I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1700 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2021 

Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself and Mrs. AXNE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist4 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

5 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

6 (2) BIFIA PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘BIFIA pro7 gram’’ means the broadband infrastructure finance 

8 and innovation program established under this Act. 

9 (3) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

10 ‘‘broadband service’’— 

11 (A) means broadband internet access serv12 ice that is a mass-market retail service, or a 

13 service provided to an entity described in para14 graph (16)(B)(ii), by wire or radio that pro15 vides the capability to transmit data to and re16 ceive data from all or substantially all internet 

17 endpoints, including any capabilities that are 

18 incidental to and enable the operation of the 

19 communications service; 


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1 (B) includes any service that is a func2 tional equivalent of the service described in sub3 paragraph (A); and 

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

5 service. 

6 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli7 gible project costs’’ means amounts substantially all 

8 of which are paid by, or for the account of, an obli9 gor in connection with a project, including the cost 

10 of— 

11 (A) development phase activities, including 

12 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore13 casting, environmental review, historic preserva14 tion review, permitting, preliminary engineering 

15 and design work, and other preconstruction ac16 tivities; 

17 (B) construction and deployment phase ac18 tivities, including— 

19 (i) construction, reconstruction, reha20 bilitation, replacement, and acquisition of 

21 real property (including land relating to 

22 the project and improvements to land), 

23 equipment, instrumentation, networking 

24 capability, hardware and software, and dig25 ital network technology; 


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1 (ii) environmental mitigation; and 

2 (iii) construction contingencies; and 

3 (C) capitalized interest necessary to meet 

4 market requirements, reasonably required re5 serve funds, capital issuance expenses, and 

6 other carrying costs during construction and 

7 deployment. 

8 (5) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

9 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 

10 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (6) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

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

13 loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to be 

14 made available under the BIFIA program with re15 spect to a project. 

16 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

17 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 

18 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist19 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 

20 (8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’— 

22 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 


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1 (B) includes a postsecondary vocational in2 stitution. 

3 (9) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

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

5 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as6 signed by a rating agency to project obligations. 

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

8 non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined 

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

10 Regulations (or any successor regulation), known as 

11 Rule 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com12 mission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933 

13 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.)), including— 

14 (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined 

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

16 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer; 

17 and 

18 (B) a governmental plan (as defined in 

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

20 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer. 

21 (11) LETTER OF INTEREST.—The term ‘‘letter 

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

23 applicant prior to an application for credit assistance 

24 in a format prescribed by the Assistant Secretary on 

25 the website of the BIFIA program that— 


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1 (A) describes the project and the location, 

2 purpose, and cost of the project; 

3 (B) outlines the proposed financial plan, 

4 including the requested credit assistance and 

5 the proposed obligor; 

6 (C) provides a status of environmental re7 view; and 

8 (D) provides information regarding satis9 faction of other eligibility requirements of the 

10 BIFIA program. 

11 (12) LINE OF CREDIT.—The term ‘‘line of cred12 it’’ means an agreement entered into by the Assist13 ant Secretary with an obligor under section 5 to pro14 vide a direct loan at a future date upon the occur15 rence of certain events. 

16 (13) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar17 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

18 Assistant Secretary to pay all or part of the prin19 cipal of and interest on a loan or other debt obliga20 tion issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. 

21 (14) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means a 

22 party that— 

23 (A) is primarily liable for payment of the 

24 principal of or interest on a Federal credit in25 strument; and 


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1 (B) may be a corporation, company, part2 nership, joint venture, trust, or governmental 

3 entity, agency, or instrumentality. 

4 (15) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU5 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu6 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 

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

10 project— 

11 (A) to construct and deploy infrastructure 

12 for the provision of broadband service; and 

13 (B) that the Assistant Secretary deter14 mines will— 

15 (i) provide access or improved access 

16 to broadband service to consumers residing 

17 in areas of the United States that have no 

18 access to broadband service or do not have 

19 access to broadband service offered— 

20 (I) with a download speed of at 

21 least 100 megabits per second; 

22 (II) with an upload speed of at 

23 least 100 megabits per second; and 

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1 neous, real-time, interactive applica2 tions; or 

3 (ii) provide access or improved access 

4 to broadband service to— 

5 (I) schools, libraries, medical and 

6 healthcare providers, community col7 leges and other institutions of higher 

8 education, museums, religious organi9 zations, and other community support 

10 organizations and entities to facilitate 

11 greater use of broadband service by or 

12 through such organizations; 

13 (II) organizations and agencies 

14 that provide outreach, access, equip15 ment, and support services to facili16 tate greater use of broadband service 

17 by low-income, unemployed, aged, and 

18 otherwise vulnerable populations; 

19 (III) job-creating strategic facili20 ties located within a State-designated 

21 economic zone, Economic Develop22 ment District designated by the De23 partment of Commerce, Empower24 ment Zone designated by the Depart25 ment of Housing and Urban DevelopVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1700.IH H1700

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1 ment, or Enterprise Community des2 ignated by the Department of Agri3 culture; or 

4 (IV) public safety agencies. 

