I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4287 

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 

NOVEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Mr. EVANS, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. RUIZ, and Mr. 

RYAN of Ohio) 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 2017’’. 


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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’’ means broadband Internet ac13 cess service (as defined in section 8.2 of title 47, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations). 

15 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli16 gible project costs’’ means amounts substantially all 

17 of which are paid by, or for the account of, an obli18 gor in connection with a project, including the cost 

19 of— 


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1 (A) development phase activities, including 

2 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore3 casting, environmental review, historic preserva4 tion review, permitting, preliminary engineering 

5 and design work, and other preconstruction ac6 tivities; 

7 (B) construction and deployment phase ac8 tivities, including— 

9 (i) construction, reconstruction, reha10 bilitation, replacement, and acquisition of 

11 real property (including land relating to 

12 the project and improvements to land), 

13 equipment, instrumentation, networking 

14 capability, hardware and software, and dig15 ital network technology; 

16 (ii) environmental mitigation; and 

17 (iii) construction contingencies; and 

18 (C) capitalized interest necessary to meet 

19 market requirements, reasonably required re20 serve funds, capital issuance expenses, and 

21 other carrying costs during construction and 

22 deployment. 

23 (5) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

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

25 loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to be 


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1 made available under the BIFIA program with re2 spect to a project. 

3 (6) 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 (7) 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 (8) 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 (9) 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 (10) 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 (11) 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 (12) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

5 project— 

6 (A) to construct and deploy infrastructure 

7 for the provision of broadband service; and 

8 (B) that the Assistant Secretary deter9 mines will— 

10 (i) provide access or improved access 

11 to broadband service to consumers residing 

12 in areas of the United States where such 

13 service is not available with a download 

14 speed of at least 100 megabits per second 

15 and an upload speed of at least 3 megabits 

16 per second; or 

17 (ii) provide access or improved access 

18 to broadband service to— 

19 (I) schools, libraries, medical and 

20 healthcare providers, community col21 leges and other institutions of higher 

22 education, and other community sup23 port organizations and entities to fa24 cilitate greater use of broadband serv25 ice by or through such organizations; 


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1 (II) organizations and agencies 

2 that provide outreach, access, equip3 ment, and support services to facili4 tate greater use of broadband service 

5 by low-income, unemployed, aged, and 

6 otherwise vulnerable populations; 

7 (III) job-creating strategic facili8 ties located within a State-designated 

9 economic zone, Economic Develop10 ment District designated by the De11 partment of Commerce, Renewal 

12 Community or Empowerment Zone 

13 designated by the Department of 

14 Housing and Urban Development, or 

15 Enterprise Community designated by 

16 the Department of Agriculture; or 

17 (IV) public safety agencies. 

18 (13) PROJECT OBLIGATION.—The term 

19 ‘‘project obligation’’ means any note, bond, deben20 ture, or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

21 connection with the financing of a project, other 

22 than a Federal credit instrument. 

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

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

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1 ernment or instrumentality with authority to fi2 nance, build, operate, or maintain infrastructure for 

3 the provision of broadband service. 

4 (15) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen5 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

6 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

7 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

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

9 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

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

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

12 issued by an obligor and funded by the Assistant 

13 Secretary in connection with the financing of a 

14 project under section 4. 

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

16 project’’ means a project having eligible project costs 

17 that are reasonably anticipated not to equal or ex18 ceed $20,000,000. 

19 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean20 ing given such term in section 3 of the Communica21 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

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

23 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf24 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 


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1 Federal Government of a Federal credit instru2 ment— 

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

4 and 

5 (B) excluding administrative costs and any 

6 incidental effects on governmental receipts or 

7 outlays in accordance with the Federal Credit 

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

9 (20) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

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

11 project receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

12 program— 

13 (A) the commencement of the provision of 

14 broadband service using the infrastructure 

15 being financed; or 

16 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

17 the Assistant Secretary and specified in the 

18 credit agreement. 

19 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT SE20 LECTION. 

21 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

23 receive credit assistance under the BIFIA program 

24 if— 


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1 (A) the entity proposing to carry out the 

2 project submits a letter of interest prior to sub3 mission of a formal application for the project; 

4 and 

5 (B) the project meets the criteria described 

6 in this subsection. 

