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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2058 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2058

  To establish a loan guarantee program for natural gas distribution 
    grids to be installed in areas with extremely high energy costs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2014

  Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To establish a loan guarantee program for natural gas distribution 
    grids to be installed in areas with extremely high energy costs.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fuel Grid Distribution Loan Pilot 
Program Act''.

SEC. 2. FUEL DISTRIBUTION UTILITY PILOT LOAN PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization of Pilot Loan Program.--Section 232(c) of the 
Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6942(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a period; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) The biofuels and natural gas distribution utility 
        pilot loan program authorized by section 2 of the Fuel Grid 
        Distribution Loan Pilot Program Act.''.
    (b) Establishment of Pilot Loan Program.--
            (1) Definition of local government.--In this subsection, 
        the term ``local government'' means--
                    (A) a county, municipality, city, town, township, 
                local public authority, school district, special 
                district, intrastate district, council of governments 
                (regardless of whether the council of governments is 
                incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State 
                law), regional or interstate government entity, or 
                agency or instrumentality of a local government;
                    (B) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal 
                organization or, in Alaska, a Native village or Alaska 
                Regional Native Corporation; and
                    (C) a rural community, unincorporated town or 
                village, or other public entity.
            (2) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Rural 
        Utilities Service shall establish a biofuels and natural gas 
        distribution utility pilot loan program to add cooperatives and 
        municipally or privately owned biofuels or natural gas 
        distribution utilities to the list of utilities eligible to 
        receive loans from the Rural Utilities Service.
            (3) Eligibility.--In making loans authorized under 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service 
        shall grant loans only to utilities serving an area under the 
        jurisdiction of a local government that has--
                    (A) a population of not more than 50,000 people; 
                and
                    (B) energy prices higher than 200 percent of the 
                national average for energy prices, as determined by 
                the Administrator of the Energy Information 
                Administration using the most recent data available.
            (4) Funding.--The Administrator of the Rural Utilities 
        Service shall carry out the loan pilot program using existing 
        funds of the Rural Utilities Service.
            (5) Duration.--The loan pilot program shall be authorized 
        for a period of 5 years, beginning on the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
            (6) Report.--At the conclusion of the loan pilot program, 
        the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service shall complete 
        a report examining--
                    (A) the economic benefits of providing low cost 
                loans; and
                    (B) any upward price pressure on biofuels or 
                natural gas prices in the United States resulting from 
                the loan pilot program.
                                 <all>
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