II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2097

To authorize loan guarantees in order to facilitate access to local television

broadcast signals in unserved and underserved areas, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 24, 2000

Mr. BURNS (for himself, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. LOTT, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. CRAPO,

Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BUNNING, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban

Affairs

A BILL

To authorize loan guarantees in order to facilitate access

to local television broadcast signals in unserved and underserved areas, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Launching Our Com5 munities’ Access to Local Television Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to facilitate access, on a

8 technologically neutral basis and by December 31, 2006,
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1 to signals of local television stations in unserved areas and

2 underserved areas for the households located in such areas

3 that seek access to such signals.

4 SEC. 3. LOCAL TELEVISION LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

6 LOCAL Television Loan Guarantee Board (in this Act re7 ferred to as the ‘‘Board’’).

8 (b) MEMBERS.—

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

10 the Board shall consist of the following members:

11 (A) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the

12 designee of the Secretary.

13 (B) The Chairman of the Board of Gov14 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, or the

15 designee of the Chairman.

16 (C) The Secretary of Agriculture, or the

17 designee of the Secretary.

18 (2) REQUIREMENT AS TO DESIGNEES.—An in19 dividual may not be designated a member of the

20 Board under paragraph (1) unless the individual is

21 an officer of the United States pursuant to an ap22 pointment by the President, by and with the advice

23 and consent of the Senate.

24 (c) FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall determine

2 whether or not to approve loan guarantees under

3 this Act. The Board shall make such determinations

4 consistent with the purpose of this Act and in ac5 cordance with this subsection and section 4.

6 (2) CONSULTATION AUTHORIZED.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out its

8 functions under this Act, the Board shall con9 sult with such departments and agencies of the

10 Federal Government as the Board considers ap11 propriate, including the Department of Com12 merce, the Department of Agriculture, the De13 partment of the Treasury, the Department of

14 Justice, the Department of the Interior, the

15 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys16 tem, the Federal Communications Commission,

17 the Federal Trade Commission, and the Na18 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration.

19 (B) RESPONSE.—A department or agency

20 consulted by the Board under subparagraph (A)

21 shall provide the Board such expertise and as22 sistance as the Board requires to carry out its

23 functions under this Act.

24 (3) APPROVAL BY MAJORITY VOTE.—The deter25 mination of the Board to approve a loan guarantee
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1 under this Act shall be by a vote of a majority of

2 the Board.

3 SEC. 4. APPROVAL OF LOAN GUARANTEES.

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO APPROVE LOAN GUARANTEES.—

5 Subject to the provisions of this section and consistent

6 with the purpose of this Act, the Board may approve loan

7 guarantees under this Act

8 (b) REGULATIONS.—

9 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Board shall pre10 scribe regulations to implement the provisions of this

11 Act.

12 (2) ELEMENTS.—The regulations prescribed

13 under paragraph (1) shall—

14 (A) set forth the form of any application to

15 be submitted to the Board under this Act;

16 (B) set forth time periods for the review

17 and consideration by the Board of applications

18 to be submitted to the Board under this Act,

19 and for any other action to be taken by the

20 Board with respect to such applications;

21 (C) provide appropriate safeguards against

22 the evasion of the provisions of this Act;

23 (D) set forth the circumstances in which

24 an applicant, together with any affiliate of an
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1 applicant, shall be treated as an applicant for

2 a loan guarantee under this Act;

3 (E) include requirements that appropriate

4 parties submit to the Board any documents and

5 assurances that are required for the administra6 tion of the provisions of this Act; and

7 (F) include such other provisions con8 sistent with the purpose of this Act as the

9 Board considers appropriate.

10 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—(A) Nothing in this Act

11 shall be construed to prohibit the Board from requir12 ing, to the extent and under circumstances consid13 ered appropriate by the Board, that affiliates of an

14 applicant be subject to certain obligations of the ap15 plicant as a condition to the approval or mainte16 nance of a loan guarantee under this Act.

