Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2020

To provide for the adjustment or modification by the Secretary of Agriculture of loans for critical rural utility service providers, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2020 2. Loan adjustments for critical rural utility service providers (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the borrower of a qualified loan described in subsection (b) may submit to the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the Secretary (b) Qualified loan described A qualified loan referred to in subsection (a) is a loan made or guaranteed on or before the date of enactment of this Act under— (1) section 4, 201, 305, 306, or 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ( 7 U.S.C. 904 (2) the program carried out under the matter under the heading Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program Public Law 111–5 Broadband Initiatives Program (c) Adjustment of interest rate; modification of loan terms (1) In general On receipt of a request made under subsection (a) with respect to a loan, the Secretary— (A) in the case of a request for an interest rate adjustment, shall adjust the interest rate on the loan to the cost of funds to the Department of the Treasury, as of the date of enactment of this Act, for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the outstanding balance of the loan or other such higher rate as the borrower may request; and (B) in the case of a request for a modification to a loan term other than the adjustment described in subparagraph (A), may use the authorities provided in sections 2, 201, 306C and 703 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ( 7 U.S.C. 902 7 U.S.C. 1981(b)(4) (i) to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d (ii) to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. (2) Effective date An adjustment or modification under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, of paragraph (1) shall apply beginning on the first day after the close of the period with respect to which the first payment due on the loan after the date of the request applies. (d) No fees or penalties In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. (e) Notice Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the benefits available to borrowers under this section. (f) Appropriation (1) In general Out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary— (A) such sums as are necessary to carry out subsection (c)(1)(A); and (B) $300,000,000 to carry out subsection (c)(1)(B). (2) Availability The amounts appropriated by paragraph (1) shall remain available through December 31, 2021. (3) Emergency designation (A) In general The amounts provided by this Act are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 ( 2 U.S.C. 933(g) (B) Designation in senate In the Senate, this Act is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.

Summary: Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2020 This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community. Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA must adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates in effect when the bill is enacted for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications.