I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5515 

To authorize the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

to issue direct loans to certain small businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. STEWART introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

A BILL 

To authorize the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to issue direct loans to certain small 

businesses, 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 ‘‘Commercial Geo5 stationary Remote Sensing Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL 

2 GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY TO 

3 ISSUE DIRECT LOANS TO CERTAIN SMALL 

4 BUSINESSES. 

5 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to improve 

6 the opportunity of small businesses to participate in the 

7 satellite imaging capabilities that may be used for national 

8 security purposes, including the acquisition of geospatial 

9 intelligence in furtherance of the national security of the 

10 United States. 

11 (b) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DIRECT LOANS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the Federal Cred13 it Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), the 

14 Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

15 Agency may issue a direct loan under this Act to an 

16 eligible entity for the purpose of financing the cov17 ered costs of an eligible project of the eligible entity. 

18 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF DIRECT LOANS AU19 THORIZED.—The aggregate principal amount of di20 rect loans issued under this Act, including all cap21 italized interest, may not exceed $2,500,000,000. 

22 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a direct loan 

24 under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

25 Director an application therefor at such time, in 


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1 such manner, and containing such information as 

2 the Director may require. 

3 (2) DEMONSTRATION OF PROSPECTS OF REPAY4 MENT.—An application for a direct loan submitted 

5 under paragraph (1) shall include information dem6 onstrating that the applicant has a reasonable ability 

7 to repay the loan without using the proceeds of sales 

8 to the Federal Government, in accordance with sub9 section (e)(2)(B). 

10 (3) COMPLETE APPLICATION.— 

11 (A) TIMING ON NOTIFICATION AS TO COM12 PLETENESS.—Not later than 30 business days 

13 after receiving an application pursuant to para14 graph (1), the Director shall notify the appli15 cant as to whether the application received con16 stitutes a complete application. 

17 (B) SUBMISSION DATE FOR A COMPLETE

18 APPLICATION.—Except as provided in subpara19 graph (D), a complete application shall be 

20 treated as submitted on the date originally sub21 mitted to the Director. 

22 (C) NOTIFICATION OF INCOMPLETE23 NESS.—If the Director determines that an ap24 plication submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) 

25 is incomplete, the Director shall notify the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:08 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5515.IH H5515

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1 plicant and provide for a reasonable oppor2 tunity, as determined by the Director, for the 

3 applicant to submit the additional information 

4 necessary to complete the application. 

5 (D) SUBMISSION DATE FOR A PREVIOUSLY

6 INCOMPLETE APPLICATION.—In a case in which 

7 an application is completed pursuant to sub8 paragraph (C), the completed application shall 

9 be treated as submitted on the date on which 

10 the additional information necessary to com11 plete the application is submitted to the Direc12 tor pursuant to such subparagraph. 

13 (4) NOTICE TO APPLICANTS.—Not later than 

14 180 days after the date on which the Director re15 ceives from an eligible entity a complete application 

16 under this subsection, the Director shall provide to 

17 the eligible entity written notice— 

18 (A) approving the application; or 

19 (B) denying the application and providing 

20 guidance on why the application was so denied. 

21 (5) SOLICITATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di23 rector shall solicit applications under this subsection. 

24 (d) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—No direct loan for an eligible 

2 project may be issued to an eligible entity under this 

3 Act unless the Director determines that— 

4 (A) the project has the potential to enable 

5 the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to 

6 meet mission-critical needs of the Agency; 

7 (B) the eligible entity is creditworthy; and 

8 (C) there is a reasonable assurance of re9 payment of the principal of, and any interest 

10 on, the proposed direct loan by the eligible enti11 ty without the eligible entity using the proceeds 

12 of sales to the Federal Government, in accord13 ance with subsection (e)(2)(B). 

14 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making the deter15 minations under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

16 take into consideration relevant factors, including 

17 the following: 

18 (A) The terms, conditions, financial struc19 ture, and security features of the proposed di20 rect loan. 

21 (B) The dedicated revenue sources pro22 posed to secure or fund the repayment of the 

23 proposed direct loan. 

24 (C) The financial assumptions upon which 

25 the proposed eligible project is based. 


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1 (D) The financial soundness and credit 

2 history of the eligible entity. 

3 (e) DIRECT LOANS.— 

4 (1) AGREEMENTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

6 (2), the Director may enter into an agreement 

7 with an eligible entity the application of which 

8 is approved pursuant to subsection (c)(4)(A) to 

9 issue a direct loan to such eligible entity for the 

10 purpose of financing the covered costs of the el11 igible project specified in such application. 

12 (B) CREDIT SUBSIDY FEE.—Prior to en13 tering into an agreement under this subsection 

14 with respect to a proposed direct loan, the Di15 rector— 

16 (i) in consultation with the Director of 

17 the Office of Management and Budget, 

18 shall determine the cost (as defined in sec19 tion 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act 

20 of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) to the Federal 

21 Government of issuing the proposed direct 

22 loan; and 

23 (ii) shall charge and collect from the 

24 eligible entity, as a credit subsidy fee, a 

25 payment equal to the amount determined 


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1 under clause (i) to cover the cost of the 

2 proposed direct loan. 

3 (2) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A direct loan issued 

5 under this Act shall be subject to such terms 

6 and conditions, and contain such covenants, 

7 representations, warranties, and requirements, 

8 including requirements for audits, as the Direc9 tor determines appropriate. 

10 (B) REPAYMENT.—No direct loan issued 

11 under this Act, including any part of the prin12 cipal of, or interest on, such a direct loan, may 

13 be repaid with the proceeds of a sale to the 

14 Federal Government. 

15 (C) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on 

16 a direct loan issued under this Act shall be not 

17 less than the average market yield on out18 standing marketable United States Treasury se19 curities having maturities comparable to the 

20 maturity of the direct loan on the date of execu21 tion of the loan agreement. 

22 (D) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity 

23 date of a direct loan issued under this Act shall 

24 be the earlier of— 


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1 (i) the date that is 25 years after the 

2 date of substantial completion of the rel3 evant project; or 

4 (ii) if the useful life of the project, as 

5 determined by the Director, is less than 35 

6 years, the end of the useful life of the 

7 project. 

8 (E) NONSUBORDINATION.—A direct loan 

9 made under this Act shall not be subordinate to 

10 any other financing in the event of bankruptcy, 

11 insolvency, or liquidation of the obligor. 

12 (F) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—In ad13 dition to the charging and collection of credit 

14 subsidy fees under paragraph (1)(B), the Direc15 tor may charge, collect, and spend fees at a 

16 level sufficient to cover all or a portion of the 

17 expense of administering this section. Such ad18 ministrative expenses may include the costs of 

19 services obtained or retained pursuant to sub20 section (f) with respect to the administration of 

21 this section or a particular direct loan issued 

22 under this section. 

23 (3) REPAYMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term of any direct 

25 loan obligation under this section shall require 


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1 full repayment of the principal of, and any in2 terest on, the direct loan by not later than the 

3 maturity date set forth by paragraph (2)(D) 

4 with respect to that direct loan. 

5 (B) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan re6 payments of the principal of, and any interest 

7 on, a direct loan issued under this section shall 

8 commence by not later than— 

9 (i) the date that is 4 years after the 

10 date of substantial completion of the rel11 evant project; or 

12 (ii) the date that is 8 years after the 

13 disbursement date of such direct loan. 

14 (C) CAPITALIZED INTEREST.—Interest on 

15 the outstanding principal of a direct loan issued 

16 under this section shall accrue during the pe17 riod before the first scheduled repayment date 

18 under the repayment schedule for the loan and 

19 shall be amortized for payment over the remain20 ing term of the loan. 

21 (f) ASSISTANCE SERVICES.—In carrying out this sec22 tion, the Director may— 

23 (1) retain the services of persons, including 

24 counsel and consultants, with expertise in such fields 


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1 as the Director considers necessary or helpful for 

2 purposes of this section; and 

3 (2) enter into contracts, including contracts for 

4 services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United 

5 States Code. 

6 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

7 (1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 

9 shall submit to the congressional intelligence com10 mittees a report summarizing the projects for which 

11 the Director has issued direct loans under this sec12 tion. 

13 (2) MATTERS.—The report under paragraph 

14 (1) shall include a description of the following: 

15 (A) The applications received for direct 

16 loans under this section. 

17 (B) The projects selected for direct loans 

18 under this section, including a description of 

19 the projects and the basis for the selection of 

20 those projects with respect to the requirements 

21 of this section. 

