II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1389 

To reform rural housing programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 1, 2023 

Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To reform rural housing 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—STREAMLINING AND UPDATES 

Sec. 101. Application of multifamily mortgage foreclosure procedures to multifamily mortgages held by the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Sec. 102. Study on rural housing loans for housing for low- and moderate-income families. 


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Sec. 103. Authorization of appropriations for staffing needs and information 

technology upgrades. 

TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

Sec. 201. Permanent establishment of housing preservation and revitalization 

program. 

Sec. 202. Eligibility for rural housing vouchers. 

Sec. 203. Amount of voucher assistance. 

Sec. 204. Rental assistance contract authority. 

Sec. 205. Funding for multifamily technical improvements. 

TITLE III—NATIVE CDFI RELENDING 

Sec. 301. Native CDFI relending program. 

TITLE IV—SECTION 504 LOANS AND GRANTS 

Sec. 401. Modifications to loans and grants for minor improvements to farm 

housing and buildings. 

TITLE V—RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE 

GRANTS 

Sec. 501. Rural Community Development Initiative. 

TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORT 

Sec. 601. Annual report on rural housing programs. 

TITLE VII—RURAL HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM 

Sec. 701. Adjustment to rural development voucher amount. 

TITLE VIII—TRANSFERS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 

Sec. 801. Transfer of elderly rural housing projects. 

TITLE IX—TERM OF DIRECT LOANS MADE BY THE RURAL 

HOUSING SERVICE 

Sec. 901. Extension of loan term. 

1 TITLE I—STREAMLINING AND 

2 UPDATES 

3 SEC. 101. APPLICATION OF MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE 

4 FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES TO MULTI5 FAMILY MORTGAGES HELD BY THE SEC6 RETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 

7 The Multifamily Mortgage Foreclosure Act of 1981 

8 (12 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 363 (12 U.S.C. 3702)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

6 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

7 and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(F) section 514, 515, or 538 of the Hous11 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 

12 1490p).’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (10)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘means the Secretary’’ 

15 and inserting the following: ‘‘means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary’’; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des18 ignated, by striking the period at the end 

19 and inserting ‘‘, with respect to a multi20 family mortgage described in subparagraph 

21 (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph 

22 (2); and’’; and 

23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re2 spect to a multifamily mortgage described in 

3 paragraph (2)(F).’’. 

4 SEC. 102. STUDY ON RURAL HOUSING LOANS FOR HOUSING 

5 FOR LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME FAMI6 LIES. 

7 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a 

9 study and submit to Congress a publicly available report 

10 on the loan program under section 521 of the Housing 

11 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a), including— 

12 (1) the total amount provided by the Secretary 

13 in subsidies under such section 521; 

14 (2) how much of the subsidies are being recap15 tured; and 

16 (3) the amount of time and costs associated 

17 with recapturing those subsidies. 

18 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR 

19 STAFFING NEEDS AND INFORMATION TECH20 NOLOGY UPGRADES. 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec22 retary of Agriculture such sums as may be necessary for 

23 increased staffing needs and information technology up24 grades to support all preservation efforts of the Rural 

25 Housing Service. 


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1 TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING 

2 PRESERVATION AND REVI3 TALIZATION 

4 SEC. 201. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES5 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

6 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

7 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 

11 out a program under this section for the preservation and 

12 revitalization of multifamily rental housing projects fi13 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

14 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—On an annual basis, the 

16 Secretary shall provide written notice to each owner 

17 of a property financed under section 515 or both 

18 sections 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4- 

19 year period beginning upon the provision of the no20 tice, setting forth the options and financial incen21 tives that are available to facilitate the extension of 

22 the loan term or the option to decouple a rental as23 sistance contract pursuant to subsection (f). 

24 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi2 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

3 and 516, not later than the date that is 2 years 

4 before the date that the loan will mature, the 

5 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

6 household residing in the property that informs 

7 them of the date of the loan maturity, the pos8 sible actions that may happen with respect to 

9 the property upon that maturity, and how to 

10 protect their right to reside in federally assisted 

11 housing after that maturity. 