5 (17) PROJECT OBLIGATION.—The term 

6 ‘‘project obligation’’ means any note, bond, deben7 ture, or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

8 connection with the financing of a project, other 

9 than a Federal credit instrument. 

10 (18) PUBLIC AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘public 

11 authority’’ means a Federal, State, county, town or 

12 township, Indian Tribe, municipal, or other local 

13 government or instrumentality with authority to fi14 nance, build, operate, or maintain infrastructure for 

15 the provision of broadband service. 

16 (19) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen17 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

18 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

19 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

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

21 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

22 (20) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘‘secured 

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

24 issued by an obligor and funded by the Assistant 


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1 Secretary in connection with the financing of a 

2 project under section 4. 

3 (21) SMALL PROJECT.—The term ‘‘small 

4 project’’ means a project having eligible project costs 

5 that are reasonably anticipated not to equal or ex6 ceed $20,000,000. 

7 (22) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

10 (23) SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘subsidy 

11 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf12 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

13 Federal Government of a Federal credit instru14 ment— 

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

16 and 

17 (B) excluding administrative costs and any 

18 incidental effects on governmental receipts or 

19 outlays in accordance with the Federal Credit 

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

21 (24) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

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

23 project receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

24 program— 


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1 (A) the commencement of the provision of 

2 broadband service using the infrastructure 

3 being financed; or 

4 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

5 the Assistant Secretary and specified in the 

6 credit agreement. 

7 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT SE8 LECTION. 

9 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

11 receive credit assistance under the BIFIA program 

12 if— 

13 (A) the entity proposing to carry out the 

14 project submits a letter of interest prior to sub15 mission of a formal application for the project; 

16 and 

17 (B) the project meets the criteria described 

18 in this subsection. 

19 (2) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

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

21 subparagraph (B), to be eligible for assistance 

22 under the BIFIA program, a project shall sat23 isfy applicable creditworthiness standards, 

24 which, at a minimum, shall include— 


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1 (i) adequate coverage requirements to 

2 ensure repayment; 

3 (ii) an investment-grade rating from 

4 at least two rating agencies on debt senior 

5 to the Federal credit instrument; and 

6 (iii) a rating from at least two rating 

7 agencies on the Federal credit instrument. 

8 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—In order for a 

9 small project to be eligible for assistance under 

10 the BIFIA program, such project shall satisfy 

11 alternative creditworthiness standards that shall 

12 be established by the Assistant Secretary under 

13 section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

14 (3) APPLICATION.—A State, local government, 

15 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern16 ment, public authority, public-private partnership, or 

17 any other legal entity undertaking the project and 

18 authorized by the Assistant Secretary shall submit a 

19 project application that is acceptable to the Assist20 ant Secretary. 

21 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST PARAMETERS FOR

22 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Eligible project costs 

23 shall be reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

24 $2,000,000 in the case of a project or program of 

25 projects— 


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1 (A) in which the applicant is a local gov2 ernment, instrumentality of local government, 

3 or public authority (other than a public author4 ity that is a Federal or State government or in5 strumentality); 

6 (B) located on a facility owned by a local 

7 government; or 

8 (C) for which the Assistant Secretary de9 termines that a local government is substan10 tially involved in the development of the project. 

11 (5) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The ap12 plicable Federal credit instrument shall be repayable, 

13 in whole or in part, from— 

14 (A) amounts charged to— 

15 (i) subscribers of broadband service 

16 for such service; or 

17 (ii) subscribers of any related service 

18 provided over the same infrastructure for 

19 such related service; 

20 (B) user fees; 

21 (C) payments owing to the obligor under a 

22 public-private partnership; or 

23 (D) other dedicated revenue sources that 

24 also secure or fund the project obligations. 


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1 (6) APPLICATIONS WHERE OBLIGOR WILL BE

2 IDENTIFIED LATER.—A State, local government, 

3 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern4 ment, or public authority may submit to the Assist5 ant Secretary an application under paragraph (3), 

6 under which a private party to a public-private part7 nership will be— 

8 (A) the obligor; and 

9 (B) identified later through completion of 

10 a procurement and selection of the private 

11 party. 

