I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7483 

To provide for the adjustment or modification by the Secretary of Agriculture 

of loans for critical rural utility service providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 2, 2020 

Mrs. HARTZLER (for herself and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 

to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the adjustment or modification by the Secretary of Agriculture of loans for critical rural utility 

service providers, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flexible Financing for 

5 Rural America Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LOAN ADJUSTMENTS FOR CRITICAL RURAL UTILITY 

2 SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the borrower of a qualified 

5 loan described in subsection (b) may submit to the Sec6 retary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 

7 ‘‘Secretary’’) a request to adjust the interest rate or mod8 ify any other term of the qualified loan, which shall include 

9 a report summarizing how the loan adjustment would as10 sist the borrower in providing critical utility services to 

11 rural communities. 

12 (b) QUALIFIED LOAN DESCRIBED.—A qualified loan 

13 referred to in subsection (a) is a loan made or guaranteed 

14 on or before the date of enactment of this Act under— 

15 (1) section 4, 201, 305, 306, or 601 of the 

16 Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 904, 

17 922, 935, 936, 950bb); or 

18 (2) the program carried out under the matter 

19 under the heading ‘‘DISTANCE LEARNING, TELE20 MEDICINE, AND BROADBAND PROGRAM’’ in title I of 

21 division A of the American Recovery and Reinvest22 ment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 

23 118) (commonly known as the ‘‘Broadband Initia24 tives Program’’). 

25 (c) ADJUSTMENT OF INTEREST RATE; MODIFICA26 TION OF LOAN TERMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a request 

2 made under subsection (a) with respect to a loan, 

3 the Secretary— 

4 (A) in the case of a request for an interest 

5 rate adjustment, shall adjust the interest rate 

6 on the loan to the cost of funds to the Depart7 ment of the Treasury, as of the date of enact8 ment of this Act, for obligations of comparable 

9 maturity to the term remaining on the out10 standing balance of the loan or other such high11 er rate as the borrower may request; and 

12 (B) in the case of a request for a modifica13 tion to a loan term other than the adjustment 

14 described in subparagraph (A), may use the au15 thorities provided in sections 2, 201, 306C and 

16 703 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 

17 U.S.C. 902, 922, 936c, 950cc–2) and section 

18 331(b)(4) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

19 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981(b)(4)) to 

20 make such other modifications to the loan 

21 terms that the Secretary determines are nec22 essary— 

23 (i) to address changes in the financial 

24 position of the borrower due to the public 

25 health emergency declared by the Secretary 


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1 of Health and Human Services under sec2 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, 

4 with respect to COVID–19; and 

5 (ii) to promote the financial sustain6 ability of the borrower. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—An adjustment or 

8 modification under subparagraph (A) or (B), respec9 tively, of paragraph (1) shall apply beginning on the 

10 first day after the close of the period with respect 

11 to which the first payment due on the loan after the 

12 date of the request applies. 

13 (d) NO FEES OR PENALTIES.—In carrying out this 

14 section, the Secretary shall not impose or collect any fee 

15 from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. 

16 (e) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in 

18 the Federal Register a notice of the benefits available to 

19 borrowers under this section. 

20 (f) APPROPRIATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any amounts in the 

22 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are ap23 propriated to the Secretary— 

24 (A) such sums as are necessary to carry 

25 out subsection (c)(1)(A); and 


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1 (B) $300,000,000 to carry out subsection 

2 (c)(1)(B). 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appropriated 

4 by paragraph (1) shall remain available through De5 cember 31, 2021. 

6 (g) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by 

8 this Act are designated as an emergency require9 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay10 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

11 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

12 this Act is designated as an emergency requirement 

13 pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 

14 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the 

15 budget for fiscal year 2018. 

Æ 


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