II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 741 

To establish a broadband infrastructure finance and innovation program to 

make available loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit for the construction and deployment of broadband infrastructure, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2021 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a broadband infrastructure finance and innovation program to make available loans, loan guarantees, 

and lines of credit for the construction and deployment 

of broadband infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 

6 2021’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Determination of eligibility and project selection. 

Sec. 4. Secured loans. 

Sec. 5. Lines of credit. 

Sec. 6. Alternative prudential lending standards for small projects. 

Sec. 7. Program administration. 

Sec. 8. State and local permits. 

Sec. 9. Regulations. 

Sec. 10. Funding. 

Sec. 11. Reports to Congress. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist6 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

7 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

8 (2) BIFIA PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘BIFIA pro9 gram’’ means the broadband infrastructure finance 

10 and innovation program established under this Act. 

11 (3) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

12 ‘‘broadband service’’— 

13 (A) means broadband internet access serv14 ice that is a mass-market retail service, or a 

15 service provided to an entity described in para16 graph (12)(B)(ii), by wire or radio that pro17 vides the capability to transmit data to and re18 ceive data from all or substantially all internet 

19 endpoints, including any capabilities that are 


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1 incidental to and enable the operation of the 

2 communications service; 

3 (B) includes any service that is a func4 tional equivalent of the service described in sub5 paragraph (A); and 

6 (C) does not include dial-up internet access 

7 service. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli9 gible project costs’’ means amounts substantially all 

10 of which are paid by, or for the account of, an obli11 gor in connection with a project, including the cost 

12 of— 

13 (A) development phase activities, including 

14 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore15 casting, environmental review, historic preserva16 tion review, permitting, preliminary engineering 

17 and design work, and other preconstruction ac18 tivities; 

19 (B) construction and deployment phase ac20 tivities, including— 

21 (i) construction, reconstruction, reha22 bilitation, replacement, and acquisition of 

23 real property (including land relating to 

24 the project and improvements to land), 

25 equipment, instrumentation, networking 


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1 capability, hardware and software, and dig2 ital network technology; 

3 (ii) environmental mitigation; and 

4 (iii) construction contingencies; and 

5 (C) capitalized interest necessary to meet 

6 market requirements, reasonably required re7 serve funds, capital issuance expenses, and 

8 other carrying costs during construction and 

9 deployment. 

10 (5) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

11 ‘‘Federal credit instrument’’ means a secured loan, 

12 loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to be 

13 made available under the BIFIA program with re14 spect to a project. 

15 (6) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

16 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 

17 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as18 signed by a rating agency to project obligations. 

19 (7) LENDER.—The term ‘‘lender’’ means any 

20 non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined 

21 in section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations (or any successor regulation), known as 

23 Rule 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com24 mission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933 

25 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.)), including— 


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1 (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined 

2 in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

3 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer; 

4 and 

5 (B) a governmental plan (as defined in 

6 section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer. 

8 (8) LETTER OF INTEREST.—The term ‘‘letter 

9 of interest’’ means a letter submitted by a potential 

10 applicant prior to an application for credit assistance 

11 in a format prescribed by the Assistant Secretary on 

12 the website of the BIFIA program that— 

13 (A) describes the project and the location, 

14 purpose, and cost of the project; 

15 (B) outlines the proposed financial plan, 

16 including the requested credit assistance and 

17 the proposed obligor; 

18 (C) provides a status of environmental re19 view; and 

20 (D) provides information regarding satis21 faction of other eligibility requirements of the 

22 BIFIA program. 

23 (9) LINE OF CREDIT.—The term ‘‘line of cred24 it’’ means an agreement entered into by the Assist25 ant Secretary with an obligor under section 5 to proVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 vide a direct loan at a future date upon the occur2 rence of certain events. 

3 (10) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar4 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

5 Assistant Secretary to pay all or part of the prin6 cipal of and interest on a loan or other debt obliga7 tion issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. 

8 (11) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means a 

9 party that— 

10 (A) is primarily liable for payment of the 

11 principal of or interest on a Federal credit in12 strument; and 

13 (B) may be a corporation, company, part14 nership, joint venture, trust, or governmental 

15 entity, agency, or instrumentality. 

