I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4127 

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 

JULY 30, 2019 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. RUSH, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. TONKO, Ms. CLARKE

of New York, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. 

O’HALLERAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. RYAN, Ms. MOORE, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. CUELLAR, and Ms. HAALAND) 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 

4 2019’’. 

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

6 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. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist10 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

11 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

12 (2) BIFIA PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘BIFIA pro13 gram’’ means the broadband infrastructure finance 

14 and innovation program established under this Act. 

15 (3) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term ‘‘broad16 band service’’— 

17 (A) means broadband internet access serv18 ice that is a mass-market retail service, or a 

19 service provided to an entity described in para20 graph (12)(B)(ii), by wire or radio that proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4127.IH H4127

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1 vides the capability to transmit data to and re2 ceive data from all or substantially all internet 

3 endpoints, including any capabilities that are 

4 incidental to and enable the operation of the 

5 communications service; 

6 (B) includes any service that is a func7 tional equivalent of the service described in sub8 paragraph (A); and 

9 (C) does not include dial-up internet access 

10 service. 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli12 gible project costs’’ means amounts substantially all 

13 of which are paid by, or for the account of, an obli14 gor in connection with a project, including the cost 

15 of— 

16 (A) development phase activities, including 

17 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore18 casting, environmental review, historic preserva19 tion review, permitting, preliminary engineering 

20 and design work, and other preconstruction ac21 tivities; 

22 (B) construction and deployment phase ac23 tivities, including— 

24 (i) construction, reconstruction, reha25 bilitation, replacement, and acquisition of 


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1 real property (including land relating to 

2 the project and improvements to land), 

3 equipment, instrumentation, networking 

4 capability, hardware and software, and dig5 ital network technology; 

6 (ii) environmental mitigation; and 

7 (iii) construction contingencies; and 

8 (C) capitalized interest necessary to meet 

9 market requirements, reasonably required re10 serve funds, capital issuance expenses, and 

11 other carrying costs during construction and 

12 deployment. 

13 (5) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

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

15 loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to be 

16 made available under the BIFIA program with re17 spect to a project. 

18 (6) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

19 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 

20 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as21 signed by a rating agency to project obligations. 

22 (7) LENDER.—The term ‘‘lender’’ means any 

23 non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined 

24 in section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations (or any successor regulation), known as 


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1 Rule 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com2 mission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933 

3 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.)), including— 

4 (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined 

5 in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

6 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer; 

7 and 

8 (B) a governmental plan (as defined in 

9 section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

10 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer. 

11 (8) LETTER OF INTEREST.—The term ‘‘letter 

12 of interest’’ means a letter submitted by a potential 

13 applicant prior to an application for credit assistance 

14 in a format prescribed by the Assistant Secretary on 

15 the website of the BIFIA program that— 

16 (A) describes the project and the location, 

17 purpose, and cost of the project; 

18 (B) outlines the proposed financial plan, 

19 including the requested credit assistance and 

20 the proposed obligor; 

21 (C) provides a status of environmental re22 view; and 

23 (D) provides information regarding satis24 faction of other eligibility requirements of the 

25 BIFIA program. 


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1 (9) LINE OF CREDIT.—The term ‘‘line of cred2 it’’ means an agreement entered into by the Assist3 ant Secretary with an obligor under section 5 to pro4 vide a direct loan at a future date upon the occur5 rence of certain events. 

6 (10) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar7 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

8 Assistant Secretary to pay all or part of the prin9 cipal of and interest on a loan or other debt obliga10 tion issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. 

11 (11) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means a 

12 party that— 

13 (A) is primarily liable for payment of the 

14 principal of or interest on a Federal credit in15 strument; and 

16 (B) may be a corporation, company, part17 nership, joint venture, trust, or governmental 

18 entity, agency, or instrumentality. 

19 (12) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

20 project— 

21 (A) to construct and deploy infrastructure 

22 for the provision of broadband service; and 

23 (B) that the Assistant Secretary deter24 mines will— 


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1 (i) provide access or improved access 

2 to broadband service to consumers residing 

3 in areas of the United States that have no 

4 access to broadband service or do not have 

5 access to broadband service offered— 

6 (I) with a download speed of at 

7 least 25 megabits per second; 

8 (II) with an upload speed of at 

9 least 3 megabits per second; and 

10 (III) with latency that is suffi11 ciently low to allow real-time, inter12 active applications; or 

13 (ii) provide access or improved access 

14 to broadband service to— 

15 (I) schools, libraries, medical and 

16 healthcare providers, community col17 leges and other institutions of higher 

18 education, and other community sup19 port organizations and entities to fa20 cilitate greater use of broadband serv21 ice by or through such organizations; 

22 (II) organizations and agencies 

23 that provide outreach, access, equip24 ment, and support services to facili25 tate greater use of broadband service 


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1 by low-income, unemployed, aged, and 

2 otherwise vulnerable populations; 

3 (III) job-creating strategic facili4 ties located within a State-designated 

5 economic zone, Economic Develop6 ment District designated by the De7 partment of Commerce, Renewal 

8 Community or Empowerment Zone 

9 designated by the Department of 

10 Housing and Urban Development, or 

11 Enterprise Community designated by 

12 the Department of Agriculture; or 

13 (IV) public safety agencies. 

14 (13) PROJECT OBLIGATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘project obligation’’ means any note, bond, deben16 ture, or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

17 connection with the financing of a project, other 

18 than a Federal credit instrument. 

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

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

21 township, Indian Tribe, municipal or other local gov22 ernment or instrumentality with authority to fi23 nance, build, operate, or maintain infrastructure for 

24 the provision of broadband service. 


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1 (15) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen2 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

3 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

4 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

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

6 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

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

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

9 issued by an obligor and funded by the Assistant 

10 Secretary in connection with the financing of a 

11 project under section 4. 

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

13 project’’ means a project having eligible project costs 

14 that are reasonably anticipated not to equal or ex15 ceed $20,000,000. 

16 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean17 ing given such term in section 3 of the Communica18 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

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

20 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf21 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

22 Federal Government of a Federal credit instru23 ment— 

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

25 and 


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1 (B) excluding administrative costs and any 

2 incidental effects on governmental receipts or 

3 outlays in accordance with the Federal Credit 

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

5 (20) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

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

7 project receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

8 program— 

9 (A) the commencement of the provision of 

10 broadband service using the infrastructure 

11 being financed; or 

12 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

13 the Assistant Secretary and specified in the 

14 credit agreement. 

15 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT SE16 LECTION. 

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

19 receive credit assistance under the BIFIA program 

20 if— 

21 (A) the entity proposing to carry out the 

22 project submits a letter of interest prior to sub23 mission of a formal application for the project; 

24 and 


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1 (B) the project meets the criteria described 

2 in this subsection. 

3 (2) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

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

5 subparagraph (B), to be eligible for assistance 

6 under the BIFIA program, a project shall sat7 isfy applicable creditworthiness standards, 

8 which, at a minimum, shall include— 

9 (i) adequate coverage requirements to 

10 ensure repayment; 

11 (ii) an investment-grade rating from 

12 at least 2 rating agencies on debt senior to 

13 the Federal credit instrument; and 

14 (iii) a rating from at least 2 rating 

15 agencies on the Federal credit instrument. 

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

17 small project to be eligible for assistance under 

18 the BIFIA program, such project shall satisfy 

19 alternative creditworthiness standards that shall 

20 be established by the Assistant Secretary under 

21 section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

22 (3) APPLICATION.—A State, local government, 

23 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern24 ment, public authority, public-private partnership, or 

25 any other legal entity undertaking the project and 


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1 authorized by the Assistant Secretary shall submit a 

2 project application that is acceptable to the Assist3 ant Secretary. 

4 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST PARAMETERS FOR

5 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Eligible project costs 

6 shall be reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

7 $2,000,000 in the case of a project or program of 

8 projects— 

9 (A) in which the applicant is a local gov10 ernment, instrumentality of local government, 

11 or public authority (other than a public author12 ity that is a Federal or State government or in13 strumentality); 

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

15 government; or 

16 (C) for which the Assistant Secretary de17 termines that a local government is substan18 tially involved in the development of the project. 

19 (5) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The ap20 plicable Federal credit instrument shall be repayable, 

21 in whole or in part, from— 

22 (A) amounts charged to— 

23 (i) subscribers of broadband service 

24 for such service; or 


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1 (ii) subscribers of any related service 

2 provided over the same infrastructure for 

3 such related service; 

4 (B) user fees; 

5 (C) payments owing to the obligor under a 

6 public-private partnership; or 

7 (D) other dedicated revenue sources that 

8 also secure or fund the project obligations. 

9 (6) APPLICATIONS WHERE OBLIGOR WILL BE

10 IDENTIFIED LATER.—A State, local government, 

11 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern12 ment, or public authority may submit to the Assist13 ant Secretary an application under paragraph (3), 

14 under which a private party to a public-private part15 nership will be— 

16 (A) the obligor; and 

17 (B) identified later through completion of 

18 a procurement and selection of the private 

19 party. 

20 (7) BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.—The Assistant Sec21 retary shall determine that financial assistance for 

22 the project under the BIFIA program will— 

23 (A) foster, if appropriate, partnerships 

24 that attract public and private investment for 

25 the project; 


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1 (B) enable the project to proceed at an 

2 earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

3 able to proceed or reduce the lifecycle costs (in4 cluding debt service costs) of the project; and 

5 (C) reduce the contribution of Federal 

6 grant assistance for the project. 

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

8 assistance under the BIFIA program, the applicant 

9 shall demonstrate a reasonable expectation that the 

10 contracting process for the construction and deploy11 ment of infrastructure for the provision of broad12 band service through the project can commence by 

13 no later than 90 days after the date on which a Fed14 eral credit instrument is obligated for the project 

15 under the BIFIA program. 

16 (b) SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPLICATION PROC18 ESS.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish a roll19 ing application process under which projects that are 

20 eligible to receive credit assistance under subsection 

21 (a) shall receive credit assistance on terms accept22 able to the Assistant Secretary, if adequate funds 

23 are available to cover the subsidy costs associated 

24 with the Federal credit instrument. 


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1 (2) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 

2 The Assistant Secretary shall require each project 

3 applicant to provide— 

4 (A) a preliminary rating opinion letter 

5 from at least 1 rating agency— 

6 (i) indicating that the senior obliga7 tions of the project, which may be the Fed8 eral credit instrument, have the potential 

9 to achieve an investment-grade rating; and 

10 (ii) including a preliminary rating 

11 opinion on the Federal credit instrument; 

12 or 

13 (B) in the case of a small project, alter14 native documentation that the Assistant Sec15 retary shall require in the standards established 

16 under section 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 

17 (3) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.—In 

18 selecting projects to receive credit assistance under 

19 the BIFIA program, the Assistant Secretary may 

20 not favor a project using any particular technology. 

21 (c) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

23 law shall apply to funds made available under the 

24 BIFIA program and projects assisted with those 

25 funds: 


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

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

3 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

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

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

6 referred to as the ‘‘National Historic Preserva7 tion Act’’). 

8 (D) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

9 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 

10 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 

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

12 a project that has not received an environmental cat13 egorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, 

14 or a record of decision under the National Environ15 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

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

17 1964.—For purposes of title VI of the Civil Rights 

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

19 that receives credit assistance under the BIFIA pro20 gram shall be considered a program or activity with21 in the meaning of section 606 of such title (42 

22 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

23 (d) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES.— 

24 (1) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION.—Not 

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1 plication under this section, the Assistant Secretary 

2 shall provide to the applicant a written notice to in3 form the applicant whether— 

4 (A) the application is complete; or 

5 (B) additional information or materials are 

6 needed to complete the application. 

7 (2) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION.— 

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

9 the written notice under paragraph (1), the Assist10 ant Secretary shall provide to the applicant a writ11 ten notice informing the applicant whether the As12 sistant Secretary has approved or disapproved the 

13 application. 

14 (3) APPROVAL BEFORE NEPA REVIEW.—Subject 

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

16 be approved before the project receives an environ17 mental categorical exclusion, a finding of no signifi18 cant impact, or a record of decision under the Na19 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4321 et seq.). 

21 (e) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.—Any credit 

22 instrument secured under the BIFIA program may be 

23 used to finance up to 100 percent of the cost of develop24 ment phase activities as described in section 2(4)(A). 


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1 SEC. 4. SECURED LOANS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

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

5 agreements with one or more obligors to make se6 cured loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

7 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

8 project selected under section 3; 

9 (B) to refinance interim construction fi10 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

11 selected under section 3; or 

12 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga13 tions or Federal credit instruments, if the refi14 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

15 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

16 any project that— 

17 (i) is selected under section 3; or 

18 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

19 of section 3. 

20 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

21 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A loan under para22 graph (1) shall not refinance interim construction fi23 nancing under paragraph (1)(B)— 

24 (A) if the maturity of such interim con25 struction financing is later than 1 year after 

26 the substantial completion of the project; and 


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1 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub2 stantial completion of the project. 

3 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

4 an agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

5 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

6 Office of Management and Budget, shall determine 

7 an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount for 

8 each secured loan, taking into account each rating 

9 letter provided by a rating agency under section 

10 3(b)(2)(A)(ii) or, in the case of a small project, the 

11 alternative documentation provided under section 

12 3(b)(2)(B). 

13 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

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

15 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

16 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

17 representations, warranties, and requirements (in18 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

19 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

20 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se21 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

22 lesser of 49 percent of the reasonably anticipated eli23 gible project costs or, if the secured loan is not for 

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1 grade rating, the amount of the senior project obli2 gations. 

3 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec4 tion— 

5 (A) shall— 

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

7 from— 

8 (I) amounts charged to— 

9 (aa) subscribers of broad10 band service for such service; or 

11 (bb) subscribers of any re12 lated service provided over the 

13 same infrastructure for such re14 lated service; 

15 (II) user fees; 

16 (III) payments owing to the obli17 gor under a public-private partner18 ship; or 

19 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

20 sources that also secure the senior 

21 project obligations; and 

22 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

23 similar security feature supporting the 

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

5 secured loan under this section shall be not less than 

6 the yield on United States Treasury securities of a 

7 similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan 

8 on the date of execution of the loan agreement. 

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

10 of the secured loan shall be the lesser of— 

11 (A) 35 years after the date of substantial 

12 completion of the project; and 

13 (B) if the useful life of the infrastructure 

14 for the provision of broadband service being fi15 nanced is of a lesser period, the useful life of 

16 the infrastructure. 

17 (6) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

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

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

20 subordinated to the claims of any holder of 

21 project obligations in the event of bankruptcy, 

22 insolvency, or liquidation of the obligor. 

23 (B) PREEXISTING INDENTURE.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec25 retary shall waive the requirement under 


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1 subparagraph (A) for a public agency bor2 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

3 programs and has outstanding senior 

4 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

5 (I) the secured loan— 

6 (aa) is rated in the A cat7 egory or higher; or 

8 (bb) in the case of a small 

9 project, meets an alternative 

10 standard that the Assistant Sec11 retary shall establish under sec12 tion 6 for purposes of this sub13 clause; 

14 (II) the secured loan is secured 

15 and payable from pledged revenues 

16 not affected by project performance, 

17 such as a tax-backed revenue pledge 

18 or a system-backed pledge of project 

19 revenues; and 

20 (III) the BIFIA program share 

21 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

22 or less. 

23 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

24 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re25 quirement under this subparagraph— 


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1 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

2 to be paid by the Federal Government 

3 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

4 the principal amount of the secured 

5 loan; and 

6 (II) the obligor shall be respon7 sible for paying the remainder of the 

8 subsidy cost, if any. 

9 (7) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab10 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

11 of the costs to the Federal Government of making 

12 a secured loan under this section. 

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

14 secured loan under the BIFIA program, if the loan 

15 is repayable from non-Federal funds— 

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

17 of project costs required under this Act; and 

18 (B) shall not count toward the total Fed19 eral assistance provided for a project for pur20 poses of paragraph (9). 

21 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The 

22 total Federal assistance provided for a project re23 ceiving a loan under the BIFIA program shall not 

24 exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. 

25 (c) REPAYMENT.— 


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1 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

2 establish a repayment schedule for each secured loan 

3 under this section based on— 

4 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

5 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

6 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

7 the provision of broadband service being fi8 nanced. 

9 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay10 ments of principal or interest on a secured loan 

11 under this section shall commence not later than 5 

12 years after the date of substantial completion of the 

13 project. 

14 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

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

16 the date of substantial completion of the 

17 project, the project is unable to generate suffi18 cient revenues to pay the scheduled loan repay19 ments of principal and interest on the secured 

20 loan, the Assistant Secretary may, subject to 

21 subparagraph (C), allow the obligor to add un22 paid principal and interest to the outstanding 

23 balance of the secured loan. 

24 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

25 under subparagraph (A) shall— 


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1 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac2 cordance with subsection (b)(4) until fully 

3 repaid; and 

4 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

5 the remaining term of the loan. 

6 (C) CRITERIA.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer8 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con9 tingent on the project meeting criteria es10 tablished by the Assistant Secretary. 

11 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

12 criteria established pursuant to clause (i) 

13 shall include standards for reasonable as14 surance of repayment. 

15 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

16 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex17 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

18 scheduled debt service requirements on the 

19 project obligations and secured loan and all de20 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

21 agreement, bond resolution, or similar agree22 ment securing project obligations may be ap23 plied annually to prepay the secured loan with24 out penalty. 


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1 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI2 NANCING.—The secured loan may be prepaid at 

3 any time without penalty from the proceeds of 

4 refinancing from non-Federal funding sources. 

5 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

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

7 soon as practicable after substantial completion of a 

8 project and after notifying the obligor, the Assistant 

9 Secretary may sell to another entity or reoffer into 

10 the capital markets a secured loan for the project if 

11 the Assistant Secretary determines that the sale or 

12 reoffering can be made on favorable terms. 

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

14 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Assistant 

15 Secretary may not change the original terms and 

16 conditions of the secured loan without the written 

17 consent of the obligor. 

18 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

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

21 making a secured loan under this section if the As22 sistant Secretary determines that the budgetary cost 

23 of the loan guarantee is substantially the same as 

24 that of a secured loan. 


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

2 under paragraph (1) shall be consistent with the 

3 terms required under this section for a secured loan, 

4 except that the rate on the guaranteed loan and any 

5 prepayment features shall be negotiated between the 

6 obligor and the lender, with the consent of the As7 sistant Secretary. 

8 (f) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

10 shall develop one or more expedited application proc11 esses, available at the request of entities seeking se12 cured loans under the BIFIA program, that use a 

13 set or sets of conventional terms established pursu14 ant to this section. 

15 (2) TERMS.—In establishing the streamlined 

16 application process required by this subsection, the 

17 Assistant Secretary may allow for an expedited ap18 plication period and include terms such as those that 

19 require— 

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

21 (B) the secured loan to be secured and 

22 payable from pledged revenues not affected by 

23 project performance, such as a tax-backed rev24 enue pledge, tax increment financing, or a sys25 tem-backed pledge of project revenues; and 


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1 (C) repayment of the loan to commence 

2 not later than 5 years after disbursement. 

3 SEC. 5. LINES OF CREDIT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

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

7 agreements to make available to one or more obli8 gors lines of credit in the form of direct loans to be 

9 made by the Assistant Secretary at future dates on 

10 the occurrence of certain events for any project se11 lected under section 3. 

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

13 of credit made available under this section shall be 

14 available to pay debt service on project obligations 

15 issued to finance eligible project costs, extraordinary 

16 repair and replacement costs, operation and mainte17 nance expenses, and costs associated with unex18 pected Federal or State environmental restrictions. 

19 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.— 

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

21 subparagraph (B), before entering into an 

22 agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

23 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

24 the Office of Management and Budget and each 

25 rating agency providing a preliminary rating 


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

2 determine an appropriate capital reserve sub3 sidy amount for each line of credit, taking into 

4 account the rating opinion letter. 

5 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—Before entering 

6 into an agreement under this subsection to 

7 make available a line of credit for a small 

8 project, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation 

9 with the Director of the Office of Management 

10 and Budget, shall determine an appropriate 

11 capital reserve subsidy amount for each such 

12 line of credit, taking into account the alter13 native documentation provided under section 

14 3(b)(2)(B) instead of preliminary rating opinion 

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

16 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE17 MENT.—The funding of a line of credit under this 

18 section shall be contingent on— 

19 (A) the senior obligations of the project re20 ceiving an investment-grade rating from 2 rat21 ing agencies; or 

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

23 project meeting an alternative standard that the 

24 Assistant Secretary shall establish under section 

25 6 for purposes of this paragraph. 


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1 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

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

3 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

4 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

5 representations, warranties, and requirements (in6 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

7 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

9 a line of credit under this section shall not exceed 

10 33 percent of the reasonably anticipated eligible 

11 project costs. 

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

13 under this section shall— 

14 (A) represent a direct loan; and 

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

16 project (including capitalized interest, but not 

17 including reasonably required financing re18 serves) are insufficient to pay the costs speci19 fied in subsection (a)(2). 

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

21 direct loan resulting from a draw on the line of cred22 it shall be not less than the yield on 30-year United 

23 States Treasury securities, as of the date of execu24 tion of the line of credit agreement. 


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

2 this section— 

3 (A) shall— 

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

5 from— 

6 (I) amounts charged to— 

7 (aa) subscribers of broad8 band service for such service; or 

9 (bb) subscribers of any re10 lated service provided over the 

11 same infrastructure for such re12 lated service; 

13 (II) user fees; 

14 (III) payments owing to the obli15 gor under a public-private partner16 ship; or 

17 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

18 sources that also secure the senior 

19 project obligations; and 

20 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

21 similar security feature supporting the 

22 project obligations; and 

23 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

24 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur25 ing project obligations. 


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1 (6) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The full 

2 amount of a line of credit under this section, to the 

3 extent not drawn upon, shall be available during the 

4 10-year period beginning on the date of substantial 

5 completion of the project. 

6 (7) RIGHTS OF THIRD-PARTY CREDITORS.— 

7 (A) AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—A 

8 third-party creditor of the obligor shall not have 

9 any right against the Federal Government with 

10 respect to any draw on a line of credit under 

11 this section. 

12 (B) ASSIGNMENT.—An obligor may assign 

13 a line of credit under this section to— 

14 (i) one or more lenders; or 

15 (ii) a trustee on the behalf of such a 

16 lender. 

17 (8) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

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

19 subparagraph (B), a direct loan under this sec20 tion shall not be subordinated to the claims of 

21 any holder of project obligations in the event of 

22 bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation of the ob23 ligor. 

24 (B) PRE-EXISTING INDENTURE.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec2 retary shall waive the requirement of sub3 paragraph (A) for a public agency bor4 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

5 programs and has outstanding senior 

6 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

7 (I) the line of credit— 

8 (aa) is rated in the A cat9 egory or higher; or 

10 (bb) in the case of a small 

11 project, meets an alternative 

12 standard that the Assistant Sec13 retary shall establish under sec14 tion 6 for purposes of this sub15 clause; 

16 (II) the BIFIA program loan re17 sulting from a draw on the line of 

18 credit is payable from pledged reve19 nues not affected by project perform20 ance, such as a tax-backed revenue 

21 pledge or a system-backed pledge of 

22 project 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. 

12 (9) 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 providing 

15 a line of credit under this section. 

16 (10) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CREDIT INSTRU17 MENTS.—A project that receives a line of credit 

18 under this section also shall not receive a secured 

19 loan or loan guarantee under section 4 in an amount 

20 that, combined with the amount of the line of credit, 

21 exceeds 49 percent of eligible project costs. 

22 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

23 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Assistant 

24 Secretary shall establish repayment terms and condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4127.IH H4127

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1 tions for each direct loan under this section based 

2 on— 

3 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

4 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

5 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

6 the provision of broadband service being fi7 nanced. 

8 (2) TIMING.—All repayments of principal or in9 terest on a direct loan under this section shall be 

10 scheduled— 

11 (A) to commence not later than 5 years 

12 after the end of the period of availability speci13 fied in subsection (b)(6); and 

14 (B) to conclude, with full repayment of 

15 principal and interest, by the date that is 25 

16 years after the end of the period of availability 

17 specified in subsection (b)(6). 

18 SEC. 6. ALTERNATIVE PRUDENTIAL LENDING STANDARDS 

19 FOR SMALL PROJECTS. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish 

22 alternative, streamlined prudential lending standards for 

23 small projects receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

24 program to ensure that such projects pose no additional 


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1 risk to the Federal Government, as compared with 

2 projects that are not small projects. 

3 SEC. 7. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

5 establish a uniform system to service the Federal credit 

6 instruments made available under the BIFIA program. 

7 (b) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may collect and 

8 spend fees, contingent on authority being provided in ap9 propriations Acts, at a level that is sufficient to cover— 

10 (1) the costs of services of expert firms retained 

11 pursuant to subsection (d); and 

12 (2) all or a portion of the costs to the Federal 

13 Government of servicing the Federal credit instru14 ments. 

15 (c) SERVICER.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

17 may appoint a financial entity to assist the Assistant 

18 Secretary in servicing the Federal credit instru19 ments. 

20 (2) DUTIES.—A servicer appointed under para21 graph (1) shall act as the agent for the Assistant 

22 Secretary. 

23 (3) FEE.—A servicer appointed under para24 graph (1) shall receive a servicing fee, subject to ap25 proval by the Assistant Secretary. 


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1 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM EXPERT FIRMS.—The Assist2 ant Secretary may retain the services of expert firms, in3 cluding counsel, in the field of municipal and project fi4 nance to assist in the underwriting and servicing of Fed5 eral credit instruments. 

6 (e) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—The Assistant Sec7 retary shall implement procedures and measures to econo8 mize the time and cost involved in obtaining approval and 

9 the issuance of credit assistance under the BIFIA pro10 gram. 

11 (f) ASSISTANCE TO SMALL PROJECTS.—Of the 

12 amount appropriated under section 10(a), and after the 

13 set-aside for administrative expenses under section 10(b), 

14 not less than 20 percent shall be made available for the 

15 Assistant Secretary to use in lieu of fees collected under 

16 subsection (b) for small projects. 

17 SEC. 8. STATE AND LOCAL PERMITS. 

18 The provision of credit assistance under the BIFIA 

19 program with respect to a project shall not— 

20 (1) relieve any recipient of the assistance of any 

21 obligation to obtain any required State or local per22 mit or approval with respect to the project; 

23 (2) limit the right of any unit of State or local 

24 government to approve or regulate any rate of re25 turn on private equity invested in the project; or 


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1 (3) otherwise supersede any State or local law 

2 (including any regulation) applicable to the construc3 tion or operation of the project. 

4 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

5 The Assistant Secretary may promulgate such regula6 tions as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro7 priate to carry out the BIFIA program. 

8 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec11 retary to carry out this Act $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 

12 2020, to remain available until expended. 

13 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amount 

14 appropriated under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 

15 may use not more than 5 percent for the administration 

16 of the BIFIA program. 

17 SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

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

19 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there20 after, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

21 report summarizing the financial performance of the 

22 projects that are receiving, or have received, assistance 

23 under the BIFIA program, including a recommendation 

24 as to whether the objectives of the BIFIA program are 

25 best served by— 


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1 (1) continuing the program under the authority 

2 of the Assistant Secretary; or 

3 (2) establishing a Federal corporation or feder4 ally sponsored enterprise to administer the program. 

5 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS REPORT.— 

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

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

8 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate a report that includes a list of all of the letters 

13 of interest and applications received for assistance 

14 under the BIFIA program during the preceding fis15 cal year. 

16 (2) INCLUSIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

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

19 description of, with respect to each letter of in20 terest and application included in the report— 

21 (i) the date on which the letter of in22 terest or application was received; 

23 (ii) the date on which a notification 

24 was provided to the applicant regarding 


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1 whether the application was complete or 

2 incomplete; 

3 (iii) the date on which a revised and 

4 completed application was submitted (if 

5 applicable); 

6 (iv) the date on which a notification 

7 was provided to the applicant regarding 

8 whether the project was approved or dis9 approved; and 

10 (v) if the project was not approved, 

11 the reason for the disapproval. 

12 (B) CORRESPONDENCE.—Each report 

13 under paragraph (1) shall include copies of any 

14 correspondence provided to the applicant in ac15 cordance with section 3(d). 

Æ 


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