I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7452 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide relief from hardship due 
to the COVID–19 pandemic to certain borrowers of rural development 
loans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 1, 2020 
Ms. FINKENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide relief 
from hardship due to the COVID–19 pandemic to certain 
borrowers of rural development loans, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Relief for Rural Devel-
opment Borrowers Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SUBSIDY FOR PAYMENTS AND LOAN DEFERMENT 
FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOANS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(b) SUBSIDY FOR CERTAIN LOAN PAYMENTS.— 
(1) DEFINITION OF COVERED LOAN.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘‘covered loan’’ means— 
(A) a business and industry guaranteed 
loan under section 310B(g) of the Consolidated 
Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
1932(g)), other than such a loan guaranteed 
using amounts made available for the ‘‘Rural 
Business Program Account’’ by title I of divi-
sion B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco-
nomic Security Act (Public Law 116–136); 
(B) a community facility guaranteed loan 
under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm 
and 
Rural 
Development 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C. 
1926(a)); and 
(C) a community facility direct loan under 
section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and 
Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 
(2) PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay 
the principal, interest, and any associated fees 
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that are owed on a covered loan in a regular 
servicing status— 
(i) with respect to a covered loan 
made before the date of enactment of this 
Act and not on deferment, for the 6-month 
period beginning with the next payment 
due on the covered loan; 
(ii) with respect to a covered loan 
made before the date of enactment of this 
Act and on deferment, for the 6-month pe-
riod beginning with the next payment due 
on the covered loan after the deferment pe-
riod; and 
(iii) with respect to a covered loan 
made during the period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this Act and ending 
on the date that is 6 months after that 
date of enactment, for the 6-month period 
beginning with the first payment due on 
the covered loan. 
(B) TIMING OF PAYMENT.—The Secretary 
shall begin making payments under subpara-
graph (A) on a covered loan not later than 30 
days after the date on which the first payment 
described in that subparagraph is due. 
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(C) APPLICATION OF PAYMENT.—Any pay-
ment made by the Secretary under subpara-
graph (A) shall be applied to the covered loan 
such that the borrower is relieved of the obliga-
tion to pay that amount. 
(3) OTHER
REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(A) communicate and coordinate with the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Of-
fice of the Comptroller of the Currency, and 
State bank regulators to encourage those enti-
ties to not require lenders to increase their re-
serves on account of receiving payments made 
by the Secretary under paragraph (2); 
(B) waive statutory limits on maximum 
loan maturities for any covered loan durations 
where the lender provides a deferral and ex-
tends the maturity of covered loans during the 
1-year period following the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(C) when necessary to provide more time 
because of the potential of higher volumes, trav-
el restrictions, and the inability to access some 
properties during the COVID–19 pandemic, ex-
tend lender site visit requirements to— 
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(i) not more than 60 days (which may 
be extended at the discretion of the Sec-
retary) after the occurrence of an adverse 
event, other than a payment default, caus-
ing a loan to be classified as in liquidation; 
and 
(ii) not more than 90 days after a 
payment default. 
(4) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section limits the 
authority of the Secretary to make payments pursu-
ant to paragraph (2) with respect to a covered loan 
solely because the covered loan has been sold in the 
secondary market. 
(c) SUBSIDY FOR OTHER LOAN PAYMENTS.— 
(1) DEFINITION OF COVERED LOAN.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘‘covered loan’’ means a rural 
development loan made or guaranteed by the Sec-
retary, other than a loan described in subparagraph 
(A), (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(1). 
(2) PRINCIPAL
AND
INTEREST
PAYMENTS.— 
The Secretary shall pay the principal, interest, and 
fees, for a borrower of a covered loan the application 
of which is approved under paragraph (4)(B)— 
(A) with respect to a covered loan made 
before the date of enactment of this Act and 
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not otherwise on deferment, for the 6-month pe-
riod beginning with the next payment due on 
the covered loan; 
(B) with respect to a covered loan made 
before the date of enactment of this Act and 
otherwise on deferment, for the 6-month period 
beginning with the next payment due on the 
covered loan after the deferment period; and 
(C) with respect to a covered loan made 
during the period beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act and ending on the date that 
is 6 months after that date of enactment, for 
the 6-month period beginning with the first 
payment due on the covered loan. 
(3) LOANS HELD BY OTHER LENDERS.—In the 
case of a covered loan held by a lender that is not 
the Secretary, the Secretary shall require the lender 
to provide the complete payment deferment relief de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
(4) APPLICATIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—A borrower seeking 
payment subsidies under paragraph (2) or (3) 
shall submit to the Secretary an application in 
such manner and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require. 
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(B) 
DETERMINATIONS.—The 
Secretary 
shall approve an application submitted under 
subparagraph (A) by a borrower that, as deter-
mined by the Secretary and demonstrated in 
the application— 
(i) is unable to make payments on a 
covered loan because of a temporary cash 
flow disruption due to the COVID–19 pan-
demic; and 
(ii) makes a good faith certification 
that the current economic conditions have 
made payment deferment relief necessary. 
(5) SECONDARY MARKET.—With respect to a 
covered loan that is sold on the secondary market, 
if an investor declines to approve a deferral re-
quested by a lender under paragraph (3), the Sec-
retary shall exercise the authority to purchase the 
covered loan so that the borrower may receive a de-
ferral under this subsection. 
(6) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall provide guidance on the deferment process de-
scribed in this subsection. 
(d) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive 
any requirement that a borrower of a covered loan 
reduce or eliminate a debt reserve established by the 
borrower, as a condition of granting a loan defer-
ment under this section. 
(2) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may provide 
such a waiver— 
(A) when a borrower is seeking deferment 
as the result of an inability to make payments 
on a covered loan (as defined in subsection 
(b)(1) because of a temporary cash flow disrup-
tion due to the COVID–19 pandemic, if paying 
down a reserve established by the borrower for 
debt servicing poses a threat to the continuing 
financial stability of the borrower; and 
(B) under other conditions as the Sec-
retary may deem necessary. 
Æ 
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