16 (12) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

17 project— 

18 (A) to construct and deploy infrastructure 

19 for the provision of broadband service; and 

20 (B) that the Assistant Secretary deter21 mines will— 

22 (i) provide access or improved access 

23 to broadband service to consumers residing 

24 in areas of the United States that have no 


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1 access to broadband service or do not have 

2 access to broadband service offered— 

3 (I) with a download speed of not 

4 less than 100 megabits per second; 

5 (II) with an upload speed of not 

6 less than 20 megabits per second; and 

7 (III) with latency that is suffi8 ciently low to allow real-time, inter9 active applications; or 

10 (ii) provide access or improved access 

11 to broadband service to— 

12 (I) schools, libraries, medical and 

13 healthcare providers, community col14 leges and other institutions of higher 

15 education, museums, religious organi16 zations, and other community support 

17 organizations and entities to facilitate 

18 greater use of broadband service by or 

19 through those organizations; 

20 (II) organizations and agencies 

21 that provide outreach, access, equip22 ment, and support services to facili23 tate greater use of broadband service 

24 by low-income, unemployed, aged, and 

25 otherwise vulnerable populations; 


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1 (III) job-creating strategic facili2 ties located within a State-designated 

3 economic zone, Economic Develop4 ment District designated by the De5 partment of Commerce, Empower6 ment Zone designated by the Depart7 ment of Housing and Urban Develop8 ment, or Enterprise Community des9 ignated by the Department of Agri10 culture; or 

11 (IV) public safety agencies. 

12 (13) PROJECT OBLIGATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘project obligation’’ means any note, bond, deben14 ture, or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

15 connection with the financing of a project, other 

16 than a Federal credit instrument. 

17 (14) PUBLIC AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘public 

18 authority’’ means— 

19 (A) the Federal Government or a Federal 

20 instrumentality with authority to finance, build, 

21 operate, or maintain infrastructure for the pro22 vision of broadband service; or 

23 (B) the government of a State, political 

24 subdivision of a State, or Indian Tribe, or an 

25 instrumentality thereof, with authority to fiVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 nance, build, operate, or maintain infrastruc2 ture for the provision of broadband service. 

3 (15) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen4 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

5 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

6 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

7 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

8 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

9 (16) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘‘secured 

10 loan’’ means a direct loan or other debt obligation 

11 issued by an obligor and funded by the Assistant 

12 Secretary in connection with the financing of a 

13 project under section 4. 

14 (17) SMALL PROJECT.—The term ‘‘small 

15 project’’ means a project having eligible project costs 

16 that are reasonably anticipated not to equal or ex17 ceed $20,000,000. 

18 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean19 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica20 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

21 (19) SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘subsidy 

22 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf23 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

24 Federal Government of a Federal credit instru25 ment— 


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1 (A) calculated on a net present value basis; 

2 and 

3 (B) excluding administrative costs and any 

4 incidental effects on governmental receipts or 

5 outlays in accordance with the Federal Credit 

6 Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). 

7 (20) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

8 ‘‘substantial completion’’ means, with respect to a 

9 project receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

10 program— 

11 (A) the commencement of the provision of 

12 broadband service using the infrastructure 

13 being financed; or 

14 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

15 the Assistant Secretary and specified in the 

16 credit agreement. 

17 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT SE18 LECTION. 

19 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A project shall be eligible to 

21 receive credit assistance under the BIFIA program 

22 if— 

23 (A) the entity proposing to carry out the 

24 project submits a letter of interest prior to subVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 mission of a formal application for the project; 

2 and 

3 (B) the project meets the criteria described 

4 in this subsection. 

5 (2) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), to be eligible for assistance 

8 under the BIFIA program, a project shall sat9 isfy applicable creditworthiness standards, 

10 which, at a minimum, shall include— 

11 (i) adequate coverage requirements to 

12 ensure repayment; 

13 (ii) an investment-grade rating from 

14 not less than 2 rating agencies on debt 

15 senior to the Federal credit instrument; 

16 and 

17 (iii) a rating from not less than 2 rat18 ing agencies on the Federal credit instru19 ment. 

20 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—In order for a 

21 small project to be eligible for assistance under 

22 the BIFIA program, the project shall satisfy al23 ternative creditworthiness standards that shall 

24 be established by the Assistant Secretary under 

25 section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION.—A public authority, public2 private partnership, or any other legal entity under3 taking the project and authorized by the Assistant 

4 Secretary shall submit a project application that is 

5 acceptable to the Assistant Secretary. 

