In the Senate of the United States,

June 18, 1999.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1664) entitled ‘‘An Act making emergency supplemental appropriations for military operations, refugee relief, and humanitarian assistance relating to the conflict in

Kosovo, and for military operations in Southwest Asia for the

fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

1 Ω1æPage 2, strike out all after line 7 over to and including

2 line 21 on page 3 and insert:

3 SEC. 101. EMERGENCY STEEL LOAN GUARANTEE PRO4 GRAM. (a) SHORT TITLE.—This chapter may be cited as

5 the ‘‘Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds

7 that—

8 (1) the United States steel industry has been se9 verely harmed by a record surge of more than
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1 40,000,000 tons of steel imports into the United

2 States in 1998, caused by the world financial crisis;

3 (2) this surge in imports resulted in the loss of

4 more than 10,000 steel worker jobs in 1998, and was

5 the imminent cause of 3 bankruptcies by medium6 sized steel companies, Acme Steel, Laclede Steel, and

7 Geneva Steel;

8 (3) the crisis also forced almost all United States

9 steel companies into—

10 (A) reduced volume, lower prices, and fi11 nancial losses; and

12 (B) an inability to obtain credit for contin13 ued operations and reinvestment in facilities;

14 (4) the crisis also has affected the willingness of

15 private banks and investment institutions to make

16 loans to the United States steel industry for continued

17 operation and reinvestment in facilities;

18 (5) these steel bankruptcies, job losses, and finan19 cial losses are also having serious negative effects on

20 the tax base of cities, counties, and States, and on the

21 essential health, education, and municipal services

22 that these government entities provide to their citi23 zens; and

24 (6) a strong steel industry is necessary to the

25 adequate defense preparedness of the United States in
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1 order to have sufficient steel available to build the

2 ships, tanks, planes, and armaments necessary for the

3 national defense.

4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

5 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Loan

6 Guarantee Board established under subsection (e).

7 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the

8 Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program estab9 lished under subsection (d).

10 (3) QUALIFIED STEEL COMPANY.—The term

11 ‘‘qualified steel company’’ means any company

12 that—

13 (A) is incorporated under the laws of any

14 State;

15 (B) is engaged in the production and man16 ufacture of a product defined by the American

17 Iron and Steel Institute as a basic steel mill

18 product, including ingots, slab and billets, plates,

19 flat-rolled steel, sections and structural products,

20 bars, rail type products, pipe and tube, and wire

21 rod; and

22 (C) has experienced layoffs, production

23 losses, or financial losses since the beginning of

24 the steel import crisis, in January 1998 or that
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1 operates substantial assets of a company that

2 meets these qualifications.

3 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY STEEL GUAR4 ANTEE LOAN PROGRAM.—There is established the Emer5 gency Steel Guarantee Loan Program, to be administered

6 by the Board, the purpose of which is to provide loan guar7 antees to qualified steel companies in accordance with this

8 section.

9 (e) LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD MEMBERSHIP.—There

10 is established a Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be com11 posed of—

12 (1) the Secretary of Commerce;

13 (2) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of

14 the Federal Reserve System, who shall serve as Chair15 man of the Board; and

16 (3) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange

17 Commission.

18 (f) LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—

19 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Program may guarantee

20 loans provided to qualified steel companies by private

21 banking and investment institutions in accordance

22 with the procedures, rules, and regulations established

23 by the Board.

24 (2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggregate

25 amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at any
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1 one time under this section may not exceed

2 $1,000,000,000.

3 (3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre4 gate amount of loans guaranteed under this section

5 with respect to a single qualified steel company may

6 not exceed $250,000,000.

7 (4) TIMELINES.—The Board shall approve or

8 deny each application for a guarantee under this sec9 tion as soon as possible after receipt of such applica10 tion.

11 (5) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional cost

12 of the loans guaranteed under this subsection, includ13 ing the costs of modifying the loans as defined in sec14 tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2

15 U.S.C. 661a), there is appropriated $140,000,000 to

16 remain available until expended.

17 (g) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—A loan

18 guarantee may be issued under this section upon applica19 tion to the Board by a qualified steel company pursuant

20 to an agreement to provide a loan to that qualified steel

21 company by a private bank or investment company, if the

22 Board determines that—

23 (1) credit is not otherwise available to that com24 pany under reasonable terms or conditions sufficient
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1 to meet its financing needs, as reflected in the finan2 cial and business plans of that company;

3 (2) the prospective earning power of that com4 pany, together with the character and value of the se5 curity pledged, furnish reasonable assurance of repay6 ment of the loan to be guaranteed in accordance with

7 its terms;

8 (3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at a

9 rate determined by the Board to be reasonable, taking

10 into account the current average yield on outstanding

11 obligations of the United States with remaining peri12 ods of maturity comparable to the maturity of such

13 loan;

14 (4) the company has agreed to an audit by the

15 General Accounting Office prior to the issuance of the

16 loan guarantee and annually thereafter while any

17 such guaranteed loan is outstanding; and

18 (5) In the case of a purchaser of substantial as19 sets of a qualified steel company, the qualified steel

20 company establishes that it is unable to reorganize

21 itself.

22 (h) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUARAN23 TEES.—

24 (1) LOAN DURATION.—All loans guaranteed

25 under this section shall be payable in full not later
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1 than December 31, 2005, and the terms and condi2 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan

3 may not be amended, or any provision thereof

4 waived, without the consent of the Board.

5 (2) LOAN SECURITY.—Any commitment to issue

6 a loan guarantee under this section shall contain such

7 affirmative and negative covenants and other protec8 tive provisions that the Board determines are appro9 priate. The Board shall require security for the loans

10 to be guaranteed under this section at the time at

11 which the commitment is made.

12 (3) FEES.—A qualified steel company receiving

13 a guarantee under this section shall pay a fee to the

14 Department of the Treasury to cover costs of the pro15 gram, but in no event shall such fee exceed an amount

16 equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding principal bal17 ance of the guaranteed loan.

18 (4) GUARANTEE LEVEL.—No loan guarantee

19 may be provided under this section if the guarantee

20 exceeds 85 percent of the amount of principal of the

21 loan.

22 (i) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Com23 merce shall submit to Congress a full report of the activities

24 of the Board under this section during each of fiscal years
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1 1999 and 2000, and annually thereafter, during such period

2 as any loan guaranteed under this section is outstanding.

3 (j) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—For

4 necessary expenses to administer the Program, $5,000,000

5 is appropriated to the Department of Commerce, to remain

6 available until expended, which may be transferred to the

7 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Trade Development of

8 the International Trade Administration.

9 (k) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.—The

10 authority of the Board to make commitments to guarantee

11 any loan under this section shall terminate on December

12 31, 2001.

13 (l) REGULATORY ACTION.—The Board shall issue such

14 final procedures, rules, and regulations as may be necessary

15 to carry out this section not later than 60 days after the

16 date of enactment of this Act.

17 (m) IRON ORE COMPANIES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of

19 this subsection, an iron ore company incorporated

20 under the laws of any State shall be treated as a

21 qualified steel company for purposes of the Program.

22 (2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT FOR IRON ORE

23 COMPANY.—Of the aggregate amount of loans author24 ized to be guaranteed and outstanding at any one

25 time under subsection (f)(2), an amount not to exceed
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1 $30,000,000 shall be loans with respect to iron ore

2 companies.

3 FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL EXPENSES

4 (RESCISSIONS)

5 SEC. 102. (a) Of the funds available in the nondefense

6 category to the agencies of the Federal Government,

7 $145,000,000 are hereby rescinded: Provided, That rescis8 sions pursuant to this subsection shall be taken only from

9 administrative and travel accounts: Provided further, That

10 rescissions shall be taken on a pro rata basis from funds

11 available to every Federal agency, department, and office

12 in the Executive Branch, including the Office of the Presi13 dent.

14 (b) Within 30 days after the date of enactment of this

15 Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

16 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the

17 House of Representatives and the Senate a listing of the

18 amounts by account of the reductions made pursuant to the

19 provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

20 Ω2æPage 4, strike out all after line 1 over to and including

21 line 14 on page 22 and insert:

22 SEC. 201. PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT.

23 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This chapter may be cited as the

24 ‘‘Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program Act’’.

25 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) consumption of foreign oil in the United

2 States is estimated to equal 56 percent of all oil con3 sumed, and that percentage could reach 68 percent by

4 2010 if current prices prevail;

5 (2) the number of oil and gas rigs operating in

6 the United States is at its lowest since 1944, when

7 records of this tally began;

8 (3) if prices do not increase soon, the United

9 States could lose at least half its marginal wells,

10 which in aggregate produce as much oil as the United

11 States imports from Saudi Arabia;

12 (4) oil and gas prices are unlikely to increase for

13 at least several years;

14 (5) declining production, well abandonment, and

15 greatly reduced exploration and development are

16 shrinking the domestic oil and gas industry;

17 (6) the world’s richest oil producing regions in

18 the Middle East are experiencing increasingly greater

19 political instability;

20 (7) United Nations policy may make Iraq the

21 swing oil producing nation, thereby granting Saddam

22 Hussein tremendous power;

23 (8) reliance on foreign oil for more than 60 per24 cent of our daily oil and gas consumption is a na25 tional security threat;
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1 (9) the level of United States oil security is di2 rectly related to the level of domestic production of oil,

3 natural gas liquids, and natural gas; and

4 (10) a national security policy should be devel5 oped that ensures that adequate supplies of oil are

6 available at all times free of the threat of embargo or

7 other foreign hostile acts.

8 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Loan

10 Guarantee Board established by subsection (e).

11 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the

12 Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program

13 established by subsection (d).

14 (3) QUALIFIED OIL AND GAS COMPANY.—The

15 term ‘‘qualified oil and gas company’’ means a com16 pany that—

17 (A) is—

18 (i) an independent oil and gas com19 pany (within the meaning of section

20 57(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code

21 of 1986); or

22 (ii) a small business concern under sec23 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

24 632) (or a company based in Alaska, in25 cluding an Alaska Native Corporation cre-
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1 ated pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims

2 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.))

3 that is an oil field service company whose

4 main business is providing tools, products,

5 personnel, and technical solutions on a con6 tractual basis to exploration and production

7 operators that drill, complete wells, and

8 produce, transport, refine, and sell hydro9 carbons and their byproducts as the main

10 commercial business of the concern or com11 pany; and

12 (B) has experienced layoffs, production

13 losses, or financial losses since the beginning of

14 the oil import crisis, after January 1, 1997.

15 (d) EMERGENCY OIL AND GAS GUARANTEED LOAN

16 PROGRAM.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Emer18 gency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program, the

19 purpose of which shall be to provide loan guarantees

20 to qualified oil and gas companies in accordance with

21 this section.

22 (2) LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD.—There is estab23 lished to administer the Program a Loan Guarantee

24 Board, to be composed of—

25 (A) the Secretary of Commerce;
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1 (B) the Chairman of the Board of Gov2 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, who shall

3 serve as Chairman of the Board; and

4 (C) the Chairman of the Securities and Ex5 change Commission.

6 (e) AUTHORITY.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program may guarantee

8 loans provided to qualified oil and gas companies by

9 private banking and investment institutions in ac10 cordance with procedures, rules, and regulations es11 tablished by the Board.

12 (2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggregate

13 amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at any

14 1 time under this section shall not exceed

15 $500,000,000.

16 (3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggre17 gate amount of loans guaranteed under this section

18 with respect to a single qualified oil and gas company

19 shall not exceed $10,000,000.

20 (4) EXPEDITIOUS ACTION ON APPLICATIONS.—

21 The Board shall approve or deny an application for

22 a guarantee under this section as soon as practicable

23 after receipt of an application.

24 (5) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional cost

25 of the loans guaranteed under this subsection, includ-
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1 ing the costs of modifying the loans as defined in sec2 tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2

3 U.S.C. 661a), there is appropriated $122,500,000 to

4 remain available until expended.

5 (f) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—The

6 Board may issue a loan guarantee on application by a

7 qualified oil and gas company under an agreement by a

8 private bank or investment company to provide a loan to

9 the qualified oil and gas company, if the Board determines

10 that—

11 (1) credit is not otherwise available to the com12 pany under reasonable terms or conditions sufficient

13 to meet its financing needs, as reflected in the finan14 cial and business plans of the company;

15 (2) the prospective earning power of the com16 pany, together with the character and value of the se17 curity pledged, provide a reasonable assurance of re18 payment of the loan to be guaranteed in accordance

19 with its terms;

20 (3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at a

21 rate determined by the Board to be reasonable, taking

22 into account the current average yield on outstanding

23 obligations of the United States with remaining peri24 ods of maturity comparable to the maturity of the

25 loan; and
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1 (4) the company has agreed to an audit by the

2 General Accounting Office before issuance of the loan

3 guarantee and annually while the guaranteed loan is

4 outstanding.

5 (g) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUARANTEES.—

6 (1) LOAN DURATION.—All loans guaranteed

7 under this section shall be repayable in full not later

8 than December 31, 2010, and the terms and condi9 tions of each such loan shall provide that the loan

10 agreement may not be amended, or any provision of

11 the loan agreement waived, without the consent of the

12 Board.

13 (2) LOAN SECURITY.—A commitment to issue a

14 loan guarantee under this section shall contain such

15 affirmative and negative covenants and other protec16 tive provisions as the Board determines are appro17 priate. The Board shall require security for the loans

18 to be guaranteed under this section at the time at

19 which the commitment is made.

20 (3) FEES.—A qualified oil and gas company re21 ceiving a loan guarantee under this section shall pay

22 a fee to the Department of the Treasury to cover costs

23 of the program, but in no event shall such fee exceed

24 an amount equal to 0.5 percent of the outstanding

25 principal balance of the guaranteed loan.
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1 (4) GUARANTEE LEVEL.—No loan guarantee

2 may be provided under this section if the guarantee

3 exceeds 85 percent of the amount of principal of the

4 loan.

5 (h) REPORTS.—During fiscal year 1999 and each fis6 cal year thereafter until each guaranteed loan has been re7 paid in full, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to

8 Congress a report on the activities of the Board.

9 (i) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—For

10 necessary expenses to administer the Program, $2,500,000

11 is appropriated to the Department of Commerce, to remain

12 available until expended, which may be transferred to the

13 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Trade Development of

14 the International Trade Administration.

15 (j) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.—The

16 authority of the Board to make commitments to guarantee

17 any loan under this section shall terminate on December

18 31, 2001.

19 (k) REGULATORY ACTION.—Not later than 60 days

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall issue

21 such final procedures, rules, and regulations as are nec22 essary to carry out this section.

23 FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL EXPENSES

24 (RESCISSIONS)

25 SEC. 202. (a) Of the funds available in the nondefense

26 category to the agencies of the Federal Government,
17

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1 $125,000,000 are hereby rescinded: Provided, That rescis2 sions pursuant to this subsection shall be taken only from

3 administrative and travel accounts: Provided further, That

4 rescissions shall be taken on a pro rata basis from funds

5 available to every Federal agency, department, and office

6 in the Executive Branch, including the Office of the Presi7 dent.

8 (b) Within 30 days after the date of enactment of this

9 Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

10 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the

11 House of Representatives and the Senate a listing of the

12 amounts by account of the reductions made pursuant to the

13 provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

14 Ω3æPage 22, strike out all after line 15 over to and includ15 ing line 4 on page 32 and insert:

16 GENERAL PROVISIONS

17 SEC. 301. No part of any appropriation contained in

18 the Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the cur19 rent fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Steel Loan

21 Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan

22 Act of 1999’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act providing

emergency authority for guarantees of loans to qualified
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steel and iron ore companies and to qualified oil and gas

companies, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1664

AMENDMENTS
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