17 (B) If any provision of this Act or the applica18 tion of such provision to any person or entity or cir19 cumstance is held to be invalid by a court of com20 petent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act, or the

21 application of such provision to such person or entity

22 or circumstance other than those as to which it is

23 held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.

24 (c) AUTHORITY LIMITED BY APPROPRIATIONS

25 ACTS.—The Board may approve loan guarantees under
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1 this Act only to the extent provided for in advance in ap2 propriations Acts.

3 (d) REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA APPLICABLE TO

4 APPROVAL.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall utilize the

6 underwriting criteria developed under subsection (g),

7 and any relevant information provided by the de8 partments and agencies with which the Board

9 consults under section 3, to determine which loans

10 may be eligible for a loan guarantee under this Act.

11 (2) PREREQUISITES.—In addition to meeting

12 the underwriting criteria under paragraph (1), a

13 loan may not be guaranteed under this Act unless—

14 (A) the loan is made to finance the acqui15 sition, improvement, enhancement, construction,

16 deployment, launch, or rehabilitation of the

17 means by which local television broadcast sig18 nals will be delivered to an unserved area or un19 derserved area;

20 (B) the proceeds of the loan will not be

21 used for operating expenses;

22 (C) the proposed project, as determined by

23 the Board in consultation with the National

24 Telecommunications and Information Adminis25 tration, is not likely to have a substantial ad-
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1 verse impact on competition that outweighs the

2 benefits of improving access to the signals of a

3 local television station in an unserved area or

4 underserved area;

5 (D) the loan is provided by an insured de6 pository institution (as that term is defined in

7 section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act)

8 that is acceptable to the Board, and has terms,

9 in the judgment of the Board, that are con10 sistent in material respects with the terms of

11 similar obligations in the private capital mar12 ket;

13 (E) repayment of the loan is required to be

14 made within a term of the lesser of—

15 (i) 25 years from the date of the exe16 cution of the loan; or

17 (ii) the economically useful life, as de18 termined by the Board, of the primary as19 sets to be used in the delivery of the sig20 nals concerned; and

21 (F) the loan meets any additional criteria

22 developed under subsection (g).

23 (3) PROTECTION OF UNITED STATES FINAN24 CIAL INTERESTS.—The Board may not approve the

25 guarantee of a loan under this Act unless—
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1 (A) the Board has been given documenta2 tion, assurances, and access to information and

3 persons necessary, as determined by the Board,

4 to address issues relevant to the review of the

5 loan by the Board for purposes of this Act; and

6 (B) the Board makes a determination in

7 writing that—

8 (i) the assets, facilities, or equipment

9 covered by the loan will be utilized eco10 nomically and efficiently;

11 (ii) the terms, conditions, security,

12 and schedule and amount of repayments of

13 principal and the payment of interest with

14 respect to the loan protect the financial in15 terests of the United States and are rea16 sonable;

17 (iii) all necessary and required regu18 latory and other approvals, spectrum

19 rights, and delivery permissions have been

20 received for the loan and the project under

21 the loan;

22 (iv) the loan would not be available on

23 reasonable terms and conditions without a

24 loan guarantee under this Act; and
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1 (v) repayment of the loan can reason2 ably be expected.

3 (e) PRIORITY CONSIDERATIONS.—

4 (1) TYPE OF MARKET.—

5 (A) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION TO

6 UNSERVED AREAS.—To the maximum extent

7 practicable, the Board shall give priority in the

8 approval of loan guarantees under this Act for

9 projects that will serve unserved areas.

10 (B) PROHIBITION.—The Board may not

11 approve a loan guarantee under this Act for a

12 project that is designed primarily to serve one

13 or more of the 40 most populated designated

14 market areas (as that term is defined in section

15 122(j) of title 17, United States Code).

16 (2) PROJECTS THAT WOULD REDUCE CON17 SUMER COSTS.—To the maximum extent practicable,

18 the Board shall also give priority in the approval of

19 loan guarantees under this Act to projects that

20 would—

21 (A) offer a separate tier of local broadcast

22 signals, but for applicable Federal, State, or

23 local laws or regulations;

24 (B) provide lower projected costs to con25 sumers of such separate tier; and
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1 (C) enable the delivery of local broadcast

2 signals consistent with the purpose of this Act

3 by a means reasonably compatible with existing

4 systems or devices predominantly in use.

5 (f) GUARANTEE LIMITS.—

6 (1) LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE VALUE OF

7 LOANS.—The aggregate value of all loans for which

8 loan guarantees are issued under this Act may not

9 exceed $1,250,000,000.

10 (2) GUARANTEE LEVEL.—A loan guarantee

11 issued under this Act may not exceed an amount

12 equal to 70 percent of a loan meeting in its entirety

13 the requirements of subsection (d)(2)(A). If only a

14 portion of a loan meets the requirements of that

15 subsection, the Board shall determine that percent16 age of the loan meeting such requirements (the ‘‘ap17 plicable portion’’) and may issue a loan guarantee

18 in an amount not exceeding 70 percent of the appli19 cable portion.

20 (g) UNDERWRITING CRITERIA.—Not later than 180

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board

22 shall, in consultation with the Director of the Office of

23 Management and Budget and an independent public ac24 counting firm, develop underwriting criteria relating to the

25 guarantee of loans that are consistent with the purpose
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1 of this Act, including appropriate collateral and cash flow

2 levels for loans guaranteed under this Act, and such other

3 matters as the Board considers appropriate.

4 (h) CREDIT RISK PREMIUMS.—

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND ACCEPTANCE.—

6 (A) AUTHORITY.—The Board may estab7 lish and approve the acceptance of credit risk

8 premiums with respect to a loan guarantee

9 under this Act in order to cover the cost, as de10 termined under section 504(b)(1) of the Fed11 eral Credit Reform Act of 1990, of the loan

12 guarantee. To the extent that appropriations of

13 budget authority are insufficient to cover the

14 cost, as so determined, of a loan guarantee

15 under this Act, credit risk premiums shall be

16 accepted from a non-Federal source under this

17 subsection on behalf of the applicant for the

18 loan guarantee.

19 (2) CREDIT RISK PREMIUM AMOUNT.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall deter21 mine the amount of any credit risk premium to

22 be accepted with respect to a loan guarantee

23 under this Act on the basis of—

24 (i) the financial and economic cir25 cumstances of the applicant for the loan
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1 guarantee, including the amount of collat2 eral offered;

3 (ii) the proposed schedule of loan dis4 bursements;

5 (iii) the business plans of the appli6 cant for providing service;

7 (iv) any financial commitment from a

8 broadcast signal provider; and

9 (v) the concurrence of the Director of

10 the Office of Management and Budget as

11 to the amount of the credit risk premium.

12 (B) PROPORTIONALITY.—To the extent

13 that appropriations of budget authority are suf14 ficient to cover the cost, as determined under

15 section 504(b)(1) of the Federal Credit Reform

16 Act of 1990, of loan guarantees under this Act,

17 the credit risk premium with respect to each

18 loan guarantee shall be reduced proportionately.

19 (i) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The decision of the Board to

20 approve or disapprove the making of a loan guarantee

21 under this Act shall not be subject to judicial review.

22 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF LOAN GUARANTEES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Rural

24 Utilities Service (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Adminis25 trator’’) shall issue and otherwise administer loan guaran-
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1 tees that have been approved by the Board in accordance

2 with sections 3 and 4 of this Act.

3 (b) SECURITY FOR PROTECTION OF UNITED STATES

4 FINANCIAL INTERESTS.—

5 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An applicant

6 shall agree to such terms and conditions as are sat7 isfactory, in the judgment of the Board, to ensure

8 that, as long as any principal or interest is due and

9 payable on a loan guaranteed under this Act, the

10 applicant—

11 (A) shall maintain assets, equipment, fa12 cilities, and operations on a continuing basis;

13 (B) shall not make any discretionary divi14 dend payments that impair its ability to repay

15 obligations guaranteed under this Act; and

16 (C) shall remain sufficiently capitalized.