6 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST PARAMETERS FOR

7 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Eligible project costs 

8 shall be reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

9 $2,000,000 in the case of a project or program of 

10 projects— 

11 (A) in which the applicant is a public au12 thority (other than the Federal Government, a 

13 Federal instrumentality, or a State government 

14 or instrumentality); 

15 (B) located on a facility owned by a polit16 ical subdivision of a State; or 

17 (C) for which the Assistant Secretary de18 termines that a political subdivision of a State 

19 is substantially involved in the development of 

20 the project. 

21 (5) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The ap22 plicable Federal credit instrument shall be repayable, 

23 in whole or in part, from— 

24 (A) amounts charged to— 


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1 (i) subscribers of broadband service 

2 for that service; or 

3 (ii) subscribers of any related service 

4 provided over the same infrastructure for 

5 that related service; 

6 (B) user fees; 

7 (C) payments owing to the obligor under a 

8 public-private partnership; or 

9 (D) other dedicated revenue sources that 

10 also secure or fund the project obligations. 

11 (6) APPLICATIONS WHERE OBLIGOR WILL BE

12 IDENTIFIED LATER.—A public authority may submit 

13 to the Assistant Secretary an application under 

14 paragraph (3), under which a private party to a 

15 public-private partnership will be— 

16 (A) the obligor; and 

17 (B) identified later through completion of 

18 a procurement and selection of the private 

19 party. 

20 (7) BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.—The Assistant Sec21 retary shall determine that financial assistance for 

22 the project under the BIFIA program will— 

23 (A) foster, if appropriate, partnerships 

24 that attract public and private investment for 

25 the project; 


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1 (B) enable the project to proceed at an 

2 earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

3 able to proceed or reduce the lifecycle costs (in4 cluding debt service costs) of the project; and 

5 (C) reduce the contribution of Federal 

6 grant assistance for the project. 

7 (8) PROJECT READINESS.—To be eligible for 

8 assistance under the BIFIA program, the applicant 

9 shall demonstrate a reasonable expectation that the 

10 contracting process for the construction and deploy11 ment of infrastructure for the provision of 

12 broadband service through the project can commence 

13 by not later than 90 days after the date on which 

14 a Federal credit instrument is obligated for the 

15 project under the BIFIA program. 

16 (9) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTI17 TIES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible project is 

19 carried out by an entity that is not a State or 

20 political subdivision of a State, an agency or in21 strumentality thereof, or a Tribal government 

22 or consortium of Tribal governments, the 

23 project shall be publicly sponsored. 

24 (B) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP.—For purposes 

25 of subparagraph (A), a project shall be considVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 ered to be publicly sponsored if the obligor can 

2 demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Assistant 

3 Secretary, that the project applicant has con4 sulted with the government of the State, polit5 ical subdivision of a State, or Indian Tribe in 

6 the area in which the project is located, or that 

7 is otherwise affected by the project, and that 

8 the government supports the proposal. 

9 (b) SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPLICATION PROC11 ESS.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish a roll12 ing application process under which projects that are 

13 eligible to receive credit assistance under subsection 

14 (a) shall receive credit assistance on terms accept15 able to the Assistant Secretary, if adequate funds 

16 are available to cover the subsidy costs associated 

17 with the Federal credit instrument. 

18 (2) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 

19 The Assistant Secretary shall require each project 

20 applicant to provide— 

21 (A) a preliminary rating opinion letter 

22 from not less than 1 rating agency— 

23 (i) indicating that the senior obliga24 tions of the project, which may be the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 eral credit instrument, have the potential 

2 to achieve an investment-grade rating; and 

3 (ii) including a preliminary rating 

4 opinion on the Federal credit instrument; 

5 or 

6 (B) in the case of a small project, alter7 native documentation that the Assistant Sec8 retary shall require in the standards established 

9 under section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

10 (3) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.—In 

11 selecting projects to receive credit assistance under 

12 the BIFIA program, the Assistant Secretary may 

13 not favor a project using any particular technology. 

14 (4) PREFERENCE FOR OPEN-ACCESS NET15 WORKS.—In selecting projects to receive credit as16 sistance under the BIFIA program, the Assistant 

17 Secretary shall give preference to projects providing 

18 for the deployment of open-access broadband service 

19 networks. 

