II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1980

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to ensure improved access

to the signals of local television stations by multichannel video providers

to all households which desire such service in unserved and underserved

rural areas by December 31, 2006.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 19, 1999

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. KERREY, Mr.

DURBIN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. REID, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. WYDEN, and Mrs.

MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to ensure

improved access to the signals of local television stations

by multichannel video providers to all households which

desire such service in unserved and underserved rural

areas by December 31, 2006.

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 ‘‘21st Century Rural

5 Utility Service Rural Development Enhancement Through

6 Local Information Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) In 1936, most of the rural United States

4 did not have access to electrical service enjoyed by

5 the rest of the United States, and this lack of elec6 trical service inhibited economic development in the

7 rural areas of the United States.

8 (2) In response to this lack of service, Congress

9 enacted the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (also

10 known as the Norris-Rayburn Rural Electrification

11 Act) which established the Rural Electric Adminis12 tration to ensure that all Americans have access to

13 electrical service and to promote rural development.

14 (3) The program under the Rural Electrifica15 tion Act of 1936 has successfully brought electricity

16 to all parts of the rural United States and has stim17 ulated rural development throughout the United

18 States.

19 (4) In 1949, most of the rural United States

20 did not have access to telephone service enjoyed by

21 the rest of the United States, and this lack of elec22 trical service inhibited economic development in the

23 rural areas of the United States.

24 (5) In response to this lack of service, Congress

25 amended the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to as26 sure that the rural United States has access to tele-
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1 communications services, including telephone serv2 ices, distance learning, and telemedicine in order to

3 promote rural development.

4 (6) The programs under these amendments

5 have successfully brought telecommunications to all

6 parts of the United States and has stimulated rural

7 development throughout the United States.

8 (7) Public Law 93–32 amended the Rural Elec9 trification Act of 1936 to establish a revolving fund

10 for insured and guaranteed loans.

11 (8) The reorganization of the Department of

12 Agriculture by Public Law 103–354 created the

13 Rural Utilities Service (RUS) within the Depart14 ment of Agriculture and assigned it the responsi15 bility for administering programs of federally-guar16 anteed loans.

17 (9) The Rural Utilities Service now manages a

18 portfolio of federally-guaranteed loans in excess of

19 $42,000,000,000.

20 (10) The Rural Utilities Service has granted

21 loans for the purpose of telecommunications services

22 to more than 800 borrowers, including telephone and

23 electricity cooperatives, in all States of the United

24 States.
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1 (11) Senate Rule XXV provides that the Com2 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of

3 the Senate shall have jurisdiction over all legislation

4 relating primarily to ‘‘Rural development, rural elec5 trification, and watersheds’’.

6 (12) Consistent with Senate Rule XXV, all leg7 islation establishing, modifying, and extending rural

8 infrastructure loan programs has originated in or

9 been reported by the Committee on Agriculture, Nu10 trition, and Forestry of the Senate.

11 (13) Local television coverage is vitally impor12 tant for rural development efforts.

13 (14) Local television programming broadcasts

14 crop reports, local news, weather reports, public

15 service announcements, and advertisements by local

16 businesses, all of which are important for rural de17 velopment.

18 (15) In today’s age of modern communications,

19 rural communities often receive the majority of their

20 information from satellite platforms.

21 (16) Today, the top 67 television markets in the

22 United States are capable of receiving local tele23 vision signals directly from satellites.
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1 (17) The rest of the United States, including

2 most of the rural United States, is not able to re3 ceive local television signals via satellite.

4 (18) Without access to local television signals,

5 the development of the rural United States is greatly

6 inhibited.

7 (19) Just as important public purposes were

8 served by bringing electricity to the rural United

9 States and then by bringing telephone service to the

10 rural United States, so the United States would be

11 served by ensuring that the rural United States can

12 receive local television signals via satellite.

13 (20) It is in the public interest that the Rural

14 Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture

15 utilize existing and new loan guarantee programs to

16 promote rural development by ensuring that the

17 rural United States has access to the signals of local

18 television stations by multichannel video providers.

19 SEC. 3. RURAL LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS.

20 The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901

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

22 ‘‘TITLE VI—RURAL LOCAL

23 TELEVISION SIGNALS

24 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

25 ‘‘In this title:
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1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the Rural Utili3 ties Service.

