; and (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. 3. Purpose The purpose of this Act is to support and enhance existing United States Government efforts to expand access to the Internet for people living in developing countries as a means to catalyze innovation and economic growth, promote democracy and good governance, create new educational opportunities, improve health outcomes, and strengthen global research networks. 4. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Internet access has been a driver of economic activity around the world. Unbounded by national borders, it contains the potential to significantly reduce global economic inequality. (2) Of more than 7,000,000,000 people in the world, 3,460,000,000 were using the Internet by the end of 2016. 47 percent of the world’s population is now online, with 2,500,000,000 users living in the developing world. (3) Nevertheless, more than half of the world’s population remains offline, living without the economic and social benefits of the Internet, and developing countries remain far behind global averages in terms of connectivity, creating a global digital divide . By the end of 2016, 83.8 percent of households in the developed world had Internet access, compared with just 41.1 percent of households in developing countries and just 11.1 percent in the world’s least developed countries. (4) There is inequality within countries as well. Across the developing world, there are on average 23 percent fewer women online than men. Uneven connectivity and usage whether between countries or between people risks leaving those who are not online behind. (5) It is widely recognized that information and communication technologies will help achieve progress across the 17 goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (6) Achieving this goal requires overcoming many barriers. Governments of developing countries often lack the resources to make this investment, and there are sometimes