II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 335 

To provide financing assistance for qualified water infrastructure projects, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To provide financing assistance for qualified water 

infrastructure projects, 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 ‘‘Water Infrastructure 

5 Finance and Innovation Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) it is in the national interest to encourage 

9 the timely and cost-effective rehabilitation and re10 placement of aging water and sewer infrastructure 


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1 and to support investments in innovative, cost-effec2 tive, and sustainable infrastructure approaches to 

3 protect public health and clean water; 

4 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency re5 ports that, in the 20-year period following the date 

6 of enactment of this Act— 

7 (A) $334,800,000,000 is needed to invest 

8 in infrastructure improvements to ensure the 

9 provision of safe water; and 

10 (B) $298,100,000,000 is needed for pub11 licly owned wastewater systems-related infra12 structure; 

13 (3) customer rates and local charges are and 

14 will remain the primary means of paying for water 

15 service and infrastructure in the United States; 

16 (4) the municipal bond market and State re17 volving fund programs are the primary long-term 

18 means for financing water infrastructure projects, 

19 but upfront investment needs are too high to be met 

20 with those traditional means alone; 

21 (5) financing constraints make it particularly 

22 difficult for State revolving funds to support large 

23 water infrastructure projects of regional and na24 tional significance; 


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1 (6) the growing funding gap demonstrates the 

2 need to invest in innovative and cost-effective ap3 proaches such as green infrastructure, water effi4 ciency, and source water protection to obtain the 

5 greatest environmental and public health benefits 

6 per dollar invested; 

7 (7) this Act will substantially benefit the drink8 ing water and wastewater systems of the United 

9 States by— 

10 (A) addressing the gap in funding for 

11 large, regionally and nationally significant 

12 projects by making available direct loans and 

13 loan guarantees to reduce borrowing costs and 

14 accelerate water infrastructure investment; 

15 (B) enhancing the capacity of State revolv16 ing fund programs to assist other projects; and 

17 (C) promoting clean and safe water 

18 through compliance with the Federal Water 

19 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) 

20 and the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 300f et seq.); 

22 (8) since the historical default rate on water 

23 and sewer bonds is 0.04 percent, the risk of default 

24 on Federal assistance provided under this Act is 

25 minimal; 


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1 (9) keeping the risk of default on water and 

2 sewer bonds low requires the alignment of infra3 structure investment with environmental sustain4 ability; and 

5 (10) because loans, loan guarantees, and other 

6 credit instruments only incur long-term costs if sub7 sidized or in the event of default, this Act can help 

8 to meet the water infrastructure needs of the United 

9 States at minimal long-term cost to the Federal 

10 Government. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

16 (2) BORROWER.—The term ‘‘borrower’’ means 

17 an eligible entity that owes payments of interest or 

18 principal on a credit instrument. 

19 (3) COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM.—The term 

20 ‘‘community water system’’ has the meaning given 

21 the term in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water 

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 300f). 

23 (4) COST OF A DIRECT LOAN; COST OF A LOAN

24 GUARANTEE.—The terms ‘‘cost of a direct loan’’ and 

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1 rect loan’’ and ‘‘cost of a loan guarantee’’, respec2 tively, as those terms are used in section 502 of the 

3 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

4 (5) CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term ‘‘credit 

5 instrument’’ means— 

6 (A) a direct loan made under this Act; or 

7 (B) a loan or other debt obligation that is 

8 subject to a loan guarantee under this Act. 

9 (6) DIRECT LOAN.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘direct loan’’ 

11 has the meaning given the term in section 502 

12 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 

13 U.S.C. 661a). 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘direct loan’’ 

15 includes the purchase of a bond by the Federal 

16 Government. 

17 (7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means— 

20 (i) an entity (other than a State or 

21 local agency with jurisdiction over high22 ways or roads) that owns or operates a 

23 treatment works that serves the general 

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1 gional separate storm sewer system man2 agement agency; 

3 (ii) an entity, including an Indian 

4 tribe, that owns or operates a community 

5 water system; 

6 (iii) 1 or more entities described in 

7 clauses (i) and (ii) that are cooperating on 

8 an eligible project; 

9 (iv) for an eligible project described in 

10 paragraph (8)(B), a State infrastructure 

11 financing authority; 

12 (v) any entity eligible to receive a loan 

13 or loan guarantee under a State water pol14 lution control revolving fund established 

15 under title VI of the Federal Water Pollu16 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

17 and 

18 (vi) any entity eligible to receive a 

19 loan or loan guarantee under a State 

20 drinking water revolving loan fund estab21 lished under section 1452 of the Safe 

22 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 

23 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ includes a public-private partnership, except 

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1 owned utility shall receive assistance under this 

2 Act, not the private financing or development 

3 partner. 

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

5 project’’ means— 

6 (A) a capital project— 

7 (i) to construct, replace, or rehabili8 tate a treatment works or a community 

9 water system; 

10 (ii) to reduce the energy consumption 

11 needs of a treatment works or a commu12 nity water system, including the implemen13 tation of energy efficient or renewable gen14 eration technologies; 

15 (iii) to increase water efficiency, re16 duce the demand for water, or reduce the 

17 demand for treatment works or community 

18 water system capacity; 

19 (iv) to manage or control stormwater; 

20 (v) to reuse municipal wastewater or 

21 stormwater; 

22 (vi) for the consolidation of 2 or more 

23 treatment works or community water sys24 tems; 


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1 (vii) to increase drinking water source 

2 protection for surface and groundwater 

3 sources; 

4 (viii) for construction activities involv5 ing— 

6 (I) the repair, replacement, or 

7 upgrading of a treatment works or 

8 sewage collection system in a commu9 nity that exists on the date of enact10 ment of this Act to address an ad11 verse environmental condition existing 

12 on that date of enactment; 

13 (II) the construction of an ad14 vanced decentralized wastewater treat15 ment system, including planning, de16 sign, associated preconstruction plan17 ning activities (as defined in section 

18 212 of the Federal Water Pollution 

19 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)); and 

20 (III) implementation measures to 

21 control, manage, reduce, treat, infil22 trate, or reuse municipal stormwater, 

23 the primary purpose of which is the 

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1 lic purposes (including decentralized 

2 or distributed stormwater controls, 

3 low-impact development technologies 

4 and nonstructural approaches, stream 

5 buffers, and wetlands restoration and 

6 enhancement, the procurement and 

7 use of equipment to support minimum 

8 measures, such as street sweeping and 

9 storm drain system cleaning, and ac10 quisition of other land and interests in 

11 land to meet the needs of existing de12 velopment that are necessary for those 

13 activities and measures); 

14 (ix) to implement a management pro15 gram established under section 319 of the 

16 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

17 U.S.C. 1329); 

18 (x) to develop and implement a con19 servation and management plan under sec20 tion 320 of the Federal Water Pollution 

21 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330); 

22 (xi) to increase the security of waste23 water treatment works or a community 

24 water system (excluding any expenditure 

25 for operations or maintenance); 


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1 (xii) to carry out water conservation 

2 or efficiency projects, the primary purpose 

3 of which is the protection, preservation, or 

4 enhancement of water quality to support 

5 public purposes; 

6 (xiii) to implement measures to inte7 grate water resource management planning 

8 and implementation; 

9 (xiv) to carry out water, rainwater, 

10 and wastewater reuse, reclamation, recy11 cling, and rainwater harvesting projects, 

12 the primary purpose of which is the protec13 tion, preservation, or enhancement of 

14 water quality to support public purposes; 

15 and 

16 (xv) for capital costs associated with 

17 monitoring equipment for combined or san18 itary sewer overflows; 

19 (B) a non-capital project that is— 

20 (i) associated with a capital project; 

21 and 

22 (ii) the aim of which is to promote the 

23 use of environmentally sustainable proj24 ects, including utility-backed stormwater 

25 and water efficiency retrofit programs; and 


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1 (C) 2 or more projects described in sub2 paragraph (A) that are combined to receive a 

3 single direct loan or loan guarantee. 

4 (9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

8 (10) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar9 antee’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

10 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 

11 U.S.C. 661a). 

12 (11) STATE INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING AU13 THORITY.—The term ‘‘State infrastructure financing 

14 authority’’ means the State entity established or des15 ignated by the Governor of a State to receive a cap16 italization grant provided under, or to otherwise 

17 carry out the requirements of, title VI of the Federal 

18 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et 

19 seq.) or section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 

21 (12) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term ‘‘treat22 ment works’’ has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 212 of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

24 U.S.C. 1292). 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT. 

2 The Administrator may make a direct loan, including 

3 a subordinated loan, or a loan guarantee to an eligible en4 tity to carry out activities for an eligible project in accord5 ance with this Act. 

6 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving assist8 ance under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

9 Administrator an application at such time, in such man10 ner, and containing such information as the Administrator 

11 may require. 

12 (b) COMBINED PROJECTS.—In the case of an eligible 

13 project described in section 3(8)(C), the Administrator 

14 shall require from the eligible entity a single application 

15 for the group of projects. 

16 SEC. 6. USE OF ASSISTANCE. 

17 An eligible entity shall only use amounts received 

18 under this Act for eligible projects— 

19 (1) to carry out— 

20 (A) development phase activities, including 

21 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore22 casting, environmental review, permitting, and 

23 other preconstruction engineering and design 

24 work; 


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1 (B) construction, reconstruction, rehabili2 tation, and replacement activities necessary for 

3 the project; and 

4 (C) environmental mitigation and construc5 tion contingencies; 

6 (2) to acquire real property (including interests 

7 in real property) and equipment; 

8 (3) to provide for any funding mechanisms nec9 essary to meet market or affordability requirements, 

10 reasonably required reserve funds, capitalized inter11 est issuance expenses, and other carrying costs dur12 ing construction of the project; and 

13 (4) to refinance interim construction financing, 

14 long-term project obligations, or direct loans or loan 

15 guarantees made under this Act. 

16 SEC. 7. SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall select eli18 gible projects to receive assistance under this Act based 

19 on— 

20 (1) the significance of the infrastructure needs 

21 addressed by the project, including the economic, en22 vironmental, and public health benefits of the 

23 project; 

24 (2) the creditworthiness of the project under 

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1 cial structure, and security features making up the 

2 proposed financing, and the financial assumptions 

3 upon which the project is based; 

4 (3) the need for Federal assistance, including 

5 the likelihood that the provision of assistance by the 

6 Administrator under this Act will cause the project 

7 to proceed more promptly and with lower costs for 

8 financing than would be the case without the assist9 ance; 

10 (4) the degree to which the project financing 

11 plan includes public or private financing in addition 

12 to assistance under this Act; 

13 (5) the cost of the direct loan or loan guarantee 

14 to the Federal Government for the project; 

15 (6) the extent to which the project is nationally 

16 or regionally significant; 

17 (7) whether the project, to the maximum extent 

18 practicable, incorporates environmentally sustainable 

19 approaches, including conservation, efficiency, reuse, 

20 source water protection, energy efficiency, green in21 frastructure, and other innovative techniques; 

22 (8) whether the project is consistent with— 

23 (A) the State priority system established 

24 pursuant to section 603(g) of the Federal 


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1 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

2 1383(g)); and 

3 (B) the types of projects described in sec4 tion 1452(b)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(b)(3)); and 

6 (9) the priority system established under sub7 section (b). 

8 (b) PRIORITY SYSTEM.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish a priority system that gives greater weight to an 

10 application for an eligible project that includes— 

11 (1) an inventory of the assets of the treatment 

12 works or community water system, including a de13 scription of the condition of those assets; 

14 (2) a schedule for replacement of the assets of 

15 the treatment works or community water system; 

16 (3) a financing plan that factors in all lifecycle 

17 costs and describes the sources of revenue from rate18 payers, grants, bonds, loans, and other sources des19 ignated to meet those lifecycle costs; 

20 (4) a description of any options for restruc21 turing the treatment works or community water sys22 tem; 

23 (5) any new models or techniques, other than a 

24 traditional wastewater model, to treat or minimize 

25 sewage or urban stormwater discharges using— 


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1 (A) decentralized or distributed stormwater 

2 controls; 

3 (B) advanced decentralized wastewater 

4 treatment; 

5 (C) low-impact development technologies 

6 and nonstructural approaches; 

7 (D) stream buffers; 

8 (E) wetland restoration and enhancement; 

9 (F) actions to minimize the quantity of 

10 and direct connections to impervious surfaces; 

11 (G) soil and vegetation or other permeable 

12 materials; or 

13 (H) actions that increase efficient water 

14 use, water conservation, or water or wastewater 

15 reuse, including rainwater harvesting; 

16 (6) to the maximum extent practicable, the use 

17 of water efficiency and conservation techniques to 

18 generate cost-effective sources of new water supply; 

19 and 

20 (7) a demonstration of consistency with State, 

21 regional, and municipal watershed plans, water con22 servation and efficiency plans, or integrated water 

23 resource management plans. 

24 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR COMBINED PROJECTS.—For 

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1 istrator shall consider only the criteria described in para2 graphs (1), (2), (3), and (5) of subsection (a). 

3 (d) REASONABLE ASSURANCE OF PAYMENT.—The 

4 Administrator may select an eligible project for assistance 

5 only if the Administrator finds that there is a reasonable 

6 assurance that all payments will be made on the credit 

7 instrument. 

8 SEC. 8. CREDIT EVALUATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop 

10 and implement a credit evaluation process before pro11 viding any assistance under this Act. 