12 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para13 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

14 shall be translated to other languages in the 

15 case of any property located in an area in which 

16 a significant number of residents speak such 

17 other languages. 

18 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

19 under this section, in any circumstance in which the Sec20 retary proposes a restructuring to an owner or an owner 

21 proposes a restructuring to the Secretary, the Secretary 

22 may restructure such existing housing loans, as the Sec23 retary considers appropriate, for the purpose of ensuring 

24 that those projects have sufficient resources to preserve 


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1 the projects to provide safe and affordable housing for low2 income residents and farm laborers, by— 

3 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

4 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

5 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

6 loan debt; and 

7 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, in8 cluding advances, payments, and incentives (includ9 ing the ability of owners to obtain reasonable re10 turns on investment) required by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Secretary pro13 poses to restructure a loan or agrees to the proposal 

14 of an owner to restructure a loan pursuant to sub15 section (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the 

16 rental assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) 

17 for a 20-year term that is subject to annual appro18 priations, provided that the owner agrees to bring 

19 the property up to such standards that will ensure 

20 maintenance of the property as decent, safe, and 

21 sanitary housing for the full term of the rental as22 sistance contract. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—With 

24 respect to a project described in paragraph (1), if 

25 rental assistance is not available for all households 


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1 in the project for which the loan is being restruc2 tured pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary may 

3 extend such additional rental assistance to unas4 sisted households at that project as is necessary to 

5 make the project safe and affordable to low-income 

6 households. 

7 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva9 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

10 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 

11 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac12 cordance with this title. 

13 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

14 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST15 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

16 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as17 sistance contract for a project, the term of the 

18 restrictive use agreement for the project shall 

19 be consistent with the term of the restructured 

20 loan for the project. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

22 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

23 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

24 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

25 agreement for the project shall be for 20 years. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

2 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree3 ment for a project before the end of the term 

4 of the agreement if the 20-year rental assist5 ance contract for the project with the owner is 

6 terminated at any time for reasons outside the 

7 control of the owner. 

8 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON10 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a matur11 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc12 tured in accordance with subsection (c) because it is 

13 not financially feasible or the owner does not agree 

14 with the proposed restructuring, and the project was 

15 operating with rental assistance under section 521, 

16 the Secretary may renew the rental assistance con17 tract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, 

18 for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of not 

19 less than 10 years but not more than 20 years. 

20 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—With 

21 respect to a project described in paragraph (1), if 

22 rental assistance is not available for all households 

23 in the project for which the loan is being restruc24 tured pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary may 

25 extend such additional rental assistance to unasVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1389.IS S1389

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1 sisted households at that project as is necessary to 

2 make the project safe and affordable to low-income 

3 households. 

4 ‘‘(3) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the 

5 term of the rental assistance contract under section 

6 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to con7 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

8 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

9 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

10 based on the lesser of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor 

14 as a payment standard as provided under sec15 tion 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

16 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

17 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

18 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—Before the approval of a 

20 rental assistance contract authorized under this 

21 section, the Secretary shall require the owner to 

22 submit to the Secretary a plan that identifies fi23 nancing sources and a timetable for renovations 

24 and improvements determined to be necessary 


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1 by the Secretary to maintain and preserve the 

2 project. 

3 ‘‘(B) AUTOMATIC APPROVAL.—If a plan 

4 submitted under subparagraph (A) is not acted 

5 upon by the Secretary within 30 days of the 

6 submission, the rental assistance contract is 

7 automatically approved for not more than a 1- 

8 year period. 

9 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

10 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

11 Secretary may provide grants to qualified nonprofit orga12 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

13 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor14 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

15 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

16 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

17 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

18 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

19 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

20 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

21 or have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to 

22 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c)— 

23 ‘‘(1) a tenant residing in the project shall have 

24 18 months before loan maturation or prepayment to 

25 transfer the rental assistance assigned to the unit of 


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1 the tenant to another rental project originally fi2 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 

3 516, and such tenants will have priority for admis4 sion over other applicants; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the owner of the initial project may rent 

6 the previous unit of the tenant to a new tenant with7 out income restrictions. 

8 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

9 made available for the program under this section for any 

10 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 

11 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

12 such program. 

