I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7996 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to subsidize payments on loans 

made under certain rural development loan programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2020 

Mrs. AXNE (for herself, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

BALDERSON, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Mr. GOLDEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to subsidize payments on loans made under certain rural development 

loan programs, 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 ‘‘Rural Equal Aid Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SUBSIDY FOR CERTAIN RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

6 LOAN PAYMENTS. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED LOAN.—In this sec8 tion, the term ‘‘covered loan’’ means a loan that is— 


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1 (1) made by an intermediary lender to an ulti2 mate recipient using a loan received under section 

3 1323 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 

4 1932 note; Public Law 99–198) or section 310H of 

5 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 

6 (7 U.S.C. 1936b; Public Law 113–79); 

7 (2) made by a microenterprise development or8 ganization to a microentrepreneur under section 

9 379E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop10 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 2008s); 

11 (3) a community facility loan made or guaran12 teed under section 306(a)(1) of the Consolidated 

13 Farm and Rural Development Act; or 

14 (4) guaranteed under section 310B(g) of the 

15 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. 

16 (b) PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

18 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

19 pay the principal, interest, and any associated fees 

20 that are owed on a covered loan in a regular serv21 icing status— 

22 (A) with respect to a covered loan made 

23 before the date of enactment of this Act and 

24 not on deferment, for the 6-month period beginVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:47 Aug 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7996.IH H7996

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1 ning with the next payment due on the covered 

2 loan; 

3 (B) with respect to a covered loan made 

4 before the date of enactment of this Act and on 

5 deferment, for the 6-month period beginning 

6 with the next payment due on the covered loan 

7 after the deferment period; and 

8 (C) with respect to a covered loan made 

9 during the period beginning on the date of en10 actment of this Act and ending on the date that 

11 is 6 months after that date of enactment, for 

12 the 6-month period beginning with the first 

13 payment due on the covered loan. 

14 (2) TIMING OF PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall 

15 begin making payments under paragraph (1) on a 

16 covered loan not later than 30 days after the date 

17 on which the first payment described in that para18 graph is due. 

19 (3) APPLICATION OF PAYMENT.—Any payment 

20 made by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be 

21 applied to the covered loan such that the borrower 

22 is relieved of the obligation to pay that amount. 

23 (c) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall— 

24 (1) communicate and coordinate with the Fed25 eral Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the 


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1 Comptroller of the Currency, and State bank regu2 lators to encourage those entities to not require 

3 lenders to increase their reserves on account of re4 ceiving payments made by the Secretary under sub5 section (b); 

6 (2) waive statutory limits on maximum loan 

7 maturities for any covered loan durations where the 

8 lender provides a deferral and extends the maturity 

9 of covered loans during the 1-year period following 

10 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

11 (3) when necessary to provide more time be12 cause of the potential of higher volumes, travel re13 strictions, and the inability to access some properties 

14 during the COVID–19 pandemic, extend lender site 

15 visit requirements to— 

16 (A) not more than 60 days (which may be 

17 extended at the discretion of the Secretary) 

18 after the occurrence of an adverse event, other 

19 than a payment default, causing a loan to be 

20 classified as in liquidation; and 

21 (B) not more than 90 days after a pay22 ment default. 

23 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section limits the au24 thority of the Secretary to make payments pursuant to 


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1 subsection (b) with respect to a covered loan solely because 

2 the covered loan has been sold in the secondary market. 

Æ 


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