12 (7) BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.—The Assistant Sec13 retary shall determine that financial assistance for 

14 the project under the BIFIA program will— 

15 (A) foster, if appropriate, partnerships 

16 that attract public and private investment for 

17 the project; 

18 (B) enable the project to proceed at an 

19 earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

20 able to proceed or reduce the lifecycle costs (in21 cluding debt service costs) of the project; and 

22 (C) reduce the contribution of Federal 

23 grant assistance for the project. 

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

25 assistance under the BIFIA program, the applicant 


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1 shall demonstrate a reasonable expectation that the 

2 contracting process for the construction and deploy3 ment of infrastructure for the provision of 

4 broadband service through the project can commence 

5 by no later than 90 days after the date on which a 

6 Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project 

7 under the BIFIA program. 

8 (9) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTI9 TIES.— 

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

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

12 local government or an agency or instrumen13 tality of a State or local government or a Tribal 

14 Government or consortium of Tribal Govern15 ments, the project shall be publicly sponsored. 

16 (B) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP.—For purposes 

17 of this Act, a project shall be considered to be 

18 publicly sponsored if the obligor can dem19 onstrate, to the satisfaction of the Assistant 

20 Secretary, that the project applicant has con21 sulted with the State, local, or Tribal govern22 ment in the area in which the project is located, 

23 or that is otherwise affected by the project, and 

24 that such government supports the proposal. 

25 (b) SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPLICATION PROC2 ESS.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish a roll3 ing application process under which projects that are 

4 eligible to receive credit assistance under subsection 

5 (a) shall receive credit assistance on terms accept6 able to the Assistant Secretary, if adequate funds 

7 are available to cover the subsidy costs associated 

8 with the Federal credit instrument. 

9 (2) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 

10 The Assistant Secretary shall require each project 

11 applicant to provide— 

12 (A) a preliminary rating opinion letter 

13 from at least one rating agency— 

14 (i) indicating that the senior obliga15 tions of the project, which may be the Fed16 eral credit instrument, have the potential 

17 to achieve an investment-grade rating; and 

18 (ii) including a preliminary rating 

19 opinion on the Federal credit instrument; 

20 or 

21 (B) in the case of a small project, alter22 native documentation that the Assistant Sec23 retary shall require in the standards established 

24 under section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 


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1 (3) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.—In 

2 selecting projects to receive credit assistance under 

3 the BIFIA program, the Assistant Secretary may 

4 not favor a project using any particular technology. 

5 (4) PREFERENCE FOR OPEN-ACCESS NET6 WORKS.—In selecting projects to receive credit as7 sistance under the BIFIA program, the Assistant 

8 Secretary shall give preference to projects providing 

9 for the deployment of open-access broadband service 

10 networks. 

11 (c) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

13 law shall apply to funds made available under the 

14 BIFIA program and projects assisted with those 

15 funds: 

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

17 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

18 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

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

20 (C) 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq. (commonly 

21 referred to as the ‘‘National Historic Preserva22 tion Act’’). 

23 (D) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

24 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 

25 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 


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

2 a project that has not received an environmental cat3 egorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, 

4 or a record of decision under the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

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

7 1964.—For purposes of title VI of the Civil Rights 

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

9 that receives credit assistance under the BIFIA pro10 gram shall be considered a program or activity with11 in the meaning of section 606 of such title (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

13 (4) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.—All labor14 ers and mechanics employed by contractors or sub15 contractors in the performance of construction, al16 teration, or repair work carried out, in whole or in 

17 part, with assistance made available through a Fed18 eral credit instrument shall be paid wages at rates 

19 not less than those prevailing on projects of a simi20 lar character in the locality as determined by the 

21 Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

22 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. 

23 With respect to the labor standards in this para24 graph, the Secretary of Labor shall have the author25 ity and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan 


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

2 App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States 

3 Code. 

4 (5) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.—An employer 

5 receiving assistance made available through a Fed6 eral credit instrument under this Act shall remain 

7 neutral with respect to the exercise of employees and 

8 labor organizations of the right to organize and bar9 gain under the National Labor Relations Act (29 

10 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

11 (6) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF AP12 PLICABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

13 LAWS.—The Assistant Secretary shall refer any al14 leged violation of an applicable labor and employ15 ment law to the appropriate Federal agency for in16 vestigation and enforcement, and any alleged viola17 tion of paragraph (4) or (5) to the National Labor 

18 Relations Board for investigation and enforcement, 

19 utilizing all appropriate remedies up to and includ20 ing debarment from the BIFIA program. 