13 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

15 this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

16 through 2028. 

17 ‘‘(k) RULEMAKING.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of the Rural Housing 

20 Service Reform Act of 2023, the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) publish an advance notice of proposed 

22 rulemaking; and 

23 ‘‘(B) consult with appropriate stake24 holders. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INTERIM FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of the Rural Hous3 ing Service Reform Act of 2023, the Secretary shall 

4 publish an interim final rule to carry out this sec5 tion.’’. 

6 SEC. 202. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

7 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

8 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS

10 514, 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

12 rural housing vouchers under this section for any 

13 low-income household (including those not receiving 

14 rental assistance) residing— 

15 ‘‘(A) for a term longer than the remaining 

16 term of their lease in effect just prior to pre17 payment, in a property financed with a loan 

18 made or insured under section 514 or 515 that 

19 has— 

20 ‘‘(i) been prepaid without restrictions 

21 imposed by the Secretary pursuant to sec22 tion 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I); 

23 ‘‘(ii) been foreclosed; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) matured after September 30, 

25 2005; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) in a property assisted under section 

2 514 or 516. 

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 

4 the provision of rental housing vouchers under this 

5 section for projects owned by nonprofit organizations 

6 and their affiliates or public agencies.’’. 

7 SEC. 203. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

9 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to 

10 section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1490r), the amount of the monthly assistance payment for 

12 the household on whose behalf the assistance is provided 

13 shall be determined as provided in subsection (a) of such 

14 section 542. 

15 SEC. 204. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

16 Section 521(d) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

17 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

20 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec21 tively; 

22 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) upon request of an owner of a project fi25 nanced under section 514 or 515, the Secretary is 


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1 authorized to enter into renewal of such agreements 

2 for a period of 20 years or the term of the loan, 

3 whichever is shorter, subject to amounts made avail4 able in appropriations Acts;’’; and 

5 (C) in subparagraph (C), as so redesig6 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and in7 serting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’; and 

8 (D) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig9 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and 

10 (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), 

11 and (C)’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au14 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

15 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

16 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

17 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a pe18 riod of 6 months before unused assistance is made 

19 available pursuant to subparagraph (B) during 

20 which the owner may use such assistance authority 

21 to provide assistance of behalf of an eligible unas22 sisted family that— 

23 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

24 that the assisted family resided before the ter25 mination; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in the 

2 rental project during that 6-month period; and 

3 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used as provided in 

4 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re5 maining authority to provide assistance on behalf of 

6 eligible families residing in other rental projects 

7 originally financed under section 515 or both sec8 tions 514 and 516.’’. 

9 SEC. 205. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IM10 PROVEMENTS. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri13 culture such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

14 2024 for improving the technology of the Department of 

15 Agriculture used to process loans for multifamily housing 

16 and otherwise managing that housing. 

17 (b) TIMELINE.—The improvements required under 

18 subsection (a) shall be made within the 5-year period be19 ginning upon the appropriation of amounts under sub20 section (a), and those amounts shall remain available until 

21 the expiration of that 5-year period. 


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1 TITLE III—NATIVE CDFI 

2 RELENDING 

3 SEC. 301. NATIVE CDFI RELENDING PROGRAM. 

4 Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1472) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(j) SET ASIDE FOR NATIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOP7 MENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘Alaska Native’ has the 

10 meaning given the term ‘Native’ in section 3(b) 

11 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

12 U.S.C. 1602(b)); 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘appropriate congressional 

14 committees’ means— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture of 

16 the Senate; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs 

18 of the Senate; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Banking, 

20 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Agriculture of 

22 the House of Representatives; 

23 ‘‘(v) the Committee on Natural Re24 sources of the House of Representatives; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the Committee on Financial 

2 Services of the House of Representatives; 

3 ‘‘(C) the term ‘community development fi4 nancial institution’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 103 of the Community Develop6 ment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 

7 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702); 

8 ‘‘(D) the term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the 

9 meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in section 

10 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance 

11 and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

12 4103); 

13 ‘‘(E) the term ‘Native community develop14 ment financial institution’ means an entity— 

15 ‘‘(i) that has been certified as a com16 munity development financial institution by 