7 (2) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

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

9 subparagraph (B), to be eligible for assistance 

10 under the BIFIA program, a project shall sat11 isfy applicable creditworthiness standards, 

12 which, at a minimum, shall include— 

13 (i) adequate coverage requirements to 

14 ensure repayment; 

15 (ii) an investment-grade rating from 

16 at least 2 rating agencies on debt senior to 

17 the Federal credit instrument; and 

18 (iii) a rating from at least 2 rating 

19 agencies on the Federal credit instrument. 

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

21 small project to be eligible for assistance under 

22 the BIFIA program, such project shall satisfy 

23 alternative 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 State, local government, 

2 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern3 ment, public authority, public-private partnership, or 

4 any other legal entity undertaking the project and 

5 authorized by the Assistant Secretary shall submit a 

6 project application that is acceptable to the Assist7 ant Secretary. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST PARAMETERS FOR

9 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Eligible project costs 

10 shall be reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

11 $2,000,000 in the case of a project or program of 

12 projects— 

13 (A) in which the applicant is a local gov14 ernment, instrumentality of local government, 

15 or public authority (other than a public author16 ity that is a Federal or State government or in17 strumentality); 

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

19 government; or 

20 (C) for which the Assistant Secretary de21 termines that a local government is substan22 tially involved in the development of the project. 

23 (5) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The ap24 plicable Federal credit instrument shall be repayable, 

25 in whole or in part, from— 


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1 (A) amounts charged to— 

2 (i) subscribers of broadband service 

3 for such service; or 

4 (ii) subscribers of any related service 

5 provided over the same infrastructure for 

6 such related service; 

7 (B) user fees; 

8 (C) payments owing to the obligor under a 

9 public-private partnership; or 

10 (D) other dedicated revenue sources that 

11 also secure or fund the project obligations. 

12 (6) APPLICATIONS WHERE OBLIGOR WILL BE

13 IDENTIFIED LATER.—A State, local government, 

14 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern15 ment, or public authority may submit to the Assist16 ant Secretary an application under paragraph (3), 

17 under which a private party to a public-private part18 nership will be— 

19 (A) the obligor; and 

20 (B) identified later through completion of 

21 a procurement and selection of the private 

22 party. 

23 (7) BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.—The Assistant Sec24 retary shall determine that financial assistance for 

25 the project under the BIFIA program will— 


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1 (A) foster, if appropriate, partnerships 

2 that attract public and private investment for 

3 the project; 

4 (B) enable the project to proceed at an 

5 earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

6 able to proceed or reduce the lifecycle costs (in7 cluding debt service costs) of the project; and 

8 (C) reduce the contribution of Federal 

9 grant assistance for the project. 

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

11 assistance under the BIFIA program, the applicant 

12 shall demonstrate a reasonable expectation that the 

13 contracting process for the construction and deploy14 ment of infrastructure for the provision of 

15 broadband service through the project can commence 

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

17 Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project 

18 under the BIFIA program. 

19 (b) SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPLICATION PROC21 ESS.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish a roll22 ing application process under which projects that are 

23 eligible to receive credit assistance under subsection 

24 (a) shall receive credit assistance on terms accept25 able to the Assistant Secretary, if adequate funds 


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1 are available to cover the subsidy costs associated 

2 with the Federal credit instrument. 

3 (2) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 

4 The Assistant Secretary shall require each project 

5 applicant to provide— 

6 (A) a preliminary rating opinion letter 

7 from at least 1 rating agency— 

8 (i) indicating that the senior obliga9 tions of the project, which may be the Fed10 eral credit instrument, have the potential 

11 to achieve an investment-grade rating; and 

12 (ii) including a preliminary rating 

13 opinion on the Federal credit instrument; 

14 or 

15 (B) in the case of a small project, alter16 native documentation that the Assistant Sec17 retary shall require in the standards established 

18 under section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

19 (3) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.—In 

20 selecting projects to receive credit assistance under 

21 the BIFIA program, the Assistant Secretary may 

22 not favor a project using any particular technology. 

23 (c) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

25 law shall apply to funds made available under the 


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1 BIFIA program and projects assisted with those 

2 funds: 

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

4 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

5 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

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

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

8 referred to as the ‘‘National Historic Preserva9 tion Act’’). 

10 (D) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

11 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 

12 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 

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

14 a project that has not received an environmental cat15 egorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, 

16 or a record of decision under the National Environ17 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

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

19 1964.—For purposes of title VI of the Civil Rights 

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

21 that receives credit assistance under the BIFIA pro22 gram shall be considered a program or activity with23 in the meaning of section 606 of such title (42 

24 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

25 (d) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES.— 


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1 (1) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION.—Not 

2 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of an ap3 plication under this section, the Assistant Secretary 

4 shall provide to the applicant a written notice to in5 form the applicant whether— 

6 (A) the application is complete; or 

7 (B) additional information or materials are 

8 needed to complete the application. 

9 (2) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION.— 

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

11 the written notice under paragraph (1), the Assist12 ant Secretary shall provide to the applicant a writ13 ten notice informing the applicant whether the As14 sistant Secretary has approved or disapproved the 

15 application. 

16 (3) APPROVAL BEFORE NEPA REVIEW.—Subject 

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

18 be approved before the project receives an environ19 mental categorical exclusion, a finding of no signifi20 cant impact, or a record of decision under the Na21 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4321 et seq.). 

23 (e) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.—Any credit 

24 instrument secured under the BIFIA program may be 


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1 used to finance up to 100 percent of the cost of develop2 ment phase activities as described in section 2(4)(A). 

3 SEC. 4. SECURED LOANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

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

7 agreements with one or more obligors to make se8 cured loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

9 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

10 project selected under section 3; 

11 (B) to refinance interim construction fi12 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

13 selected under section 3; or 

14 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga15 tions or Federal credit instruments, if the refi16 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

17 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

18 any project that— 

19 (i) is selected under section 3; or 

20 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

21 of section 3. 

22 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

23 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A loan under para24 graph (1) shall not refinance interim construction fi25 nancing under paragraph (1)(B)— 


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1 (A) if the maturity of such interim con2 struction financing is later than 1 year after 

3 the substantial completion of the project; and 

4 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub5 stantial completion of the project. 

6 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

7 an agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

8 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

9 Office of Management and Budget, shall determine 

10 an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount for 

11 each secured loan, taking into account each rating 

12 letter provided by a rating agency under section 

13 3(b)(2)(A)(ii) or, in the case of a small project, the 

14 alternative documentation provided under section 

15 3(b)(2)(B). 

16 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

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

18 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

19 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

20 representations, warranties, and requirements (in21 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

22 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

23 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se24 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

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1 gible project costs or, if the secured loan is not for 

2 a small project and does not receive an investment3 grade rating, the amount of the senior project obli4 gations. 

5 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec6 tion— 

7 (A) shall— 

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

9 from— 

10 (I) amounts charged to— 

11 (aa) subscribers of 

12 broadband service for such serv13 ice; or 

14 (bb) subscribers of any re15 lated service provided over the 

16 same infrastructure for such re17 lated service; 

18 (II) user fees; 

19 (III) payments owing to the obli20 gor under a public-private partner21 ship; or 

22 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

23 sources that also secure the senior 

24 project obligations; and 


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1 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

2 similar security feature supporting the 

3 project obligations; and 

4 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

5 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur6 ing project obligations. 

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

8 secured loan under this section shall be not less than 

9 the yield on United States Treasury securities of a 

10 similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan 

11 on the date of execution of the loan agreement. 

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

13 of the secured loan shall be the lesser of— 

14 (A) 35 years after the date of substantial 

15 completion of the project; and 

16 (B) if the useful life of the infrastructure 

17 for the provision of broadband service being fi18 nanced is of a lesser period, the useful life of 

19 the infrastructure. 

20 (6) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

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

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

23 subordinated to the claims of any holder of 

24 project obligations in the event of bankruptcy, 

25 insolvency, or liquidation of the obligor. 