4 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘affiliate’ means

5 any person or entity that controls, or is controlled

6 by, or is under common control with, another person

7 or entity.

8 ‘‘(3) BORROWER.—The term ‘borrower’ means

9 any person or entity receiving a loan guarantee

10 under this title.

11 ‘‘(4) COST.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘cost’ means

13 the estimated long-term cost to the Government

14 of a loan guarantee or modification thereof, cal15 culated on a net present value basis, excluding

16 administrative costs and any incidental effects

17 on governmental receipts or outlays.

18 ‘‘(B) LOAN GUARANTEES.—For purposes

19 of this paragraph the cost of a loan

20 guarantee—

21 ‘‘(i) shall be the net present value, at

22 the time when the guaranteed loan is dis23 bursed, of the estimated cash flows of—

24 ‘‘(I) payments by the Govern25 ment to cover defaults and delin-
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1 quencies, interest subsidies, or other

2 payments; and

3 ‘‘(II) payments to the Govern4 ment, including origination and other

5 fees, penalties, and recoveries; and

6 ‘‘(ii) shall include the effects of

7 changes in loan terms resulting from the

8 exercise by the guaranteed lender of an op9 tion included in the loan guarantee con10 tract, or by the borrower of an option in11 cluded in the guaranteed loan contract.

12 ‘‘(C) COST OF MODIFICATION.—The cost

13 of the modification shall be the difference be14 tween the current estimate of the net present

15 value of the remaining cash flows under the

16 terms of a loan guarantee contract, and the

17 current estimate of the net present value of the

18 remaining cash flows under the terms of the

19 contract, as modified.

20 ‘‘(D) DISCOUNT RATE.—In estimating net

21 present value, the discount rate shall be the av22 erage interest rate on marketable Treasury se23 curities of similar maturity to the cash flows of

24 the guarantee for which the estimate is being

25 made.
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1 ‘‘(E) FISCAL YEAR ASSUMPTIONS.—When

2 funds of a loan guarantee under this title are

3 obligated, the estimated cost shall be based on

4 the current assumptions, adjusted to incor5 porate the terms of the loan contract, for the

6 fiscal year in which the funds are obligated.

7 ‘‘(5) CURRENT.—The term ‘current’ has the

8 meaning given that term in section 250(c)(9) of the

9 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

10 Act of 1985.

11 ‘‘(6) DESIGNATED MARKET AREA.—The term

12 ‘designated market area’ has the meaning given that

13 term in section 122(j) of title 17, United States

14 Code.

15 ‘‘(7) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘loan guar16 antee’ means any guarantee, insurance, or other

17 pledge with respect to the payment of all or part of

18 the principal or interest on any debt obligation of a

19 non-Federal borrower to the Federal Financing

20 Bank or a non-Federal lender, but does not include

21 the insurance of deposits, shares, or other

22 withdrawable accounts in financial institutions.

23 ‘‘(8) MODIFICATION.—The term ‘modification’

24 means any Government action that alters the esti25 mated cost of an outstanding loan guarantee (or
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1 loan guarantee commitment) from the current esti2 mate of cash flows, including the sale of loan assets,

3 with or without recourse, and the purchase of guar4 anteed loans.

5 ‘‘(9) COMMON TERMS.—Except as provided in

6 paragraphs (1) through (9), any term used in this

7 title that is defined in the Communications Act of

8 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) has the meaning given

9 the term in that Act.

10 ‘‘SEC. 502. LOAN GUARANTEES.

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to enable

12 the Administrator to provide such loan guarantees as are

13 necessary to ensure improved access to the signals of local

14 television stations by multichannel video providers to all

15 households which desire such service in unserved and un16 derserved rural areas by December 31, 2006.

17 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE TO BORROWERS.—Subject to the

18 appropriations limitation under subsection (c)(2), the Ad19 ministrator may provide loan guarantees to borrowers to

20 finance projects to provide local television broadcast sig21 nals by providers of multichannel video services including

22 direct broadcast satellite licensees and licensees of multi23 channel multipoint distribution systems, to areas that do

24 not receive local television broadcast signals over commer25 cial for-profit direct-to-home satellite distribution systems.
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1 A borrower that receives a loan guarantee under this title

2 may not transfer any part of the proceeds of the monies

3 from the loans guaranteed under this program to an affil4 iate of the borrower.

5 ‘‘(c) UNDERWRITING CRITERIA; PREREQUISITES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

7 administer the underwriting criteria developed under

8 subsection (f)(1) to determine which loans are eligi9 ble for a guarantee under this title.

10 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO MAKE LOAN GUARAN11 TEES.—The Administrator shall be authorized to

12 guarantee loans under this title only to the extent

13 provided for in advance by appropriations Acts.

14 ‘‘(3) PREREQUISITES.—In addition to meeting

15 the underwriting criteria under paragraph (1), a

16 loan is not eligible for a loan guarantee under this

17 title unless—

18 ‘‘(A) the loan is made to finance the acqui19 sition, improvement, enhancement, construction,

20 deployment, launch, or rehabilitation of the

21 means by which local television broadcast sig22 nals will be delivered to an area not receiving

23 such signals over commercial for-profit direct24 to-home satellite distribution systems;
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1 ‘‘(B) the proceeds of the loan will not be

2 used for operating expenses;

3 ‘‘(C) the total amount of all such loans

4 may not exceed in the aggregate

5 $1,250,000,000;

6 ‘‘(D) the loan does not exceed

7 $100,000,000, except that 1 loan under this

8 title may exceed $100,000,000, but shall not

9 exceed $625,000,000;

10 ‘‘(E) the loan bears interest and penalties

11 which, in the Administrator’s judgment, are not

12 unreasonable, taking into consideration the pre13 vailing interest rates and customary fees in14 curred under similar obligations in the private

15 capital market; and

16 ‘‘(F) the Administrator determines that

17 taking into account the practices of the private

18 capital markets with respect to the financing of

19 similar projects, the security of the loan is ade20 quate.

21 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In addition to

22 the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), a

23 loan for which a guarantee is sought under this title

24 shall meet any additional criteria promulgated under

25 subsection (f)(1).
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1 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis2 trator may not make a loan guarantee under this title

3 unless—

4 ‘‘(1) repayment of the obligation is required to

5 be made within a term of the lesser of—

6 ‘‘(A) 25 years from the date of its execu7 tion; or

8 ‘‘(B) the useful life of the primary assets

9 used in the delivery of relevant signals;

10 ‘‘(2) the Administrator has been given the as11 surances and documentation necessary to review and

12 approve the guaranteed loans; and

13 ‘‘(3) the Administrator makes a determination

14 in writing that—

15 ‘‘(A) the applicant has given reasonable as16 surances that the assets, facilities, or equipment

17 will be utilized economically and efficiently;

18 ‘‘(B) necessary and sufficient regulatory

19 approvals, spectrum rights, and delivery permis20 sions have been received by project participants

21 to assure the project’s ability to repay obliga22 tions under this title; and

23 ‘‘(C) repayment of the obligation can rea24 sonably be expected, including the use of an ap25 propriate combination of credit risk premiums
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1 and collateral offered by the applicant to pro2 tect the Federal Government.

3 ‘‘(e) APPROVAL OF NTIA REQUIRED.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not

5 issue a loan guarantee under this title unless the

6 National Telecommunications and Information Ad7 ministration consults with the Administrator and

8 certifies that—

9 ‘‘(A) the issuance of the loan guarantee is

10 consistent with subsection (a); and

11 ‘‘(B) consistent with subsection (b), the

12 project to be financed by a loan guaranteed

13 under this section is not likely to have a sub14 stantial adverse impact on competition between

15 multichannel video programming distributors

16 that outweighs the benefits of improving access

17 to the signals of a local television station by a

18 multichannel video provider.

19 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Administrator shall

20 provide the appropriate information on each loan

21 guarantee application recommended by the Adminis22 trator to the National Telecommunications and In23 formation Administration for certification. The Na24 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin25 istration shall make the determination required
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1 under this subsection within 90 days, without regard

2 to the provision of chapter 5 of title 5, United States

3 Code, and sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Advi4 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

5 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS.—

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

7 after the date of enactment of this title, the Admin8 istrator shall consult with the Office of Management

9 and Budget and an independent public accounting

10 firm to develop underwriting criteria relating to the

11 issuance of loan guarantees, appropriate collateral

12 and cash flow levels for the types of loan guarantees

13 that might be issued under this title, and such other

14 matters as the Administrator determines appro15 priate.

16 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.—In lieu

17 of or in combination with appropriations of budget

18 authority to cover the costs of loan guarantees as re19 quired under section 504(b)(1) of the Federal Credit

20 Reform Act of 1990, the Administrator may accept

21 on behalf of an applicant for assistance under this

22 title a commitment from a non-Federal source to

23 fund in whole or in part the credit risk premiums

24 with respect to the applicant’s loan. The aggregate

25 of appropriations of budget authority and credit risk
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1 premiums described in this paragraph with respect

2 to a loan guarantee may not be less than the cost

3 of that loan guarantee.

4 ‘‘(3) CREDIT RISK PREMIUM AMOUNT.—The

5 Administrator shall determine the amount required

6 for credit risk premiums under this subsection on

7 the basis of—

8 ‘‘(A) the circumstances of the applicant,

9 including the amount of collateral offered;

10 ‘‘(B) the proposed schedule of loan dis11 bursements;

12 ‘‘(C) the borrower’s business plans for pro13 viding service;

14 ‘‘(D) financial commitment from the

15 broadcast signal provider;

16 ‘‘(E) approval of the Office of Management

17 and Budget; and

18 ‘‘(F) any other factors the Administrator

19 considers relevant.

20 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—Credit risk pre21 miums under this subsection shall be paid to an ac22 count established in the Treasury which shall accrue

23 interest and such interest shall be retained by the

24 account, subject to paragraph (5).
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1 ‘‘(5) COHORTS OF LOANS.—In order to main2 tain sufficient balances of credit risk premiums to

3 adequately protect the Federal Government from

4 risk of default, while minimizing the length of time

5 the Government retains possession of those balances,

6 the Administrator in consultation with the Office of

7 Management and Budget shall establish cohorts of

8 loans. When all obligations attached to a cohort of

9 loans have been satisfied, credit risk premiums paid

10 for the cohort, and interest accrued thereon, which

11 were not used to mitigate losses shall be returned to

12 the original source on a pro rata basis.

13 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONS OF ASSISTANCE.—A borrower shall

14 agree to such terms and conditions as are sufficient, in

15 the judgment of the Administrator to ensure that, as long

16 as any principal or interest is due and payable on such

17 obligation, the borrower—

18 ‘‘(1) will maintain assets, equipment, facilities,

19 and operations on a continuing basis;

20 ‘‘(2) will not make any discretionary dividend

21 payments that reduce the ability to repay obligations

22 incurred under this section; and

23 ‘‘(3) will remain sufficiently capitalized.

24 ‘‘(h) LIEN ON INTERESTS IN ASSETS.—Upon pro25 viding a loan guarantee to a borrower under this title, the
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1 Administrator shall have liens which shall be superior to

2 all other liens on assets of the borrower equal to the un3 paid balance of the loan subject to such guarantee.

4 ‘‘(i) PERFECTED INTEREST.—The Administrator and

5 the lender shall have a perfected security interest in those

6 assets of the borrower fully sufficient to protect the Ad7 ministrator and the lender.

8 ‘‘(j) INSURANCE POLICIES.—In accordance with

9 practices of private lenders, as determined by the Adminis10 trator, the borrower shall obtain, at its expense, insurance

11 sufficient to protect the interests of the Federal Govern12 ment, as determined by the Administrator.

13 ‘‘(k) SPECIAL PROVISION FOR SATELLITE CAR14 RIERS.—No satellite carrier that provided television

15 broadcast signals to subscribers on October 1, 1999, and

16 no company that is an affiliate of any such carrier, shall

17 be eligible for a loan guarantee under this section if either

18 the carrier or its affiliate holds a license for unused spec19 trum that would be suitable for delivering local television

20 signals into unserved and underserved markets.

21 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

22 additional costs of the loans guaranteed under this title,

23 including the cost of modifying the loans as defined in sec24 tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2

25 U.S.C. 661(a)), there are authorized to be appropriated
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1 for fiscal years 2000 through 2006, such amounts as may

2 be necessary. In addition there are authorized to be appro3 priated such sums as may be necessary to administer this

4 title. Any amounts appropriated under this subsection

5 shall remain available until expended.

6 ‘‘SEC. 503. ADMINISTRATION OF LOAN GUARANTEES.

7 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—The Administrator shall pre8 scribe the form and contents for an application for a loan

9 guarantee under section 502.

10 ‘‘(b) ASSIGNMENT OF LOAN GUARANTEES.—The

11 holder of a loan guaranteed under this title may assign

12 the loan guarantee in whole or in part, subject to such

13 requirements as the Administrator may prescribe.

14 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATIONS.—The Administrator may ap15 prove the modification of any term or condition of a loan

16 guarantee including the rate of interest, time of payment

17 of interest or principal, or security requirements, if the

18 Administrator finds in writing that—

19 ‘‘(1) the modification is equitable and is in the

20 overall best interests of the United States;

21 ‘‘(2) consent has been obtained from the bor22 rower and the lender;

23 ‘‘(3) the modification is consistent with the ob24 jective underwriting criteria developed in consulta25 tion with the Office of Management and Budget and
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1 an independent public accounting firm under section

2 502(f);

3 ‘‘(4) the modification does not adversely affect

4 the Federal Government’s interest in the entity’s as5 sets or loan collateral;

6 ‘‘(5) the modification does not adversely affect

7 the entity’s ability to repay the loan; and

8 ‘‘(6) the National Telecommunications and In9 formation Administration does not object to the

10 modification on the ground that it is inconsistent

11 with the certification under section 502(e).

12 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY MARKETS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent

14 practicable, the Administrator shall give priority to

15 projects which serve the most underserved rural

16 markets, as determined by the Administrator. In

17 making prioritization determinations, the Adminis18 trator shall consider prevailing market conditions,

19 feasibility of providing service, population, terrain,

20 and other factors the Administrator determines ap21 propriate.

22 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY RELATING TO CONSUMER COSTS

23 AND SEPARATE TIER OF SIGNALS.—The Adminis24 trator shall give priority to projects that—
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1 ‘‘(A) offer a separate tier of local broad2 cast signals; and

3 ‘‘(B) provide lower projected costs to con4 sumers of such separate tier.

5 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE SCHEDULES.—Applicants

6 for priority projects under this section shall enter

7 into stipulated performance schedules with the Ad8 ministrator.

9 ‘‘(4) PENALTY.—The Administrator may assess

10 a borrower a penalty not to exceed 3 times the inter11 est due on the guaranteed loan, if the borrower fails

12 to meet its stipulated performance schedule. The

13 penalty shall be paid to the account established by

14 the Treasury under section 502.

15 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON CONSIDERATION OF MOST

16 POPULATED AREAS.—The Administrator shall not

17 provide a loan guarantee for a project that is pri18 marily designed to serve the 40 most populated des19 ignated market areas and shall take into consider20 ation the importance of serving rural markets that

21 are not likely to be otherwise offered service under

22 section 122 of title 17, United States Code, except

23 through the loan guarantee program under this title.

24 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE.—The Administrator shall enforce

25 compliance by an applicant and any other party to the
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1 loan guarantee for whose benefit assistance is intended,

2 with the provisions of this title, regulations issued here3 under, and the terms and conditions of the loan guarantee,

4 including through regular periodic inspections and audits.

5 ‘‘(f) COMMERCIAL VALIDITY.—For purposes of

6 claims by any party other than the Administrator, a loan

7 guarantee or loan guarantee commitment shall be conclu8 sive evidence that the underlying obligation is in compli9 ance with the provisions of the title, and that such obliga10 tion has been approved and is legal as to principal, inter11 est, and other terms. Such a guarantee or commitment

12 shall be valid and incontestable in the hands of a holder

13 thereof, including the original lender or any other holder,

14 as of the date when the Administrator granted the applica15 tion therefore, except as to fraud or material misrepresen16 tation by such holder.

17 ‘‘(g) DEFAULTS.—The Administrator shall prescribe

18 regulations governing a default on a loan guaranteed

19 under this title.

20 ‘‘(h) RIGHTS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

21 ‘‘(1) SUBROGATION.—If the Administrator au22 thorizes payment to a holder, or a holder’s agent,

23 under subsection (g) in connection with a loan guar24 antee made under section 502, the Administrator
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1 shall be subrogated to all of the rights of the holder

2 with respect to the obligor under the loan.

3 ‘‘(2) DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.—The Admin4 istrator may complete, recondition, reconstruct, ren5 ovate, repair, maintain, operate, rent, sell, or other6 wise dispose of any property or other interests ob7 tained under this section in a manner that maxi8 mizes taxpayer return and is consistent with the

9 public convenience and necessity.

10 ‘‘(3) WARRANTS.—To ensure that the United

11 States Government is compensated for the risk in

12 making guarantees under this title, the Adminis13 trator shall enter into contracts under which the

14 Government, contingent on the financial success of

15 the borrower, would participate in a percentage of

16 the gains of any for profit borrower or its security

17 holders in connection with the project funded by

18 loans so guaranteed.

19 ‘‘(i) ACTION AGAINST OBLIGOR.—The Administrator

20 may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court

21 of the United States in the name of the United States

22 or of the holder of the obligation in the event of a default

23 on a loan guaranteed under this title. The holder of a

24 guarantee shall make available to the Administrator all

25 records and evidence necessary to prosecute the civil ac-
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1 tion. The Administrator may accept property in full or

2 partial satisfaction of any sums owed as a result of de3 fault. If the Administrator receives, through the sale or

4 other disposition of such property, an amount greater than

5 the aggregate of—

6 ‘‘(1) the amount paid to the holder of a guar7 antee under subsection (g); and

8 ‘‘(2) any other cost to the United States of

9 remedying the default, the Administrator shall pay

10 such excess to the obligor.

11 ‘‘(j) BREACH OF CONDITIONS.—The Attorney Gen12 eral shall commence a civil action in a court of appropriate

13 jurisdiction to enjoin any activity which the Administrator

14 finds is in violation of this title, regulations issued here15 under, or any conditions which were duly agreed to, and

16 to secure any other appropriate relief, including relief

17 against any affiliate of the borrower.

18 ‘‘(k) ATTACHMENT.—No attachment or execution

19 may be issued against the Administrator or any property

20 in the control of the Administrator prior to the entry of

21 final judgment to such effect in any State, Federal, or

22 other court.

23 ‘‘(l) INVESTIGATION CHARGE AND FEES.—

24 ‘‘(1) APPRAISAL FEE.—The Administrator may

25 charge and collect from an applicant a reasonable
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1 fee for appraisal for the value of the equipment or

2 facilities for which the loan guarantee is sought, and

3 for making necessary determinations and findings.

4 The fee may not, in the aggregate, be more than

5 one-half of one percent of the principal amount of

6 the obligation. The fee imposed under this para7 graph shall be used to offset the administrative costs

8 of the program.

9 ‘‘(2) LOAN ORIGINATION FEE.—The Adminis10 trator may charge a loan origination fee.

11 ‘‘(m) ANNUAL AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of

12 the United States shall annually audit the administration

13 of this title and report the results of the audit to the Com14 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen15 ate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of

16 Representatives.

17 ‘‘(n) INDEMNIFICATION.—An affiliate of the bor18 rower shall indemnify the Government for any losses it

19 incurs as a result of—

20 ‘‘(1) a judgment against the borrower;

21 ‘‘(2) any breach by the borrower of its obliga22 tions under the loan guarantee agreement;

23 ‘‘(3) any violation of the provisions of this title

24 by the borrower;
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1 ‘‘(4) any penalties incurred by the borrower for

2 any reason, including the violation of the stipulated

3 performance; and

4 ‘‘(5) any other circumstances that the Adminis5 trator determines to be appropriate.

6 ‘‘(o) SUNSET.—The Administrator may not approve

7 a loan guarantee under this title after December 31, 2006.

8 ‘‘SEC. 504. RETRANSMISSION OF LOCAL TELEVISION

9 BROADCAST STATIONS.

10 ‘‘A borrower shall be subject to applicable rights, obli11 gations, and limitations of title 17, United States Code.

12 If a local broadcast station requests carriage of its signal

13 and is located in a market not served by a satellite carrier

14 providing service under a statutory license under section

15 122 of title 17, United States Code, the borrower shall

16 carry the signal of that station without charge and shall

17 be subject to the applicable rights, obligations, and limita18 tions of sections 338, 614, and 615 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934.’’.

Æ