II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2552 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize 

the Secretary of Agriculture to increase the maximum amounts of Farm 

Service Agency loans for years in which those maximum amounts are 

insufficient to satisfy demand, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2018 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to increase 

the maximum amounts of Farm Service Agency loans 

for years in which those maximum amounts are insufficient to satisfy demand, 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 ‘‘Farm Service Agency 

5 Loan Flexibility Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNTS FOR LOANS AU2 THORIZED. 

3 Section 346(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

4 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1994(b)) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED AMOUNTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter8 mines that the amount needed for a fiscal year 

9 for loans under subtitles A and B is greater 

10 than the aggregate principal amount authorized 

11 for that fiscal year by this Act, an appropria12 tions Act, or any other provision of law, the 

13 Secretary may make or guarantee loans under 

14 subtitles A and B from the Agricultural Credit 

15 Insurance Fund for that fiscal year in an 

16 amount that is not more than 125 percent of 

17 that aggregate principal amount. 

18 ‘‘(B) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA19 TION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For a fiscal year 

21 for which the Secretary uses the authority 

22 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

23 may use of the funds of the Commodity 

24 Credit Corporation an amount equal to the 

25 difference between— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the amount of the cost of 

2 making or guaranteeing loans under 

3 subtitles A and B for that fiscal year; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) the amount of discretionary 

6 appropriations for those loans for that 

7 fiscal year under an appropriations 

8 Act or any other provision of law. 

9 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) ap10 plies for a fiscal year only if the amount 

11 described in subclause (I) of that clause is 

12 greater than the amount described in sub13 clause (II) of that clause. 

14 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 15 days be15 fore the date on which the Secretary uses the 

16 authority under subparagraph (A), the Sec17 retary shall submit a notice of the use of that 

18 authority to— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Appropriations 

20 of the House of Representatives; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

22 of the Senate; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Agriculture of 

24 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Agriculture, 

2 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.’’. 

Æ 


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