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1 (B) PREEXISTING INDENTURE.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec3 retary shall waive the requirement under 

4 subparagraph (A) for a public agency bor5 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

6 programs and has outstanding senior 

7 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

8 (I) the secured loan— 

9 (aa) is rated in the A cat10 egory or higher; or 

11 (bb) in the case of a small 

12 project, meets an alternative 

13 standard that the Assistant Sec14 retary shall establish under sec15 tion 6 for purposes of this sub16 clause; 

17 (II) the secured loan is secured 

18 and payable from pledged revenues 

19 not affected by project performance, 

20 such as a tax-backed revenue pledge 

21 or a system-backed pledge of project 

22 revenues; and 

23 (III) the BIFIA program share 

24 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

25 or less. 


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1 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

2 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re3 quirement under this subparagraph— 

4 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

5 to be paid by the Federal Government 

6 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

7 the principal amount of the secured 

8 loan; and 

9 (II) the obligor shall be respon10 sible for paying the remainder of the 

11 subsidy cost, if any. 

12 (7) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab13 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

14 of the costs to the Federal Government of making 

15 a secured loan under this section. 

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

17 secured loan under the BIFIA program, if the loan 

18 is repayable from non-Federal funds— 

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

20 of project costs required under this Act; and 

21 (B) shall not count toward the total Fed22 eral assistance provided for a project for pur23 poses of paragraph (9). 

24 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The 

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1 ceiving a loan under the BIFIA program shall not 

2 exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. 

3 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

4 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

5 establish a repayment schedule for each secured loan 

6 under this section based on— 

7 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

8 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

9 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

10 the provision of broadband service being fi11 nanced. 

12 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay13 ments of principal or interest on a secured loan 

14 under this section shall commence not later than 5 

15 years after the date of substantial completion of the 

16 project. 

17 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

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

19 the date of substantial completion of the 

20 project, the project is unable to generate suffi21 cient revenues to pay the scheduled loan repay22 ments of principal and interest on the secured 

23 loan, the Assistant Secretary may, subject to 

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1 paid principal and interest to the outstanding 

2 balance of the secured loan. 

3 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

5 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac6 cordance with subsection (b)(4) until fully 

7 repaid; and 

8 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

9 the remaining term of the loan. 

10 (C) CRITERIA.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer12 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con13 tingent on the project meeting criteria es14 tablished by the Assistant Secretary. 

15 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

16 criteria established pursuant to clause (i) 

17 shall include standards for reasonable as18 surance of repayment. 

19 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

20 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex21 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

22 scheduled debt service requirements on the 

23 project obligations and secured loan and all de24 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

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1 ment securing project obligations may be ap2 plied annually to prepay the secured loan with3 out penalty. 

4 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI5 NANCING.—The secured loan may be prepaid at 

6 any time without penalty from the proceeds of 

7 refinancing from non-Federal funding sources. 

8 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

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

10 soon as practicable after substantial completion of a 

11 project and after notifying the obligor, the Assistant 

12 Secretary may sell to another entity or reoffer into 

13 the capital markets a secured loan for the project if 

14 the Assistant Secretary determines that the sale or 

15 reoffering can be made on favorable terms. 

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

17 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Assistant 

18 Secretary may not change the original terms and 

19 conditions of the secured loan without the written 

20 consent of the obligor. 

21 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

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

24 making a secured loan under this section if the As25 sistant Secretary determines that the budgetary cost 


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1 of the loan guarantee is substantially the same as 

2 that of a secured loan. 

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

4 under paragraph (1) shall be consistent with the 

5 terms required under this section for a secured loan, 

6 except that the rate on the guaranteed loan and any 

7 prepayment features shall be negotiated between the 

8 obligor and the lender, with the consent of the As9 sistant Secretary. 

10 (f) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

12 shall develop one or more expedited application proc13 esses, available at the request of entities seeking se14 cured loans under the BIFIA program, that use a 

15 set or sets of conventional terms established pursu16 ant to this section. 