17 the Secretary of the Treasury; 

18 ‘‘(ii) that is not less than 50 percent 

19 owned or controlled by members of Indian 

20 Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or Na21 tive Hawaiian communities; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) for which not less than 50 per23 cent of the activities of the entity serve In24 dian Tribes, Alaska Native communities, 

25 or Native Hawaiian communities; 


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1 ‘‘(F) the term ‘Native Hawaiian’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 801 of the 

3 Native American Housing Assistance and Self4 Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(G) the term ‘priority Tribal land’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(i) any land located within the 

9 boundaries of— 

10 ‘‘(I) an Indian reservation, pueb11 lo, or rancheria; or 

12 ‘‘(II) a former reservation within 

13 Oklahoma; 

14 ‘‘(ii) any land not located within the 

15 boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueb16 lo, or rancheria, the title to which is held— 

17 ‘‘(I) in trust by the United States 

18 for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or 

19 an individual Indian; 

20 ‘‘(II) by an Indian Tribe or an 

21 individual Indian, subject to restric22 tion against alienation under laws of 

23 the United States; or 

24 ‘‘(III) by a dependent Indian 

25 community; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any land located within a region 

2 established pursuant to section 7(a) of the 

3 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

4 U.S.C. 1606(a)); 

5 ‘‘(iv) Hawaiian Home Lands, as de6 fined in section 801 of the Native Amer7 ican Housing Assistance and Self-Deter8 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); or 

9 ‘‘(v) those areas or communities des10 ignated by the Assistant Secretary of In11 dian Affairs of the Department of the Inte12 rior that are near, adjacent, or contiguous 

13 to reservations where financial assistance 

14 and social service programs are provided to 

15 Indians because of their status as Indians. 

16 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

17 is to— 

18 ‘‘(A) increase homeownership opportunities 

19 for Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Communities, 

20 and Native Hawaiian communities in rural 

21 areas; and 

22 ‘‘(B) provide capital to Native community 

23 development financial institutions to increase 

24 the number of mortgage transactions carried 

25 out by those institutions. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SET ASIDE FOR NATIVE CDFIS.—Of 

2 amounts appropriated to make direct loans under 

3 this section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

4 use $50,000,000 to make direct loans to Native 

5 community development financial institutions in ac6 cordance with this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—A Native 

8 community development financial institution desiring 

9 a loan under this subsection shall demonstrate that 

10 the institution— 

11 ‘‘(A) can provide the non-Federal cost 

12 share required under paragraph (6); and 

13 ‘‘(B) is able to originate and service loans 

14 for single family homes. 

15 ‘‘(5) LENDING REQUIREMENTS.—A Native com16 munity development financial institution that re17 ceives a loan pursuant to this subsection shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) use those amounts to make loans to 

19 borrowers— 

20 ‘‘(i) who otherwise meet the require21 ments for a loan under this section; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) who— 

23 ‘‘(I) are members of an Indian 

24 Tribe, an Alaska Native community, 

25 or a Native Hawaiian community; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) maintain a household in 

2 which not less 1 member is a member 

3 of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native 

4 community, or a Native Hawaiian 

5 community; and 

6 ‘‘(B) in making loans under subparagraph 

7 (A), give priority to borrowers described in that 

8 subparagraph who are residing on priority Trib9 al land. 

10 ‘‘(6) NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Native community 

12 development financial institution that receives a 

13 loan under this section shall be required to 

14 match not less than 20 percent of the amount 

15 received. 

16 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—In the case of a loan for 

17 which amounts are used to make loans to bor18 rowers described in paragraph (5)(B), the Sec19 retary shall waive the non-Federal cost share 

20 requirement described in subparagraph (A) with 

21 respect to those loan amounts. 

22 ‘‘(7) REPORTING.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORT BY NATIVE

24 CDFIS.—Each Native community development 

25 financial institution that receives a loan pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1389.IS S1389

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1 ant to this subsection shall submit an annual 

2 report to the Secretary on the lending activities 

3 of the institution using the loan amounts, which 

4 shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) a description of the outreach ef6 forts of the institution in local communities 

7 to identify eligible borrowers; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the institu9 tion leveraged additional capital to reach 

10 prospective borrowers; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the number of loan applications 

12 received, approved, and deployed; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the average loan amount; 

14 ‘‘(v) the number of finalized loans 

15 that were made on Tribal trust lands and 

16 not on Tribal trust lands; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) the number of finalized loans 

18 that were made on priority Tribal land and 

19 not priority Tribal land. 

