I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6450 
To establish a revolving loan fund to provide loans to States and Indian 
tribes to provide incentives to undertake activities to provide renewable 
energy sources for housing and other structures. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2008 
Mr. HODES (for himself and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a revolving loan fund to provide loans to States 
and Indian tribes to provide incentives to undertake ac-
tivities to provide renewable energy sources for housing 
and other structures. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Conservation 
Opportunity Fund Act of 2008’’ or the ‘‘ECO Fund Act 
of 2008’’. 
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SEC. 2. REVOLVING FUND FOR LOANS TO STATES AND IN-
DIAN TRIBES TO CARRY OUT RENEWABLE EN-
ERGY SOURCES ACTIVITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a revolving 
fund, to be known as the ‘‘Alternative Energy Sources 
State Revolving Fund’’. 
(b) CREDITS.—The Fund shall be credited with— 
(1) any amounts appropriated to the Fund pur-
suant to subsection (g); 
(2) any amounts of principal and interest from 
loan repayments received by the Secretary pursuant 
to subsection (d)(7); and 
(3) any interest earned on investments of 
amounts in the Fund pursuant to subsection (e). 
(c) EXPENDITURES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 
request by the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer from the Fund to the Secretary such 
amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary 
to provide loans under subsection (d)(1). 
(2) 
ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—Of 
the 
amounts in the Fund, not more than 5 percent shall 
be available for each fiscal year to pay the adminis-
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submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
(3) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary 
may approve an application of a State or Indian 
tribe under paragraph (2) only if the Secretary de-
termines that the State or tribe will use the funds 
from the loan under this subsection to carry out a 
program to provide incentives described in para-
graph (1) that— 
(A) requires that any such renewable en-
ergy sources, and energy efficiency and energy 
conserving improvements and features, devel-
oped pursuant to assistance under the program 
result in compliance of the structure so im-
proved with the energy efficiency requirements 
under section 2(a) of the; and 
(B) includes such compliance and audit re-
quirements as the Secretary determines are nec-
essary to ensure that the program is operated 
in a sound and effective manner. 
(4) PREFERENCE.—In making loans during 
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall give preference 
to States and Indian tribes that have not previously 
received a loan under this subsection. 
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(5) MAXIMUM
AMOUNT.—The aggregate out-
standing principal amount from loans under this 
subsection to any single State or Indian tribe may 
not exceed $500,000,000. 
(6) LOAN TERMS.—Each loan under this sub-
section shall have a term to maturity of not more 
than 10 years and shall bear interest at annual rate, 
determined by the Secretary, that shall not exceed 
interest rate charged by the Federal Reserve Bank 
of New York to commercial banks and other deposi-
tory institutions for very short-term loans under the 
primary credit program, as most recently published 
in the Federal Reserve Statistical Release on se-
lected interest rates (daily or weekly), and commonly 
referred to as the H.15 release, preceding the date 
of a determination for purposes of applying this 
paragraph. 
(7) LOAN
REPAYMENT.—The Secretary shall 
require full repayment of each loan made under this 
section. 
(e) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall invest such amounts in the Fund that are 
not, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, required to meet needs for current withdrawals. 
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(2) OBLIGATIONS OF UNITED STATES.—Invest-
ments may be made only in interest-bearing obliga-
tions of the United States. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—For each year 
during the term of a loan made under subsection 
(d), the State or Indian tribe that received the loan 
shall submit to the Secretary a report describing the 
State or tribal alternative energy sources program 
for which the loan was made and the activities con-
ducted under the program using the loan funds dur-
ing that year. 
(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than 
September 30 of each year that loans made under 
subsection (d) are outstanding, the Secretary shall 
submit a report to the Congress describing the total 
amount of such loans provided under subsection (d) 
to each eligible State and Indian tribe during the fis-
cal year ending on such date, and an evaluation on 
effectiveness of the Fund. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
to 
the 
Fund 
$5,000,000,000. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
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(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 
Native American Housing Assistance and Self-De-
termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin 
Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Territories of 
the Pacific, or any other possession of the United 
States. 
Æ 
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