17 (2) TERMS.—In establishing the streamlined 

18 application process required by this subsection, the 

19 Assistant Secretary may allow for an expedited ap20 plication period and include terms such as those that 

21 require— 

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

23 (B) the secured loan to be secured and 

24 payable from pledged revenues not affected by 

25 project performance, such as a tax-backed revVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Nov 09, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4287.IH H4287

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1 enue pledge, tax increment financing, or a sys2 tem-backed pledge of project revenues; and 

3 (C) repayment of the loan to commence 

4 not later than 5 years after disbursement. 

5 SEC. 5. LINES OF CREDIT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

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

9 agreements to make available to one or more obli10 gors lines of credit in the form of direct loans to be 

11 made by the Assistant Secretary at future dates on 

12 the occurrence of certain events for any project se13 lected under section 3. 

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

15 of credit made available under this section shall be 

16 available to pay debt service on project obligations 

17 issued to finance eligible project costs, extraordinary 

18 repair and replacement costs, operation and mainte19 nance expenses, and costs associated with unex20 pected Federal or State environmental restrictions. 

21 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.— 

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

23 subparagraph (B), before entering into an 

24 agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

25 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 


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1 the Office of Management and Budget and each 

2 rating agency providing a preliminary rating 

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

4 determine an appropriate capital reserve sub5 sidy amount for each line of credit, taking into 

6 account the rating opinion letter. 

7 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—Before entering 

8 into an agreement under this subsection to 

9 make available a line of credit for a small 

10 project, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation 

11 with the Director of the Office of Management 

12 and Budget, shall determine an appropriate 

13 capital reserve subsidy amount for each such 

14 line of credit, taking into account the alter15 native documentation provided under section 

16 3(b)(2)(B) instead of preliminary rating opinion 

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

18 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE19 MENT.—The funding of a line of credit under this 

20 section shall be contingent on— 

21 (A) the senior obligations of the project re22 ceiving an investment-grade rating from 2 rat23 ing agencies; or 

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

25 project meeting an alternative standard that the 


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1 Assistant Secretary shall establish under section 

2 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

3 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

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

5 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

6 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

7 representations, warranties, and requirements (in8 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

9 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

11 a line of credit under this section shall not exceed 

12 33 percent of the reasonably anticipated eligible 

13 project costs. 

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

15 under this section shall— 

16 (A) represent a direct loan; and 

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

18 project (including capitalized interest, but not 

19 including reasonably required financing re20 serves) are insufficient to pay the costs speci21 fied in subsection (a)(2). 

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

23 direct loan resulting from a draw on the line of cred24 it shall be not less than the yield on 30-year United 


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1 States Treasury securities, as of the date of execu2 tion of the line of credit agreement. 

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

4 this section— 

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 (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 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec14 retary to carry out this Act $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2018, to remain available until expended. 

16 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amount 

17 appropriated under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 

18 may use not more than 5 percent for the administration 

19 of the BIFIA program. 

20 SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

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

22 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there23 after, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

24 report summarizing the financial performance of the 

25 projects that are receiving, or have received, assistance 


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1 under the BIFIA program, including a recommendation 

2 as to whether the objectives of the BIFIA program are 

3 best served by— 

4 (1) continuing the program under the authority 

5 of the Assistant Secretary; or 

6 (2) establishing a Federal corporation or feder7 ally sponsored enterprise to administer the program. 

8 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS REPORT.— 

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

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

11 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen15 ate a report that includes a list of all of the letters 

16 of interest and applications received for assistance 

17 under the BIFIA program during the preceding fis18 cal year. 

19 (2) INCLUSIONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

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

22 description of, with respect to each letter of in23 terest and application included in the report— 

24 (i) the date on which the letter of in25 terest or application was received; 


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1 (ii) the date on which a notification 

2 was provided to the applicant regarding 

3 whether the application was complete or 

4 incomplete; 

5 (iii) the date on which a revised and 

6 completed application was submitted (if 

7 applicable); 

8 (iv) the date on which a notification 

9 was provided to the applicant regarding 

10 whether the project was approved or dis11 approved; and 

12 (v) if the project was not approved, 

13 the reason for the disapproval. 

14 (B) CORRESPONDENCE.—Each report 

15 under paragraph (1) shall include copies of any 

16 correspondence provided to the applicant in ac17 cordance with section 3(d). 

Æ 


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