17 (2) COLLATERAL.—

18 (A) EXISTENCE OF ADEQUATE COLLAT19 ERAL.—An applicant shall provide the Board

20 such documentation as is necessary, in the

21 judgment of the Board, to provide satisfactory

22 evidence that appropriate and adequate collat23 eral secures a loan guaranteed under this Act.

24 (B) FORM OF COLLATERAL.—Collateral re25 quired by subparagraph (A) shall consist solely
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1 of assets of the applicant, any affiliate of the

2 applicant, or both (whichever the Board con3 siders appropriate), including primary assets to

4 be used in the delivery of signals for which the

5 loan is guaranteed.

6 (C) REVIEW OF VALUATION.—The value of

7 collateral securing a loan guaranteed under this

8 Act may be reviewed by the Board, and may be

9 adjusted downward by the Board if the Board

10 reasonably believes such adjustment is appro11 priate.

12 (3) LIEN ON INTERESTS IN ASSETS.—Upon the

13 Board’s approval of a loan guarantee under this Act,

14 the Administrator shall have liens on assets securing

15 the loan, which shall be superior to all other liens on

16 such assets, and the value of the assets (based on

17 a determination satisfactory to the Board) subject to

18 the liens shall be at least equal to the unpaid bal19 ance of the loan amount covered by the loan guar20 antee.

21 (4) PERFECTED SECURITY INTEREST.—With

22 respect to a loan guaranteed under this Act, the Ad23 ministrator and the lender shall have a perfected se24 curity interest in assets securing the loan that are
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1 fully sufficient to protect the financial interests of

2 the United States and the lender.

3 (5) INSURANCE.—In accordance with practices

4 in the private capital market, as determined by the

5 Board, the applicant for a loan guarantee under this

6 Act shall obtain, at its expense, insurance sufficient

7 to protect the financial interests of the United

8 States, as determined by the Board.

9 (c) ASSIGNMENT OF LOAN GUARANTEES.—The hold10 er of a loan guarantee under this Act may assign the loan

11 guaranteed under this Act in whole or in part, subject to

12 such requirements as the Board may prescribe.

13 (d) MODIFICATION.—The Board may approve the

14 modification of any term or condition of a loan guarantee

15 under this Act, including the rate of interest, time of pay16 ment of principal or interest, or security requirements only

17 if—

18 (1) the modification is consistent with the fi19 nancial interests of the United States;

20 (2) consent has been obtained from the parties

21 to the loan agreement;

22 (3) the modification is consistent with the un23 derwriting criteria developed under section 4(g);
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1 (4) the modification does not adversely affect

2 the interest of the Federal Government in the assets

3 or collateral of the applicant;

4 (5) the modification does not adversely affect

5 the ability of the applicant to repay the loan; and

6 (6) the National Telecommunications and Infor7 mation Administration has been consulted by the

8 Board regarding the modification.

9 (e) PERFORMANCE SCHEDULES.—

10 (1) PERFORMANCE SCHEDULES.—An applicant

11 for a loan guarantee under this Act for a project

12 covered by section 4(e)(1) shall enter into stipulated

13 performance schedules with the Administrator with

14 respect to the signals to be provided through the

15 project.

16 (2) PENALTY.—The Administrator may assess

17 against and collect from an applicant described in

18 paragraph (1) a penalty not to exceed 3 times the

19 interest due on the guaranteed loan of the applicant

20 under this Act if the applicant fails to meet its stip21 ulated performance schedule under that paragraph.

22 (f) COMPLIANCE.—The Administrator, in cooperation

23 with the Board and as the regulations of the Board may

24 provide, shall enforce compliance by an applicant, and any

25 other party to a loan guarantee for whose benefit assist-
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1 ance under this Act is intended, with the provisions of this

2 Act, any regulations under this Act, and the terms and

3 conditions of the loan guarantee, including through the

4 submittal of such reports and documents as the Board

5 may require in regulations prescribed by the Board and

6 through regular periodic inspections and audits.