20 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enact22 ment of this subsection, and every year there23 after, the Secretary shall submit to the appro24 priate congressional communities a report that 

25 includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a list of loans made to Native 

2 community development financial institu3 tions pursuant to this subsection, including 

4 the name of the institution and the loan 

5 amount; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of loans made 

7 under this section to members of Indian 

8 Tribes, Alaska Native communities, and 

9 Native Hawaiian communities, respectively, 

10 including a breakdown of loans made to 

11 households residing on and not on Tribal 

12 trust lands; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the average loan amount made 

14 by Native community development finan15 cial institutions pursuant to this sub16 section. 

17 ‘‘(C) EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.—Not 

18 later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this subsection, the Secretary and the Sec20 retary of the Treasury shall conduct an evalua21 tion of and submit to the appropriate congres22 sional committees a report on the program 

23 under this subsection, which shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) evaluate the effectiveness of the 

2 program, including an evaluation of the de3 mand for loans under the program; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) include recommendations relating 

5 to the program, including whether— 

6 ‘‘(I) the program should be ex7 panded to such that all community de8 velopment financial institutions may 

9 make loans under the program to the 

10 borrowers described in paragraph (5); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) the set aside amount para13 graph (3) should be modified in order 

14 to match demand under the program. 

15 ‘‘(8) GRANTS FOR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 make grants to Native community development 

18 financial institutions that receive a loan under 

19 this section to provide operational support and 

20 other related services to those institutions, sub21 ject to— 

22 ‘‘(i) to the satisfactory performance, 

23 as determined by the Secretary, of a Na24 tive community development financial insti25 tution in carrying out this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the availability of funding. 

2 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—A Native community de3 velopment financial institution that receives a 

4 loan under this section shall be eligible to re5 ceive an annual grant described in subpara6 graph (A) in an amount equal to not less than 

7 20 percent and not more than 25 percent of the 

8 total outstanding balance of loans made by the 

9 Native community development financial insti10 tution under the program under this section as 

11 of the date on which the grant is awarded. 

12 ‘‘(9) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSIST13 ANCE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

14 the Secretary $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2024, 2025, and 2026— 

16 ‘‘(A) to provide technical assistance to Na17 tive community development financial institu18 tions— 

19 ‘‘(i) relating to homeownership and 

20 other housing-related assistance provided 

21 by the Secretary; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) to assist those institutions to 

23 perform outreach to eligible homebuyers 

24 relating to the loan program under this 

25 section; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) to provide funding to a national orga2 nization representing Native American housing 

3 interests to perform outreach and provide tech4 nical assistance as described in clauses (i) and 

5 (ii), respectively, of subparagraph (A).’’. 

6 TITLE IV—SECTION 504 LOANS 

7 AND GRANTS 

8 SEC. 401. MODIFICATIONS TO LOANS AND GRANTS FOR 

9 MINOR IMPROVEMENTS TO FARM HOUSING 

10 AND BUILDINGS. 

11 Section 504(a) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1474) is amended by striking ‘‘$7,500’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘$15,000’’. 

14 TITLE V—RURAL COMMUNITY 

15 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE 

16 GRANTS 

17 SEC. 501. RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

18 Subtitle E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De19 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2009 et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 381O. RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIA22 TIVE. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en25 tity’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a private, nonprofit community-based 

2 housing or community development organiza3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(B) a low-income rural community; or 

5 ‘‘(C) a federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘eli7 gible intermediary’ means a qualified— 

8 ‘‘(A) private, nonprofit organization; or 

9 ‘‘(B) public organization. 

10 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab11 lish a Rural Community Development Initiative, under 

12 which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible inter13 mediaries to carry out programs to provide financial and 

14 technical assistance to eligible entities to develop the ca15 pacity and ability of eligible entities to carry out projects 

16 to improve housing, community facilities, and community 

17 and economic development projects in rural areas. 

18 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a grant 

19 provided to an eligible intermediary under this section 

20 shall be not more than $250,000. 

21 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible intermediary re23 ceiving a grant under this section shall provide 

24 matching funds from other sources, including FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1389.IS S1389

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1 eral funds for related activities, in an amount not 

2 less than the amount of the grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive para4 graph (1) with respect to a project that would be 

5 carried out in a persistently poor rural region, as de6 termined by the Secretary.’’. 

7 TITLE VI—ANNUAL REPORT 

8 SEC. 601. ANNUAL REPORT ON RURAL HOUSING PRO9 GRAMS. 

10 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

11 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following 

13 ‘‘SEC. 546. ANNUAL REPORT. 

14 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate com15 mittees of Congress and publish on the website of the De16 partment of Agriculture an annual report on rural housing 

17 programs carried out under this title, which shall include 

18 significant details on the health of Rural Housing Service 

19 programs, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) raw data sortable by services and by re21 gion regarding loan performance; 

22 ‘‘(2) the housing stock of those programs, in23 cluding information on why properties end participa24 tion in those programs, such as for maturation, pre25 payment, foreclosure, or other servicing issues; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) risk ratings for properties assisted under 

2 those programs.’’. 

3 TITLE VII—RURAL HOUSING 

4 VOUCHER PROGRAM 

5 SEC. 701. ADJUSTMENT TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT VOUCH6 ER AMOUNT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

9 shall issue regulations to establish a process for adjusting 

10 the voucher amount provided under section 542 of the 

11 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r) after the issuance 

12 of the voucher following an interim or annual review of 

13 the amount of the voucher. 

14 (b) INTERIM REVIEW.—The interim review described 

15 in subsection (a) shall, at the request of a tenant, allow 

16 for a recalculation of the voucher amount when the tenant 

17 experiences a reduction in income or change in family 

18 composition. 

19 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The annual review described 

21 in subsection (a) shall require tenants to annually 

22 recertify the family composition of the household 

23 and that the family income of the household does 

24 not exceed 80 percent of the area median income at 

25 a time determined by the Secretary. 


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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—If a tenant does not re2 certify the family composition and family income of 

3 the household within the timeframe required under 

4 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture— 

5 (A) shall consider whether extenuating cir6 cumstances caused the delay in recertification; 

7 and 

8 (B) may alter associated consequences for 

9 the failure to recertify based on those cir10 cumstances. 

11 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Following the annual 

12 review of a voucher under subsection (a), the up13 dated voucher amount shall be effective on the 1st 

14 day of the month following the expiration of the 

15 voucher. 

16 (d) DEADLINE.—The process established under sub17 section (a) shall require the Secretary of Agriculture to 

18 review and update the voucher amount described in sub19 section (a) for a tenant not later than 60 days before the 

20 end of the voucher term. 


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1 TITLE VIII—TRANSFERS TO 

2 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 

3 SEC. 801. TRANSFER OF ELDERLY RURAL HOUSING 

4 PROJECTS. 

5 Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1485) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZA10 TIONS.—A nonprofit or public body purchaser, in11 cluding a limited partnership with a nonprofit con12 trolled general partner, may purchase a property for 

13 which a loan is made or insured under this section 

14 that has received a market value appraisal, without 

15 addressing rehabilitation needs at the time of pur16 chase, if the purchaser— 

17 ‘‘(A) makes a commitment to address re18 habilitation needs during ownership and long19 term use restrictions on the property; and 

20 ‘‘(B) at the time of purchase, accepts long21 term use restrictions on the property.’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (w)(1), in the first sentence in 

23 the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

24 ‘‘9 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent’’. 


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1 TITLE IX—TERM OF DIRECT 

2 LOANS MADE BY THE RURAL 

3 HOUSING SERVICE 

4 SEC. 901. EXTENSION OF LOAN TERM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(a)(2) of the Housing 

6 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472(a)(2)) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may extend the period of any loan 

9 made under this section for a total term of not more than 

10 40 years.’’. 

11 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made under 

12 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to loans made 

13 under section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1472) before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act. 

Æ 


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