changed. Under 20 percent: added later. A section with fewer than 20 words is not compared.
- Sections outside the stated intent: sections a person approved as outside the stated intent, divided by the sections read. The same count is given in words.
- Member-requested spending: the number of items in the lists Congress printed for the law, and the sum of their dollar amounts.
- A part that is not checked yet is shown as "Not checked yet". It is never counted as zero. No single blended number is given.
Added along the way
Confirmed from the official record0 of the 1 section compared are added after the first published text of the bill. None is changed. 1 is in the first text. 1 heading or short section is too short to compare.
A section counts as added later when under 20 percent of its wording appears in the first published text.
The first published text (Introduced in Senate, January 15, 2025): S. 98, Introduced in Senate · Saved October 7, 2026 · Fingerprint 79a1be9593ac4362
Published texts of this bill, in order: Introduced in Senate (January 15, 2025), Reported to Senate (April 28, 2025), Engrossed in Senate (June 26, 2025), Enrolled Bill.
Sections added later
No section compared is added later.
Amendments adopted
The record lists no adopted amendment to this bill.
Other bills whose text this law contains
The Congressional Research Service, a part of the Library of Congress, marks 1 other bill with the words “Public law contains the text”. That means this law includes text from that bill. This page does not compare its text with the law.
- H.R. 2399 Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025
Member-requested spending
No list foundNo list of member-requested spending is printed in the 21 official records saved for this law, and no committee report says there is none.
Sections outside the stated intent
Not checked yetA person reviews each reading before it appears here.
On the record
On the record: Not started.
Press releases by members of Congress
From a secondary sourceThese are press releases from members' official websites that name this law. We save a copy of each one.
1 press release
-
Houchin Celebrates House Passage of Rural Broadband Protection Act, Bill Headed to President's Desk
“WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) today celebrated House passage of S. 98, the Rural Broadband Protection Act. Rep. Houchin sponsored the House companion bill, which passed the House unanimously last year, and the Senate version was led by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).”
Read from 539 of 539 members' sites, releases since January 3, 2025, through October 7, 2026.
Press releases by organizations
No saved press release from these organizations names this law.
Read from 510 of 510 organizations' sites, releases since January 3, 2025, through October 7, 2026.
What it touches
Kind of law: New or changed rules. Budget effect: No direct effect on agency budgets.
Government
- Grants, benefits and subsidies
- Infrastructure and public assets
The economy
- Technology and telecom
Daily life
- Rural communities
- Privacy and online life
Agencies it funds or directs
Dollar amounts:Not checked yetHow it passed
The Senate passed it by voice vote on June 26, 2025. A voice vote records no individual votes.
The House passed it by voice vote on April 20, 2026. A voice vote records no individual votes.
How each member votes
Both chambers passed this law without a recorded vote, so no individual votes exist. The House: passed by voice vote (no individual votes recorded). The Senate: passed by voice vote (no individual votes recorded).
Lobbying reports that name this bill
Confirmed from the official record8 saved lobbying reports name S. 98. The amount is what the report gives for the whole quarter: everything the registrant did for that client, all issues together. A linked name opens that organization’s page on this site.
| Registrant | Client | Amount for the whole quarter | Quarter | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION | NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION | $280,000.00reported as expenses | April to June 2026 | Open the report |
| UNITED STATES TELECOM ASSN | UNITED STATES TELECOM ASSN | $620,000.00reported as expenses | April to June 2026 | Open the report |
| COX ENTERPRISES INC. | COX ENTERPRISES INC. | $750,000.00reported as expenses | April to June 2026 | Open the report |
See the 8 listed reports that name S. 98
Senate Office of Public Records cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from LDA.gov.
Lobbying Disclosure Act reports, LDA.gov. This copy was read October 7, 2026 at 7:49 PM Eastern.
Where this comes from
The links below open the official files for this law. A code beside a file is its fingerprint, a short code that changes if the file's contents change.