22 (C) The amount of the direct loan provided 

23 for each project selected under this section, re24 spectively. 


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1 (D) The financial performance of each 

2 project selected under this section, including an 

3 evaluation of whether the purpose under sub4 section (a) is being furthered by the project. 

5 (E) The benefits and effects of the imple6 mentation of this section, including the benefit 

7 to national security and other public benefits 

8 provided by the projects selected under this Act. 

9 (h) FUNDING.— 

10 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—Obligations incurred by 

11 the Director under this Act shall be subject to the 

12 availability of funds provided in advance specifically 

13 for the purpose of direct loans authorized under this 

14 Act. Such loans are subject to the requirements of 

15 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

16 661 et seq.). 

17 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Administra18 tive expense fees collected pursuant to subsection 

19 (e)(2)(F) shall be deposited into the appropriation 

20 account for administrative expenses of the direct 

21 loan program under this Act and shall be— 

22 (A) in addition to the amount of funds ap23 propriated to be expended for administrative ex24 penses; and 


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1 (B) available until expended for adminis2 trative expenses, including ongoing expenses, of 

3 the direct loan program under this section. 

4 (3) CREDIT SUBSIDY FEES.—Credit subsidy 

5 fees collected pursuant to subsection (e)(1)(B)(ii) 

6 shall be deposited into the financing account for the 

7 direct loan program established pursuant to the 

8 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 

9 et seq.). 

10 (i) TERMINATION.—The authority to issue new direct 

11 loans under this section shall terminate on the date that 

12 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, except as other14 wise provided: 

15 (1) CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘‘congressional intelligence com17 mittees’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

18 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 

19 3003). 

20 (2) COVERED COSTS.—The term ‘‘covered 

21 costs’’ means, with respect to an eligible project— 

22 (A) the cost of— 

23 (i) startup-phase activities, including 

24 planning, feasibility analysis (including any 

25 related analysis necessary to carry out an 


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1 eligible project), revenue forecasting, envi2 ronmental review, permitting, preliminary 

3 engineering and design work, and other 

4 preconstruction activities; 

5 (ii) satellites, satellite launches, and 

6 related expenses; 

7 (iii) the acquisition and improvement 

8 of real property or an interest in real prop9 erty; 

10 (iv) the acquisition or manufacturing 

11 of equipment and components of such 

12 equipment; and 

13 (v) capitalized interest necessary to 

14 meet market requirements, reasonably re15 quired reserve funds, cost contingencies, 

16 capital issuance expenses, and other car17 rying costs during construction; and 

18 (B) any other cost with respect to the 

19 project that the Director determines the financ20 ing of which is necessary to promote participa21 tion by a small business in satellite imaging ca22 pabilities that can be used for national security 

23 purposes, including the acquisition of geospatial 

24 intelligence in furtherance of the national secu25 rity of the United States. 


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1 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

3 Agency. 

4 (4) DIRECT LOAN.—The term ‘‘direct loan’’ 

5 means a disbursement of funds by the Government 

6 to a non-Federal borrower under a contract that re7 quires the repayment of such funds with or without 

8 interest. The term includes the purchase of, or par9 ticipation in, a loan made by another lender and fi10 nancing arrangements that defer payment for more 

11 than 90 days, including the sale of a Government 

12 asset on credit terms. The term does not include the 

13 acquisition of a federally guaranteed loan in satisfac14 tion of default claims. 

15 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti16 ty’’ means a small business concern (as defined 

17 under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 632)) that produces or supplies— 

19 (A) a technology listed in the most up-to20 date version of the list of critical and emerging 

21 technologies published by the White House or 

22 the integrated priority list published by the Ad23 ministrator of the Defense Technical Informa24 tion Center; or 


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1 (B) any other technology that the Presi2 dent determines is necessary to the national se3 curity of the United States. 

4 (6) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

5 project’’ means a project that uses geostationary 

6 orbit satellites to acquire immediate and continuous 

7 imagery of the Earth. 

8 (7) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means an 

9 eligible entity that is primarily liable for payment of 

10 the principal of, and any interest on, a direct loan 

11 made under this section. 

12 (8) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

13 ‘‘substantial completion’’ means, with respect to an 

14 eligible project, the date on which a project is con15 sidered by the Director to achieve full operational 

16 capability. 

Æ 


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