7 (g) COMMERCIAL VALIDITY.—A loan guarantee

8 under this Act shall be incontestable—

9 (1) in the hands of an applicant on whose be10 half the loan guarantee is made, unless the applicant

11 engaged in fraud or misrepresentation in securing

12 the loan guarantee; and

13 (2) as to any person or entity (or their respec14 tive successor in interest) who makes or contracts to

15 make a loan to the applicant for the loan guarantee

16 in reliance thereon, unless such person or entity (or

17 respective successor in interest) engaged in fraud or

18 misrepresentation in making or contracting to make

19 such loan.

20 (h) DEFAULTS.—The Board shall prescribe regula21 tions governing defaults on loans guaranteed under this

22 Act, including the administration of the payment of guar23 anteed amounts upon default.

24 (i) RECOVERY OF PAYMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall be

2 entitled to recover from an applicant for a loan

3 guarantee under this Act the amount of any pay4 ment made to the holder of the guarantee with re5 spect to the loan.

6 (2) SUBROGATION.—Upon making a payment

7 described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall

8 be subrogated to all rights of the party to whom the

9 payment is made with respect to the guarantee

10 which was the basis for the payment.

11 (3) DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.—

12 (A) SALE OR DISPOSAL.—The Adminis13 trator shall, in an orderly and efficient manner,

14 sell or otherwise dispose of any property or

15 other interests obtained under this Act in a

16 manner that maximizes taxpayer return and is

17 consistent with the financial interests of the

18 United States.

19 (B) MAINTENANCE.—The Administrator

20 shall maintain in a cost-effective and reasonable

21 manner any property pending sale or disposal

22 of such property under subparagraph (A).

23 (j) ACTION AGAINST OBLIGOR.—

24 (1) AUTHORITY TO BRING CIVIL ACTION.—The

25 Administrator may bring a civil action in an appro-
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1 priate district court of the United States in the

2 name of the United States or of the holder of the

3 obligation in the event of a default on a loan guar4 anteed under this Act. The holder of a loan guar5 antee shall make available to the Administrator all

6 records and evidence necessary to prosecute the civil

7 action.

8 (2) FULLY SATISFYING OBLIGATIONS OWED

9 THE UNITED STATES.—The Administrator may ac10 cept property in satisfaction of any sums owed the

11 United States as a result of a default on a loan

12 guaranteed under this Act, but only to the extent

13 that any cash accepted by the Administrator is not

14 sufficient to satisfy fully the sums owed as a result

15 of the default.

16 (k) BREACH OF CONDITIONS.—The Administrator

17 shall commence a civil action in a court of appropriate

18 jurisdiction to enjoin any activity which the Board finds

19 is in violation of this Act, the regulations under this Act,

20 or any conditions which were duly agreed to, and to secure

21 any other appropriate relief, including relief against any

22 affiliate of the applicant.

23 (l) ATTACHMENT.—No attachment or execution may

24 be issued against the Administrator or any property in the

25 control of the Administrator pursuant to this Act before
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1 the entry of a final judgment (as to which all rights of

2 appeal have expired) by a State, Federal, or other court

3 of competent jurisdiction against the Administrator in a

4 proceeding for such action.

5 (m) FEES.—

6 (1) APPLICATION FEE.—The Board may charge

7 and collect from an applicant for a loan guarantee

8 under this Act a fee to cover the cost of the Board

9 in making necessary determinations and findings

10 with respect to the loan guarantee application under

11 this Act. The amount of the fee shall be reasonable.

12 (2) LOAN GUARANTEE ORIGINATION FEE.—The

13 Board may charge, and the Administrator may col14 lect, a loan guarantee origination fee with respect to

15 the issuance of a loan guarantee under this Act.

16 (3) USE OF FEES COLLECTED.—Any fee col17 lected under this subsection shall be used to offset

18 administrative costs under this Act, including costs

19 of the Board and of the Administrator.