21 (d) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES.— 

22 (1) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION.—Not 

23 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of an ap24 plication under this section, the Assistant Secretary 


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1 shall provide to the applicant a written notice to in2 form the applicant whether— 

3 (A) the application is complete; or 

4 (B) additional information or materials are 

5 needed to complete the application. 

6 (2) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION.— 

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

8 the written notice under paragraph (1), the Assist9 ant Secretary shall provide to the applicant a writ10 ten notice informing the applicant whether the As11 sistant Secretary has approved or disapproved the 

12 application. 

13 (3) APPROVAL BEFORE NEPA REVIEW.—Subject 

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

15 be approved before the project receives an environ16 mental categorical exclusion, a finding of no signifi17 cant impact, or a record of decision under the Na18 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

19 4321 et seq.). 

20 (e) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.—Any credit 

21 instrument secured under the BIFIA program may be 

22 used to finance up to 100 percent of the cost of develop23 ment phase activities as described in section 2(4)(A). 

24 SEC. 4. SECURED LOANS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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

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

3 agreements with one or more obligors to make se4 cured loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

5 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

6 project selected under section 3; 

7 (B) to refinance interim construction fi8 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

9 selected under section 3; or 

10 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga11 tions or Federal credit instruments, if the refi12 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

13 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

14 any project that— 

15 (i) is selected under section 3; or 

16 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

17 of section 3. 

18 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

19 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A loan under para20 graph (1) shall not refinance interim construction fi21 nancing under paragraph (1)(B)— 

22 (A) if the maturity of such interim con23 struction financing is later than 1 year after 

24 the substantial completion of the project; and 


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1 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub2 stantial completion of the project. 

3 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

4 an agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

5 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

6 Office of Management and Budget, shall determine 

7 an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount for 

8 each secured loan, taking into account each rating 

9 letter provided by a rating agency under section 

10 3(b)(2)(A)(ii) or, in the case of a small project, the 

11 alternative documentation provided under section 

12 3(b)(2)(B). 

13 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

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

15 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

16 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

17 representations, warranties, and requirements (in18 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

19 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

20 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se21 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

22 lesser of 49 percent of the reasonably anticipated eli23 gible project costs or, if the secured loan is not for 

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1 grade rating, the amount of the senior project obli2 gations. 

3 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec4 tion— 

5 (A) shall— 

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

7 from— 

8 (I) amounts charged to— 

9 (aa) subscribers of 

10 broadband service for such serv11 ice; or 

12 (bb) subscribers of any re13 lated service provided over the 

14 same infrastructure for such re15 lated service; 

16 (II) user fees; 

17 (III) payments owing to the obli18 gor under a public-private partner19 ship; or 

20 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

21 sources that also secure the senior 

22 project obligations; and 

23 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

24 similar security feature supporting the 

25 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 one 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 one or more obli8 gors lines of credit in the form of direct loans to be 

9 made by the Assistant Secretary at future dates on 

10 the occurrence of certain events for any project se11 lected 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 such serv9 ice; or 

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

12 same infrastructure for such 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) one 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 the enact23 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish 

24 alternative, streamlined prudential lending standards for 

25 small projects receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 


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1 program to ensure that such projects pose no additional 

2 risk to the Federal Government, as compared with 

3 projects 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 propriations 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 unit of State or local 

2 government to approve or regulate any rate of re3 turn on private equity invested in the project; or 

4 (3) otherwise supersede any State or local law 

5 (including any regulation) applicable to the construc6 tion or operation of the project. 

7 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

8 The Assistant Secretary may promulgate such regula9 tions as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro10 priate to carry out the BIFIA program. 

11 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary 

14 $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 to carry out this Act, 

15 and such amount is authorized to remain available until 

16 expended. 

17 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amount 

18 appropriated under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 

19 may use not more than 5 percent for the administration 

20 of the BIFIA program. 

21 SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

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

23 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there24 after, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

25 report summarizing the financial performance of the 


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1 projects that are receiving, or have received, assistance 

2 under the BIFIA program, including a recommendation 

3 as to whether the objectives of the BIFIA program are 

4 best served by— 

5 (1) continuing the program under the authority 

6 of the Assistant Secretary; or 

7 (2) establishing a Federal corporation or feder8 ally sponsored enterprise to administer the program. 

9 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS REPORT.— 

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

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 

13 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen16 ate a report that includes a list of all of the letters 

17 of interest and applications received for assistance 

18 under the BIFIA program during the preceding fis19 cal year. 

20 (2) INCLUSIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

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

23 description of, with respect to each letter of in24 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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