20 (c) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions of 

22 law shall apply to funds made available under the 

23 BIFIA program and projects assisted with those 

24 funds: 


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1 (A) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

3 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

4 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

5 (C) Division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

6 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

7 the ‘‘National Historic Preservation Act’’). 

8 (D) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

9 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 

10 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 

11 (2) NEPA.—No funding shall be obligated for 

12 a project that has not received an environmental cat13 egorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, 

14 or a record of decision under the National Environ15 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

16 (3) TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

17 1964.—For purposes of title VI of the Civil Rights 

18 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), any project 

19 that receives credit assistance under the BIFIA pro20 gram shall be considered a program or activity with21 in the meaning of section 606 of that title (42 

22 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

23 (4) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—All laborers and me25 chanics employed by contractors or subcontracVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 tors in the performance of construction, alter2 ation, or repair work carried out, in whole or in 

3 part, with assistance made available through a 

4 Federal credit instrument shall be paid wages 

5 at rates not less than those prevailing on 

6 projects of a similar character in the locality as 

7 determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac8 cordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

9 title 40, United States Code. 

10 (B) AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS OF SEC11 RETARY OF LABOR.—With respect to the labor 

12 standards described in subparagraph (A), the 

13 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and 

14 functions set forth in Reorganization Plan 

15 Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. 

16 App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United 

17 States Code. 

18 (5) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a recipi20 ent of assistance made available through a Fed21 eral credit instrument under this subtitle that is 

22 an employer, the employer shall remain neutral 

23 with respect to the exercise of employees and 

24 labor organizations of the right to organize and 


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1 bargain under the National Labor Relations Act 

2 (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

3 (B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, the 

4 terms ‘‘employee’’, ‘‘employer’’, and ‘‘labor or5 ganization’’ have the meanings given those 

6 terms in section 2 of the National Labor Rela7 tions Act (29 U.S.C. 152). 

8 (6) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF AP9 PLICABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

10 LAWS.—The Assistant Secretary shall refer any al11 leged violation of an applicable labor and employ12 ment law to the appropriate Federal agency for in13 vestigation and enforcement, and any alleged viola14 tion of paragraph (4) or (5) to the National Labor 

15 Relations Board for investigation and enforcement, 

16 utilizing all appropriate remedies up to and includ17 ing debarment from the BIFIA program. 

18 (d) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES.— 

19 (1) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION.—Not 

20 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of an ap21 plication under this section, the Assistant Secretary 

22 shall provide to the applicant a written notice to in23 form the applicant whether— 

24 (A) the application is complete; or 


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1 (B) additional information or materials are 

2 needed to complete the application. 

3 (2) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION.— 

4 Not later than 60 days after the date of issuance of 

5 the written notice under paragraph (1), the Assist6 ant Secretary shall provide to the applicant a writ7 ten notice informing the applicant whether the As8 sistant Secretary has approved or disapproved the 

9 application. 

10 (3) APPROVAL BEFORE NEPA REVIEW.—Subject 

11 to subsection (c)(2), an application for a project may 

12 be approved before the project receives an environ13 mental categorical exclusion, a finding of no signifi14 cant impact, or a record of decision under the Na15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

16 4321 et seq.). 

17 (e) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.—Any credit 

18 instrument secured under the BIFIA program may be 

19 used to finance up to 100 percent of the cost of develop20 ment phase activities as described in section 2(4)(A). 

21 SEC. 4. SECURED LOANS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) AGREEMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

24 and (3), the Assistant Secretary may enter into 


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1 agreements with 1 or more obligors to make secured 

2 loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

3 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

4 project selected under section 3; 

5 (B) to refinance interim construction fi6 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

7 selected under section 3; or 

8 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga9 tions or Federal credit instruments, if the refi10 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

11 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

12 any project that— 

13 (i) is selected under section 3; or 

14 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

15 of section 3. 

16 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

17 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A loan under para18 graph (1) shall not refinance interim construction fi19 nancing under paragraph (1)(B)— 

20 (A) if the maturity of the interim construc21 tion financing is later than 1 year after the 

22 substantial completion of the project; and 

23 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub24 stantial completion of the project. 


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1 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

2 an agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

3 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

4 Office of Management and Budget, shall determine 

5 an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount for 

6 each secured loan, taking into account each rating 

7 letter provided by a rating agency under section 

8 3(b)(2)(A)(ii) or, in the case of a small project, the 

9 alternative documentation provided under section 

10 3(b)(2)(B). 