20 (n) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO AFFILIATES.—

21 (1) INDEMNIFICATION.—An affiliate of an ap22 plicant for a loan guarantee under this Act shall in23 demnify the United States for any losses that the

24 United States incurs as a result of—
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1 (A) a judgment against the applicant or

2 any of its affiliates;

3 (B) any breach by the applicant or any of

4 its affiliates of their obligations under the loan

5 guarantee agreement;

6 (C) any violation of the provisions of this

7 Act, and the regulations prescribed under this

8 Act, by the applicant or any of its affiliates;

9 (D) any penalties incurred by the applicant

10 or any of its affiliates for any reason, including

11 violation of a stipulated performance schedule

12 under subsection (e); and

13 (E) any other circumstances that the

14 Board considers appropriate.

15 (2) LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF LOAN PRO16 CEEDS.—An applicant for a loan guarantee under

17 this Act may not transfer any part of the proceeds

18 of the loan to an affiliate.

19 (o) EFFECT OF BANKRUPTCY.—(1) Notwithstanding

20 any other provision of law, whenever any person or entity

21 is indebted to the United States as a result of any loan

22 guarantee issued under this Act and such person or entity

23 is insolvent or is a debtor in a case under title 11, United

24 States Code, the debts due to the United States shall be

25 satisfied first.
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1 (2) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11, United

2 States Code, shall not release a person or entity from an

3 obligation to the United States in connection with a loan

4 guarantee under this Act.

5 SEC. 6. ANNUAL AUDIT.

6 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Comptroller General of the

7 United States shall conduct on an annual basis an audit

8 of the administration of the provisions of this Act.

9 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit

10 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af11 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking and

12 Financial Services of the House of Representatives a re13 port on each audit conducted under subsection (a).

14 SEC. 7. SUNSET.

15 No loan guarantee may be approved under this Act

16 after December 31, 2006.

17 SEC. 8. RETRANSMISSION OF LOCAL TELEVISION BROAD18 CAST STATIONS.

19 An applicant shall be subject to applicable rights, ob20 ligations, and limitations of title 17, United States Code.

21 If a local broadcast station requests carriage of its signal

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

23 providing service under a statutory license under section

24 122 of title 17, United States Code, the applicant shall

25 carry the signal of that station without charge, and shall
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1 be subject to the applicable rights, obligations, and limita2 tions of sections 338, 614, and 615 of the Communica3 tions Act of 1934.

4 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘affiliate’’—

7 (A) means any person or entity that con8 trols, or is controlled by, or is under common

9 control with, another person or entity; and

10 (B) may include any individual who is a di11 rector or senior management officer of an affil12 iate, a shareholder controlling more than 25

13 percent of the voting securities of an affiliate,

14 or more than 25 percent of the ownership inter15 est in an affiliate not organized in stock form.

16 (2) UNSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘unserved

17 area’’ means any area (as determined using stand18 ards employed by the Federal Communications Com19 mission) that—

20 (A) is outside the grade B contour of the

21 local television broadcast signals serving a par22 ticular dominant market area; and

23 (B) does not have access to such signals by

24 other widely marketed means.
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1 (3) UNDERSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘under2 served area’’ means any area that does not receive

3 local television broadcast signals over a commercial

4 for-profit direct-to-home satellite distribution system.

5 (4) COMMON TERMS.—Except as provided in

6 paragraphs (1) through (3), any term used in this

7 Act that is defined in the Communications Act of

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

9 that term in the Communications Act of 1934.

10 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 (a) COST OF LOAN GUARANTEES.—For the cost of

12 the loans guaranteed under this Act, including the cost

13 of modifying the loans, as defined in section 502 of the

14 Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661(a)),

15 there are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years

16 2001 through 2006, such amounts as may be necessary.

17 (b) COST OF ADMINISTRATION.—There is hereby au18 thorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec19 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act, other than

20 to cover costs under subsection (a).

21 (c) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated pur22 suant to the authorizations of appropriations in sub23 sections (a) and (b) shall remain available until expended.

Æ