12 (b) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.—For 

13 purposes of determining creditworthiness under section 

14 7(a)(2), the Administrator may— 

15 (1) require an eligible entity to provide a pre16 liminary rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating 

17 agency; or 

18 (2) use an alternative (including an internal) 

19 credit rating process. 

20 (c) RULE FOR CERTAIN COMBINED PROJECTS.—For 

21 an eligible project described in section 3(8)(C) for which 

22 a State infrastructure financing authority is the eligible 

23 entity, in addition to the creditworthiness consideration 

24 under section 7(a)(2), the Administrator shall evaluate the 

25 creditworthiness of each entity represented by the State 


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1 infrastructure financing authority that will be carrying out 

2 any eligible project described in section 3(8)(A) that will 

3 be a part of the eligible project. 

4 SEC. 9. TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each direct loan and loan guar6 antee made under this Act shall be on such terms and 

7 conditions and contain such covenants, representations, 

8 warranties, and requirements (including requirements for 

9 audits) as the Administrator may prescribe. 

10 (b) INTEREST RATE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The interest rate applicable 

12 to a direct loan shall be the rate that is set by ref13 erence to a benchmark interest rate on marketable 

14 Treasury securities with a similar maturity to that 

15 direct loan, as of the date of issuance of the direct 

16 loan. 

17 (2) HIGHER INTEREST RATES.—The Adminis18 trator may charge a higher interest rate on a direct 

19 loan if the Administrator determines that the risk 

20 profile of the eligible project indicates a higher inter21 est rate is necessary to protect the interests of the 

22 United States. 

23 (c) TERM OF LOAN.—The Administrator may provide 

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1 strument the final maturity date of which is not later than 

2 35 years after the date on which funds are disbursed. 

3 (d) SECURITY FEATURES.—The Administrator shall 

4 require a borrower receiving assistance under this Act to 

5 use a rate covenant, coverage requirement, or similar secu6 rity feature supporting the project obligations to ensure 

7 repayment. 

8 (e) DIRECT LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 

9 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Administrator shall es10 tablish a repayment schedule for each direct loan 

11 under this Act based on the projected cash flow from 

12 project repayment sources. 

13 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled repayments 

14 of principal or interest on a direct loan made under 

15 this Act shall commence not later than 5 years after 

16 the date of substantial completion of the project, as 

17 determined by the Administrator in a manner set 

18 forth at the time the direct loan is made. 

19 (3) DEFERRAL OF PAYMENTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator 

21 determines that a borrower lacks the resources 

22 to make scheduled payments on a direct loan 

23 made under this Act based on circumstances 

24 not foreseeable at the time the direct loan is 


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1 made, the Administrator may allow for the de2 ferral of the payments. 

3 (B) INTERESTS.—Any payment deferred 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

5 (i) continue to accrue interest until 

6 fully repaid; and 

7 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

8 the remaining term of the direct loan. 

9 (C) CRITERIA.—Any payment deferral 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall be contingent on 

11 the project meeting criteria established by the 

12 Administrator, which shall include standards 

13 for reasonable assurance of repayment. 

14 (4) PREPAYMENT.—Payments on the direct 

15 loan may be made in advance with no penalty. 

16 (f) SPECIAL RULES FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

17 (1) TERMS.—The terms of a credit instrument 

18 that is the subject of a loan guarantee under this 

19 Act shall be consistent with the terms set forth in 

20 this Act for a direct loan, except that the interest 

21 rate and any prepayment features on the credit in22 strument shall be negotiated between the borrower 

23 and the lender, with the approval of the Adminis24 trator. 


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1 (2) INTEREST RATE.—The Administrator may 

2 make a loan guarantee under this Act only if the 

3 Administrator determines that the interest rate on 

4 the credit instrument that is subject to the loan 

5 guarantee is appropriate, taking into account the 

6 prevailing rate of interest in the private sector for 

7 similar obligations. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The Administrator 

9 may not make a loan guarantee under this Act un10 less the lender of the loan or purchaser of the debt 

11 security that will be the subject of the loan guar12 antee is a non-Federal, qualified institutional buyer 

13 (as defined in section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code 

14 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulation)), in15 cluding— 

16 (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined 

17 in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

18 of 1986) that is a non-Federal qualified institu19 tional buyer; and 

20 (B) a governmental plan (as defined in 

21 section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986) that is a non-Federal qualified institu23 tional buyer. 

24 (4) ADEQUATE SERVICING PROVISIONS RE25 QUIRED.—No loan guarantee may be made under 


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1 this Act for a loan unless the Administrator deter2 mines that the lender with respect to the loan is re3 sponsible and that adequate servicing provisions 

4 have been made for the loan that is the subject of 

5 the loan guarantee that are reasonable and protect 

6 the financial interest of the United States. 

7 SEC. 10. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

9 a uniform system to service each direct loan and loan 

10 guarantee made under this Act. 

11 (b) ASSISTANCE FROM EXPERT FIRMS.—The Ad12 ministrator may retain the services of expert firms, includ13 ing counsel, in the field of municipal and project finance 

14 to assist in the underwriting and servicing of a direct loan 

15 or loan guarantee made under this Act. 

16 (c) FEES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing assistance 

18 under this Act, the Administrator may— 

19 (A) collect fees for administrative expenses, 

20 including premiums for loan guarantees, at a 

21 level that is sufficient to cover the costs of serv22 ices of expert firms and all or a portion of the 

23 costs to the Federal Government of servicing 

24 the direct loans and loan guarantees made 

25 under this Act; and 


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1 (B) as provided in advance in appropria2 tions acts, use the amounts described in sub3 paragraph (A) to cover the expenses described 

4 in that subparagraph. 

5 (2) LEVEL OF FEES.—The Administrator shall 

6 set the fees described in paragraph (1) at a level 

7 that will minimize the cost to the Federal Govern8 ment and maximize the assistance that can be pro9 vided under this Act, while providing competitive 

10 credit terms to eligible projects, in order to reduce 

11 borrowing costs and accelerate water infrastructure 

12 investment. 

13 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

14 The Administrator may use amounts made available 

15 to carry out this Act to provide technical assistance to ap16 plicants and prospective applicants in creating financing 

17 packages that leverage a mix of public and private funding 

18 sources. 

19 SEC. 12. RESTRICTIONS. 

20 (a) ASSISTANCE THRESHOLD.—The Administrator 

21 may provide assistance under this Act only with respect 

22 to a credit instrument in an amount of not less than 

23 $20,000,000. 

24 (b) REFINANCING.—The Administrator shall make 

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1 scribed in section 6(4) not more than 15 percent of the 

2 total amounts made available to carry out this Act. 

3 SEC. 13. PREVAILING WAGES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law and in a manner consistent with other provi6 sions in this Act, all laborers and mechanics employed by 

7 contractors and subcontractors on projects funded directly 

8 by, or assisted in whole or in part by and through, the 

9 Federal Government pursuant to this Act shall be paid 

10 wages at rates not less than those prevailing on projects 

11 of a character similar in the locality as determined by the 

12 Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of 

13 chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—With respect to the labor 

15 standards specified in this section, the Secretary of Labor 

16 shall have the authority and functions set forth in Reorga17 nization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 

18 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States 

19 Code. 

20 SEC. 14. USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC21 TURED GOODS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

23 (b), none of the amounts made available under this Act 

24 may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, 

25 maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work 


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1 unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used 

2 in the project are produced in the United States. 

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 

4 any case or category of cases in which the head of the 

5 Federal department or agency involved finds that— 

6 (1) applying subsection (a) would be incon7 sistent with the public interest; 

8 (2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured 

9 goods are not produced in the United States in suffi10 cient and reasonably available quantities and of a 

11 satisfactory quality; or 

12 (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured 

13 goods produced in the United States will increase 

14 the cost of the overall project by more than 25 per15 cent. 

16 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE.—If the head of a Federal de17 partment or agency determines that it is necessary to 

18 waive the application of subsection (a) based on a finding 

19 under subsection (b), the head of the department or agen20 cy shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed written 

21 justification as to why the provision is being waived. 

22 (d) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—This section 

23 shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States 

24 obligations under international agreements. 


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26 

•S 335 IS

1 SEC. 15. FUNDING. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

3 (1) DIRECT LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated for the cost 

5 of providing direct loans and loan guarantees under 

6 this Act such sums as are necessary. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

9 be appropriated for administrative expenses 

10 under this Act an amount equal to the amount 

11 of fees collected under section 10(c). 

12 (B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF AP13 PROPRIATIONS.—In addition to amounts au14 thorized to be appropriated under subparagraph 

15 (A), there are authorized to be appropriated for 

16 administrative expenses under this Act such 

17 sums as are necessary. 

18 (b) PAYMENT OF SUBSIDY COST.—A borrower may 

19 pay for the cost of a direct loan or loan guarantee under 

20 this Act, along with the appropriate amount of related ad21 ministrative expenses, with payment the Administrator 

22 may use, as provided in advance in appropriations Acts, 

23 instead of using amounts authorized under subsection (a), 

24 to make a direct loan or loan guarantee to the borrower. 

Æ 


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