11 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secured loan under this 

13 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

14 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

15 representations, warranties, and requirements (in16 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

17 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

18 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se19 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

20 lesser of 49 percent of the reasonably anticipated eli21 gible project costs or, if the secured loan is not for 

22 a small project and does not receive an investment23 grade rating, the amount of the senior project obli24 gations. 


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1 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec2 tion— 

3 (A) shall— 

4 (i) be payable, in whole or in part, 

5 from— 

6 (I) amounts charged to— 

7 (aa) subscribers of 

8 broadband service for that serv9 ice; or 

10 (bb) subscribers of any re11 lated service provided over the 

12 same infrastructure for that re13 lated service; 

14 (II) user fees; 

15 (III) payments owing to the obli16 gor under a public-private partner17 ship; or 

18 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

19 sources that also secure the senior 

20 project obligations; and 

21 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

22 similar security feature supporting the 

23 project obligations; and 


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1 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

2 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur3 ing project obligations. 

4 (4) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

5 secured loan under this section shall be not less than 

6 the yield on United States Treasury securities of a 

7 similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan 

8 on the date of execution of the loan agreement. 

9 (5) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date 

10 of the secured loan shall be the lesser of— 

11 (A) 35 years after the date of substantial 

12 completion of the project; and 

13 (B) if the useful life of the infrastructure 

14 for the provision of broadband service being fi15 nanced is of a lesser period, the useful life of 

16 the infrastructure. 

17 (6) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), the secured loan shall not be 

20 subordinated to the claims of any holder of 

21 project obligations in the event of bankruptcy, 

22 insolvency, or liquidation of the obligor. 

23 (B) PREEXISTING INDENTURE.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec25 retary shall waive the requirement under 


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1 subparagraph (A) for a public agency bor2 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

3 programs and has outstanding senior 

4 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

5 (I) the secured loan— 

6 (aa) is rated in the A cat7 egory or higher; or 

8 (bb) in the case of a small 

9 project, meets an alternative 

10 standard that the Assistant Sec11 retary shall establish under sec12 tion 6 for purposes of this sub13 clause; 

14 (II) the secured loan is secured 

15 and payable from pledged revenues 

16 not affected by project performance, 

17 such as a tax-backed revenue pledge 

18 or a system-backed pledge of project 

19 revenues; and 

20 (III) the BIFIA program share 

21 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

22 or less. 

23 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

24 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re25 quirement under this subparagraph— 


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1 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

2 to be paid by the Federal Government 

3 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

4 the principal amount of the secured 

5 loan; and 

6 (II) the obligor shall be respon7 sible for paying the remainder of the 

8 subsidy cost, if any. 

9 (7) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab10 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

11 of the costs to the Federal Government of making 

12 a secured loan under this section. 

13 (8) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The proceeds of a 

14 secured loan under the BIFIA program, if the loan 

15 is repayable from non-Federal funds— 

16 (A) may be used for any non-Federal share 

17 of project costs required under this Act; and 

18 (B) shall not count toward the total Fed19 eral assistance provided for a project for pur20 poses of paragraph (9). 

21 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The 

22 total Federal assistance provided for a project re23 ceiving a loan under the BIFIA program shall not 

24 exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. 

25 (c) REPAYMENT.— 


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1 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

2 establish a repayment schedule for each secured loan 

3 under this section based on— 

4 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

5 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

6 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

7 the provision of broadband service being fi8 nanced. 

9 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay10 ments of principal or interest on a secured loan 

11 under this section shall commence not later than 5 

12 years after the date of substantial completion of the 

13 project. 

14 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time after 

16 the date of substantial completion of the 

17 project, the project is unable to generate suffi18 cient revenues to pay the scheduled loan repay19 ments of principal and interest on the secured 

20 loan, the Assistant Secretary may, subject to 

21 subparagraph (C), allow the obligor to add un22 paid principal and interest to the outstanding 

23 balance of the secured loan. 

24 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

25 under subparagraph (A) shall— 


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1 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac2 cordance with subsection (b)(4) until fully 

3 repaid; and 

4 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

5 the remaining term of the loan. 

6 (C) CRITERIA.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer8 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con9 tingent on the project meeting criteria es10 tablished by the Assistant Secretary. 

11 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

12 criteria established pursuant to clause (i) 

13 shall include standards for reasonable as14 surance of repayment. 

15 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

16 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex17 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

18 scheduled debt service requirements on the 

19 project obligations and secured loan and all de20 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

21 agreement, bond resolution, or similar agree22 ment securing project obligations may be ap23 plied annually to prepay the secured loan with24 out penalty. 


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1 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI2 NANCING.—The secured loan may be prepaid at 

3 any time without penalty from the proceeds of 

4 refinancing from non-Federal funding sources. 

5 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), as 

7 soon as practicable after substantial completion of a 

8 project and after notifying the obligor, the Assistant 

9 Secretary may sell to another entity or reoffer into 

10 the capital markets a secured loan for the project if 

11 the Assistant Secretary determines that the sale or 

12 reoffering can be made on favorable terms. 

13 (2) CONSENT OF OBLIGOR.—In making a sale 

14 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Assistant 

15 Secretary may not change the original terms and 

16 conditions of the secured loan without the written 

17 consent of the obligor. 

18 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

20 may provide a loan guarantee to a lender in lieu of 

21 making a secured loan under this section if the As22 sistant Secretary determines that the budgetary cost 

23 of the loan guarantee is substantially the same as 

24 that of a secured loan. 


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1 (2) TERMS.—The terms of a loan guarantee 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be consistent with the 

3 terms required under this section for a secured loan, 

4 except that the rate on the guaranteed loan and any 

5 prepayment features shall be negotiated between the 

6 obligor and the lender, with the consent of the As7 sistant Secretary. 

8 (f) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

10 shall develop 1 or more expedited application proc11 esses, available at the request of entities seeking se12 cured loans under the BIFIA program, that use a 

13 set or sets of conventional terms established pursu14 ant to this section. 

15 (2) TERMS.—In establishing the streamlined 

16 application process required by this subsection, the 

17 Assistant Secretary may allow for an expedited ap18 plication period and include terms such as those that 

19 require— 

20 (A) that the project be a small project; 

21 (B) the secured loan to be secured and 

22 payable from pledged revenues not affected by 

23 project performance, such as a tax-backed rev24 enue pledge, tax increment financing, or a sys25 tem-backed pledge of project revenues; and 


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1 (C) repayment of the loan to commence 

2 not later than 5 years after disbursement. 

3 SEC. 5. LINES OF CREDIT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) AGREEMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

6 through (4), the Assistant Secretary may enter into 

7 agreements to make available to 1 or more obligors 

8 lines of credit in the form of direct loans to be made 

9 by the Assistant Secretary at future dates on the oc10 currence of certain events for any project selected 

11 under section 3. 

12 (2) USE OF PROCEEDS.—The proceeds of a line 

13 of credit made available under this section shall be 

14 available to pay debt service on project obligations 

15 issued to finance eligible project costs, extraordinary 

16 repair and replacement costs, operation and mainte17 nance expenses, and costs associated with unex18 pected Federal or State environmental restrictions. 

19 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), before entering into an 

22 agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

23 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

24 the Office of Management and Budget and each 

25 rating agency providing a preliminary rating 


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1 opinion letter under section 3(b)(2)(A), shall 

2 determine an appropriate capital reserve sub3 sidy amount for each line of credit, taking into 

4 account the rating opinion letter. 

5 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—Before entering 

6 into an agreement under this subsection to 

7 make available a line of credit for a small 

8 project, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation 

9 with the Director of the Office of Management 

10 and Budget, shall determine an appropriate 

11 capital reserve subsidy amount for each such 

12 line of credit, taking into account the alter13 native documentation provided under section 

14 3(b)(2)(B) instead of preliminary rating opinion 

15 letters provided under section 3(b)(2)(A). 

16 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE17 MENT.—The funding of a line of credit under this 

18 section shall be contingent on— 

19 (A) the senior obligations of the project re20 ceiving an investment-grade rating from 2 rat21 ing agencies; or 

22 (B) in the case of a small project, the 

23 project meeting an alternative standard that the 

24 Assistant Secretary shall establish under section 

25 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 


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1 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A line of credit under this 

3 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

4 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

5 representations, warranties, and requirements (in6 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

7 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

8 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The total amount of 

9 a line of credit under this section shall not exceed 

10 33 percent of the reasonably anticipated eligible 

11 project costs. 

12 (3) DRAWS.—Any draw on a line of credit 

13 under this section shall— 

14 (A) represent a direct loan; and 

15 (B) be made only if net revenues from the 

16 project (including capitalized interest, but not 

17 including reasonably required financing re18 serves) are insufficient to pay the costs speci19 fied in subsection (a)(2). 

20 (4) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

21 direct loan resulting from a draw on the line of cred22 it shall be not less than the yield on 30-year United 

23 States Treasury securities, as of the date of execu24 tion of the line of credit agreement. 


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1 (5) SECURITY.—A line of credit issued under 

2 this section— 

3 (A) shall— 

4 (i) be payable, in whole or in part, 

5 from— 

6 (I) amounts charged to— 

7 (aa) subscribers of 

8 broadband service for that serv9 ice; or 

10 (bb) subscribers of any re11 lated service provided over the 

12 same infrastructure for that re13 lated service; 

14 (II) user fees; 

15 (III) payments owing to the obli16 gor under a public-private partner17 ship; or 

18 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

19 sources that also secure the senior 

20 project obligations; and 

21 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

22 similar security feature supporting the 

23 project obligations; and 


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1 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

2 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur3 ing project obligations. 

4 (6) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The full 

5 amount of a line of credit under this section, to the 

6 extent not drawn upon, shall be available during the 

7 10-year period beginning on the date of substantial 

8 completion of the project. 

9 (7) RIGHTS OF THIRD-PARTY CREDITORS.— 

10 (A) AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—A 

11 third-party creditor of the obligor shall not have 

12 any right against the Federal Government with 

13 respect to any draw on a line of credit under 

14 this section. 

15 (B) ASSIGNMENT.—An obligor may assign 

16 a line of credit under this section to— 

17 (i) 1 or more lenders; or 

18 (ii) a trustee on the behalf of such a 

19 lender. 

20 (8) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (B), a direct loan under this sec23 tion shall not be subordinated to the claims of 

24 any holder of project obligations in the event of 


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1 bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation of the ob2 ligor. 

3 (B) PRE-EXISTING INDENTURE.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec5 retary shall waive the requirement of sub6 paragraph (A) for a public agency bor7 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

8 programs and has outstanding senior 

9 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

10 (I) the line of credit— 

11 (aa) is rated in the A cat12 egory or higher; or 

13 (bb) in the case of a small 

14 project, meets an alternative 

15 standard that the Assistant Sec16 retary shall establish under sec17 tion 6 for purposes of this sub18 clause; 

19 (II) the BIFIA program loan re20 sulting from a draw on the line of 

21 credit is payable from pledged reve22 nues not affected by project perform23 ance, such as a tax-backed revenue 

24 pledge or a system-backed pledge of 

25 project revenues; and 


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1 (III) the BIFIA program share 

2 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

3 or less. 

4 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

5 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re6 quirement under this subparagraph— 

7 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

8 to be paid by the Federal Government 

9 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

10 the principal amount of the secured 

11 loan; and 

12 (II) the obligor shall be respon13 sible for paying the remainder of the 

14 subsidy cost. 

15 (9) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab16 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

17 of the costs to the Federal Government of providing 

18 a line of credit under this section. 

19 (10) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CREDIT INSTRU20 MENTS.—A project that receives a line of credit 

21 under this section also shall not receive a secured 

22 loan or loan guarantee under section 4 in an amount 

23 that, combined with the amount of the line of credit, 

24 exceeds 49 percent of eligible project costs. 

25 (c) REPAYMENT.— 


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1 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Assistant 

2 Secretary shall establish repayment terms and condi3 tions for each direct loan under this section based 

4 on— 

5 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

6 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

7 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

8 the provision of broadband service being fi9 nanced. 

10 (2) TIMING.—All repayments of principal or in11 terest on a direct loan under this section shall be 

12 scheduled— 

13 (A) to commence not later than 5 years 

14 after the end of the period of availability speci15 fied in subsection (b)(6); and 

16 (B) to conclude, with full repayment of 

17 principal and interest, by the date that is 25 

18 years after the end of the period of availability 

19 specified in subsection (b)(6). 

20 SEC. 6. ALTERNATIVE PRUDENTIAL LENDING STANDARDS 

21 FOR SMALL PROJECTS. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish alter24 native, streamlined prudential lending standards for small 

25 projects receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA proVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:11 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S741.IS S741

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1 gram to ensure that those projects pose no additional risk 

2 to the Federal Government, as compared with projects 

3 that are not small projects. 

4 SEC. 7. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

6 establish a uniform system to service the Federal credit 

7 instruments made available under the BIFIA program. 

8 (b) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may collect and 

9 spend fees, contingent on authority being provided in ap10 propriation Acts, at a level that is sufficient to cover— 

11 (1) the costs of services of expert firms retained 

12 pursuant to subsection (d); and 

13 (2) all or a portion of the costs to the Federal 

14 Government of servicing the Federal credit instru15 ments. 

16 (c) SERVICER.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

18 may appoint a financial entity to assist the Assistant 

19 Secretary in servicing the Federal credit instru20 ments. 

21 (2) DUTIES.—A servicer appointed under para22 graph (1) shall act as the agent for the Assistant 

23 Secretary. 


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1 (3) FEE.—A servicer appointed under para2 graph (1) shall receive a servicing fee, subject to ap3 proval by the Assistant Secretary. 

4 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM EXPERT FIRMS.—The Assist5 ant Secretary may retain the services of expert firms, in6 cluding counsel, in the field of municipal and project fi7 nance to assist in the underwriting and servicing of Fed8 eral credit instruments. 

9 (e) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—The Assistant Sec10 retary shall implement procedures and measures to econo11 mize the time and cost involved in obtaining approval and 

12 the issuance of credit assistance under the BIFIA pro13 gram. 

14 (f) ASSISTANCE TO SMALL PROJECTS.—Of the 

15 amount appropriated under section 10(a), and after the 

16 set-aside for administrative expenses under section 10(b), 

17 not less than 20 percent shall be made available for the 

18 Assistant Secretary to use in lieu of fees collected under 

19 subsection (b) for small projects. 

20 SEC. 8. STATE AND LOCAL PERMITS. 

21 The provision of credit assistance under the BIFIA 

22 program with respect to a project shall not— 

23 (1) relieve any recipient of the assistance of any 

24 obligation to obtain any required State or local per25 mit or approval with respect to the project; 


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1 (2) limit the right of any State, political sub2 division of a State, or agency or instrumentality 

3 thereof to approve or regulate any rate of return on 

4 private equity invested in the project; or 

5 (3) otherwise supersede any State or local law 

6 (including any regulation) applicable to the construc7 tion or operation of the project. 

8 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

9 The Assistant Secretary may promulgate such regula10 tions as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro11 priate to carry out the BIFIA program. 

12 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

13 (a) APPROPRIATION.—There are appropriated to the 

14 Assistant Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury not 

15 otherwise appropriated, $5,000,000,000 to carry out this 

16 Act for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until ex17 pended. 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amount 

19 appropriated under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 

20 may use not more than 5 percent for the administration 

21 of the BIFIA program. 

22 SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there25 after, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a 


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1 report summarizing the financial performance of the 

2 projects that are receiving, or have received, assistance 

3 under the BIFIA program, including a recommendation 

4 as to whether the objectives of the BIFIA program are 

5 best served by— 

6 (1) continuing the program under the authority 

7 of the Assistant Secretary; or 

8 (2) establishing a Federal corporation or feder9 ally sponsored enterprise to administer the program. 

10 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

13 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 

14 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans15 portation of the Senate and the Committee on En16 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

17 a report that includes a list of all of the letters of 

18 interest and applications received for assistance 

19 under the BIFIA program during the preceding fis20 cal year. 

21 (2) INCLUSIONS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

23 paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, a 

24 description of, with respect to each letter of in25 terest and application included in the report— 


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1 (i) the date on which the letter of in2 terest or application was received; 

3 (ii) the date on which a notification 

4 was provided to the applicant regarding 

5 whether the application was complete or 

6 incomplete; 

7 (iii) the date on which a revised and 

8 completed application was submitted (if 

9 applicable); 

10 (iv) the date on which a notification 

11 was provided to the applicant regarding 

12 whether the project was approved or dis13 approved; and 

14 (v) if the project was not approved, 

15 the reason for the disapproval. 

16 (B) CORRESPONDENCE.—Each report 

17 under paragraph (1) shall include copies of any 

18 correspondence provided to the applicant in ac19 cordance with section 3(d). 

Æ 


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