Recovery.gov - Track the Money

Report to Congress Containing the National Broadband Plan. Under section 6001(k) of the Recovery Act, the Commission must develop a national broadband plan by February 17, 2010, to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and establish benchmarks for meeting that goal. See Recovery Act § 6001(k). The plan must include the following:
• An analysis of the most effective and efficient mechanisms for ensuring broadband access by all people of the United States.
• A detailed strategy for achieving affordability of such service and maximum utilization of broadband infrastructure and service by the public.
• An evaluation of the status of deployment of broadband service, including progress of projects supported by the grants made under BTOP.
• A plan for use of broadband infrastructure and services in advancing consumer welfare, civic participation, public safety and homeland security, community development, health care delivery, energy independence and efficiency, education, worker training, private sector investment, entrepreneurial activity, job creation and economic growth, and other national purposes.

Through a Notice of Inquiry released on April 9, 2009 the Commission is developing a public record on which to consider the national broadband plan. (No BTOP funding has been transferred to the FCC at this time.)

Consultation on BTOP. Under section 6001(a)-(j) of the Recovery Act, the Commission must consult or coordinate with the Assistant Secretary on:
• Establishing a national broadband service development and expansion program in conjunction with the BTOP. See Recovery Act § 6001(a).
• Publishing the non-discrimination and network interconnection obligations that shall be contractual conditions of grants awarded under this section, including, at a minimum, adherence to the principles contained in the Commission's broadband policy statement (FCC 05-151, adopted August 5, 2005). See Recovery Act § 6001(j).
• Defining terms such as “unserved area,” “underserved areas,” and “broadband” so that NTIA may benefit from the Commission’s considerable expertise in these matters. See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-16, at 776 (2009).

Consultation on Health Information Study and Report. Under Section 4104(b) of the Recovery Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will consult with the FCC and other relevant agencies in conducting a study on:
• The current availability of open source health information technology systems to Federal safety net providers (including small, rural providers).
• The total cost of ownership of such systems in comparison to the cost of proprietary commercial products available.
• The ability of such systems to respond to the needs of, and be applied to, various populations (including children and disabled individuals).
• The capacity of such systems to facilitate interoperability. See Recovery Act § 4104(b).

In response to Office of Management and Budget guidance for implementing the Recovery Act, the Commission’s Senior Management Council (SMC) began the risk review and mitigation process at its February 24, 2009 meeting. A three-pronged approach to meeting risk review and mitigation requirements was proposed. This approach, adopted by the SMC at its March 12 meeting, called for:

1. Reviews:
a. Review OMB’s risk framework
b. Review common government-wide accountability measures
c. Identify agency-specific risks

2. Prioritizing risk areas

3. Mitigating priority risks

The Commission’s Senior Management Council reviewed whether there are any additional agency-specific risks. The following agency-specific risks were identified:
• Governance risks:
– Plans need to be developed before action. Plans must have:
• Clear assignments of responsibilities
• Timelines for accomplishment
• Meaningful performance measures

• Resource risks:
– Will deadlines for Recovery Act projects move staff, energy, and attention focus away from other ongoing improvement and compliance efforts?

• Inefficiency risks:
– Will the compressed time frames of the Recovery Act cause activities to be undertaken in less than optimal ways?

Combining the results from each of these reviews, the SMC prioritized its risk mitigation actions as shown below.
• Governance risks:
– Identify, develop, and implement a system that regularly puts performance information before key executives

• Inefficiency risks:
– Identify mechanisms to ensure full and open cooperation with NTIA to minimize or eliminate duplications of effort and/or confusion for the impacted industries and consumers

The development of the National Broadband Plan has begun with the release of a Notice of Inquiry to solicit public comments and develop a public record as a basis for the Plan. Public comment has also been sought on the Commission’s consultative role as outlined in the provisions of the ARRA. The Commission has also participated in public meetings sponsored by NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service to gain public input on the Recovery Act grant and loan programs. Activities and developments for this program will continue to be reported on a weekly basis and can be found on the Commission’s Recovery Act web page at http://www.fcc.gov/recovery/.

Program managers at the FCC will be held accountable for achieving program goals through the Commission’s performance evaluation systems. Program progress in meeting identified milestones will be posted on the FCC Recovery Act web site.

No funds in this program involve expenditures for energy efficiency or green building requirements.