HR4950-119

In Committee

Data BRIDGE Act

119th Congress Introduced Aug 12, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

The Data BRIDGE Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to update the National Broadband Map within 180 days of enactment and then maintain it with a new layer showing the location of agricultural areas. In doing so, the FCC must consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, including on existing USDA data about agricultural-area locations; the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information; state representatives; and other relevant stakeholders the FCC considers appropriate.

Who Benefits and How

Agricultural producers, rural communities, state broadband offices, USDA data offices, and NTIA broadband programs benefit from a map layer that can better show where agricultural areas overlap with broadband availability or gaps. Broadband providers and grant applicants may benefit from clearer agricultural-area data when planning deployment or applying for support.

Who Bears the Burden and How

FCC Broadband Data Collection and mapping staff must update and maintain the National Broadband Map with agricultural-area data. USDA data staff, NTIA staff, states, and other stakeholders must participate in consultation and provide or interpret relevant data. Broadband providers may face more scrutiny where agricultural areas remain underserved.

Key Provisions

  • Requires the FCC to update the National Broadband Map within 180 days.
  • Requires the FCC to maintain an agricultural-area data layer on the National Broadband Map.
  • Directs the FCC to consult USDA about existing agricultural-area location data.
  • Directs the FCC to consult NTIA, state representatives, and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Provides definitions for the Commission and State.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Requires the Federal Communications Commission to update and maintain the National Broadband Map with a layer showing agricultural-area locations after consulting USDA, NTIA, states, and other relevant stakeholders.

Key Policy Areas

Broadband, Agriculture, Telecommunications Mapping, Federal Data

Primary Purpose

Requires the Federal Communications Commission to update and maintain the National Broadband Map with a layer showing agricultural-area locations after consulting USDA, NTIA, states, and other relevant stakeholders.

Policy Domains

Broadband Agriculture Telecommunications Mapping Federal Data

Section 2 agricultural-area layer on the FCC National Broadband Map

Identified Gains
  • Agricultural producers
  • State broadband offices
  • USDA agricultural data offices
  • NTIA broadband program staff
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Agricultural producers:
State broadband offices:
NTIA broadband program staff:
USDA agricultural data offices:
Identified Costs
  • FCC broadband map staff
  • USDA agricultural data offices
  • State broadband offices
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
FCC broadband map staff:
State broadband offices:
USDA agricultural data offices:

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Aug 12, 2025

Mrs. Houchin (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Thompson …

Aug 12, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Aug 12, 2025

Introduced in House

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
2 mentions across 1 clause
-2 negative

FCC broadband map staff, USDA agricultural data offices

State & Local Government
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

State broadband offices

Agriculture
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Agricultural producers

2/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Broadband Agriculture Telecommunications Mapping Federal Data
Actor Mappings
"state"
→ State representatives
"secretary"
→ Secretary of Agriculture
"commission"
→ Federal Communications Commission
"assistant_secretary"
→ Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

2 terms
"Commission" §2(c)(1)

The Federal Communications Commission.

"State" §2(c)(2)

Each state and the District of Columbia.

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology