I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4339 

To establish State revolving loan funds to repair or replace natural gas 

distribution pipelines. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2014 

Mr. RANGEL (for himself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish State revolving loan funds to repair or replace 

natural gas distribution pipelines. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pipeline Revolving 

5 Fund and Job Creation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4339 IH

1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Pipeline and 

3 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. 

4 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

5 (A) a State; and 

6 (B) the District of Columbia. 

7 (3) STATE LOAN FUND.—The term ‘‘State loan 

8 fund’’ means a pipeline replacement revolving loan 

9 fund established by a State under section 

10 3(a)(2)(B). 

11 SEC. 3. STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS. 

12 (a) GRANTS TO STATES TO ESTABLISH LOAN

13 FUNDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

15 offer to enter into agreements with eligible States to 

16 make capitalization grants, including letters of cred17 it, to the States under this subsection to repair or 

18 replace natural gas distribution pipelines. 

19 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

20 capitalization grant under this section, a State 

21 shall— 

22 (A) enter into a capitalization agreement 

23 with the Administrator under paragraph (1); 

24 and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4339 IH

1 (B) establish a pipeline replacement revolv2 ing loan fund. 

3 (3) DEPOSIT.—Funds granted to a State under 

4 this section shall be deposited in the State loan fund 

5 established by the State. 

6 (4) PERIOD.—The funds granted to a State 

7 shall be available to the State for obligation during 

8 the fiscal year for which the funds are authorized 

9 and during the following fiscal year. 

10 (5) ALLOTMENT.—Funds made available to 

11 carry out this section shall be allotted to States in 

12 at the discretion of the Administrator. 

13 (6) REALLOTMENT.—Any funds not obligated 

14 by a State by the last day of the period for which 

15 the grants are available shall be reallotted in accord16 ance with paragraph (5). 

17 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited in a 

19 State loan fund, including loan repayments and in20 terest earned on the amounts, shall be used only for 

21 providing loans or loan guarantees or as a source of 

22 reserve and security for leveraged loans. 

23 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Loans or loan guaran25 tees made by a State under paragraph (1)— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4339 IH

1 (i) may be used only for expenditures 

2 of a type or category that the Adminis3 trator has determined, through guidance, 

4 will— 

5 (I) facilitate compliance with a 

6 plan submitted under subsection (c); 

7 or 

8 (II) otherwise significantly fur9 ther the replacement or repair of nat10 ural gas distribution pipelines that 

11 have been identified as leak-prone; 

12 and 

13 (ii) may not be used for the acquisi14 tion of real property or an interest in real 

15 property, unless the acquisition is— 

16 (I) integral to a plan submitted 

17 under subsection (c); and 

18 (II) from a willing seller. 

19 (B) BUYING AMERICAN.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

21 shall ensure, through guidance, that, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, none of the 

23 funds from a loan or loan guarantee made 

24 by a State under paragraph (1) are used 

25 to repair or replace natural gas distribuVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:35 Mar 31, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4339.IH H4339

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4339 IH

1 tion pipelines unless all of the iron, steel, 

2 plastic, and manufactured goods used in 

3 the repair or replacement are produced in 

4 the United States. 

5 (ii) WAIVER.—Clause (i) shall not 

6 apply in any case or category of cases in 

7 which the Administrator finds that— 

8 (I) applying that clause would be 

9 inconsistent with the public interest; 

10 (II) iron, steel, plastic, or the ap11 plicable manufactured goods are not 

12 produced in the United States in suf13 ficient and reasonably available quan14 tities and of a satisfactory quality; or 

15 (III) inclusion of iron, steel, plas16 tic, and manufactured goods produced 

17 in the United States will increase the 

18 cost of the overall repair or replace19 ment by more than 25 percent. 

20 (iii) PUBLICATION.—If the Adminis21 trator determines that it is necessary to 

22 waive the application of clause (i) based on 

23 a finding under clause (ii), the Adminis24 trator shall publish in the Federal Register 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4339 IH

1 a detailed written justification as to why 

2 the provision is being waived. 

3 (iv) APPLICABILITY.—This section 

4 shall be applied in a manner consistent 

5 with United States obligations under inter6 national agreements. 

7 (c) INTENDED USE PLANS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—After providing for public 

9 review and comment, each State that has entered 

10 into a capitalization agreement pursuant to this sec11 tion shall annually prepare a plan that identifies the 

12 intended uses of the amounts available from the 

13 State loan fund of the State. 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—An intended use plan shall in15 clude— 

16 (A) a list of the projects to be carried out 

17 by entities receiving the loans in the first fiscal 

18 year that begins after the date of the plan, in19 cluding a description of the project; 

20 (B) the criteria and methods established 

21 for the use of funds; and 

22 (C) a description of the financial status of 

23 the State loan fund and the short- and long24 term goals of the State loan fund. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4339 IH

1 (3) LIST OF PROJECTS.—Each State shall, 

2 after notice and opportunity for public comment, 

3 publish and periodically update a list of projects in 

4 the State that are eligible for assistance under this 

5 section, including the priority assigned to each 

6 project and, to the maximum extent practicable, the 

7 expected funding schedule for each project and, if 

8 possible, an estimate of expected reductions in 

9 greenhouse gas emissions for the project. 

10 (d) FUND MANAGEMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State loan fund under 

12 this section shall be established, maintained, and 

13 credited with repayments and interest and the fund 

14 corpus shall be available in perpetuity in accordance 

15 with this section. 

16 (2) INVESTMENT AUTHORIZED.—To the extent 

17 amounts in the fund are not required for current ob18 ligation or expenditure, the amounts shall be in19 vested in interest bearing obligations. 

20 (e) STATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Each capitalization 

21 agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall re22 quire that the State deposit in the State loan fund from 

23 State moneys an amount equal to not less than 20 percent 

24 of the total amount of the grant to be made to the State 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4339 IH

1 on or before the date on which the grant payment is made 

2 to the State. 

3 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF STATE LOAN FUND.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State may annually 

5 use not greater than 4 percent of the funds allotted 

6 to the State under this section to cover the reason7 able costs of administration of the programs under 

8 this section, including the recovery of reasonable 

9 costs expended to establish a State loan fund that 

10 are incurred after the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) GUIDANCE AND REGULATIONS.—The Ad12 ministrator shall issue guidance and promulgate reg13 ulations as are necessary to carry out this section, 

14 including guidance and regulations— 

15 (A) to ensure that each State commits and 

16 expends funds allotted to the State under this 

17 section as efficiently as practicable in accord18 ance with this section and applicable State law; 

19 (B) to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse; 

20 and 

21 (C) to ensure that the States receiving 

22 grants under this section use accounting, audit, 

23 and fiscal procedures that conform to generally 

24 accepted accounting standards. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4339 IH

1 (3) STATE REPORT.—Each State administering 

2 a State loan fund under this section shall submit to 

3 the Administrator a report every 2 years on the ac4 tivities carried out under this section, including the 

5 findings of the most recent audit of the fund and the 

6 entire State allotment. 

7 (4) AUDITS.—The Administrator shall periodi8 cally audit all State loan funds established by, and 

9 all other amounts allotted to, the States pursuant to 

10 this section in accordance with procedures estab11 lished by the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States. 

13 (g) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL LAW.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall en15 sure that all laborers and mechanics employed on 

16 projects funded directly, or assisted in whole or in 

17 part, by this Act and contributed to a State loan 

18 fund established by this Act shall be paid wages at 

19 rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a 

20 character similar in the locality as determined by the 

21 Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

22 IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of title 40, 

23 United States Code. 

24 (2) AUTHORITY.—With respect to the labor 

25 standards specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4339 IH

1 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set 

2 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

3 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

4 title 40, United States Code. 

5 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to carry out this Act such sums as are necessary 

8 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2024. 

9 (b) LIMITATION.—Only sums appropriated pursuant 

10 to subsection (a) may be used to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS