H. R. 2854—243
(1), if the borrower of the loan meets the eligibility requirements
and such other criteria for the loan guarantee that are estab-
lished by the Secretary.
‘‘(5) CERTIFICATIONS.—With respect to loans to be guaran-
teed, the Secretary may permit a certified lender to make
appropriate certifications (as provided in regulations issued
by the Secretary)—
‘‘(A) relating to issues such as creditworthiness, repay-
ment ability, adequacy of collateral, and feasibility of the
operation; and
‘‘(B) that the borrower is in compliance with all require-
ments of law, including regulations issued by the Secretary.
‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
REQUIREMENTS.—This sub-
section shall not affect the responsibility of the Secretary to
determine eligibility, review financial information, and other-
wise assess an application.
‘‘(b) PREFERRED CERTIFIED LENDERS PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish a preferred
certified lenders program for lenders who establish their—
‘‘(A) knowledge of, and experience under, the program
established under subsection (a);
‘‘(B) knowledge of the regulations concerning the
particular guaranteed loan program; and
‘‘(C) proficiency related to the certified lender program
requirements.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
LENDING
INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary
may certify any lending institution as a preferred certified
lender if the institution meets such additional criteria as the
Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
‘‘(3) REVOCATION OF DESIGNATION.—The designation of a
lender as a preferred certified lender shall be revoked if the
Secretary determines that the lender is not adhering to the
rules and regulations applicable to the program or if the loss
experiences of the preferred certified lender are greater than
other preferred certified lenders, except that the suspension
or revocation shall not affect any outstanding guarantee.
‘‘(4) CONDITION OF CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of the
preferred certification, the Secretary shall require the lender
to undertake to service the loan guaranteed by the Secretary
under this subsection using generally accepted banking stand-
ards concerning loan servicing employed by prudent commercial
or cooperative lenders. The Secretary shall, at least annually,
monitor the performance of each preferred certified lender to
ensure that the conditions of the certification are being met.
‘‘(5) EFFECT OF PREFERRED LENDER CERTIFICATION.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may—
‘‘(A) guarantee not more than 80 percent of any
approved loan made by a preferred certified lender as
described in this subsection, if the borrower meets the
eligibility requirements and such other criteria as may
be applicable to loans guaranteed by the Secretary; and
‘‘(B) permit preferred certified lenders to make all deci-
sions, with respect to loans to be guaranteed by the Sec-
retary under this subsection relating to creditworthiness,
the closing, monitoring, collection, and liquidation of loans,
and to accept appropriate certifications, as provided in
regulations issued by the Secretary, that the borrower is
H. R. 2854—244
in compliance with all requirements of law and regulations
issued by the Secretary.’’.
SEC. 753. SYSTEM FOR DELIVERY OF CERTAIN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 365 of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008) is repealed.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 2375 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,
and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6613) is amended—
(A) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘, as defined in section
365(b)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act,’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) DEFINITION
OF DESIGNATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PRO-
GRAM.—In this section, the term ‘designated rural development
program’ means a program carried out under section 304(b), 306(a),
or 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
(7 U.S.C. 1924(b), 1926(a), and 1932(e)) for which funds are avail-
able at any time during the fiscal year.’’.
(2) Paragraph (2) of section 233(b) of the Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6943(b)) (as
redesignated by section 747(b)(3)(B)) is amended by striking
‘‘sections 365 through 369 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008–2008d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section
369 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
(7 U.S.C. 2008d)’’.
SEC. 754. STATE RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PANEL.
Section 366 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act (7 U.S.C. 2008a) is repealed.
SEC. 755. LIMITED TRANSFER AUTHORITY OF LOAN AMOUNTS.
Section 367 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act (7 U.S.C. 2008b) is repealed.
SEC. 756. ALLOCATION AND TRANSFER OF LOAN GUARANTEE AUTHOR-
ITY.
Section 368 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act (7 U.S.C. 2008c) is repealed.
SEC. 757. WATER SYSTEMS FOR RURAL AND NATIVE VILLAGES IN
ALASKA.
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended
by inserting after section 306C (7 U.S.C. 1926c) the following:
‘‘SEC. 306D. WATER SYSTEMS FOR RURAL AND NATIVE VILLAGES IN
ALASKA.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants to the State
of Alaska for the benefit of rural or Native villages in Alaska
to provide for the development and construction of water and
wastewater systems to improve the health and sanitation conditions
in those villages.
‘‘(b) MATCHING FUNDS.—To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), the State of Alaska shall provide equal matching
funds from non-Federal sources.
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE OF ALASKA.—The Secretary
shall consult with the State of Alaska on a method of prioritizing
H. R. 2854—245
the allocation of grants under subsection (a) according to the needs
of, and relative health and sanitation conditions in, each village.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 1996 through 2002.’’.
SEC. 758. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO WATER AND
WASTE DISPOSAL LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAMS.
Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop-
ment Act (7 U.S.C. 926(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph
(4) the following:
‘‘(5) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not earlier than 60 days
before a preliminary application is filed for a loan under para-
graph (1) or a grant under paragraph (2) for a water or waste
disposal purpose, a notice of the intent of the applicant to
apply for the loan or grant shall be published in a general
circulation newspaper. The selection of engineers for a project
design shall be done by a request for proposals by the
applicant.’’.
SEC. 759. NATIONAL SHEEP INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT CENTER.
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as amend-
ed by section 649) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 375. NATIONAL SHEEP INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT CENTER.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the Board of Direc-
tors established under subsection (f).
‘‘(2) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means the National Sheep
Industry Improvement Center established under subsection (b).
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means an
entity that promotes the betterment of the United States sheep
or goat industries and that is—
‘‘(A) a public, private, or cooperative organization;
‘‘(B) an association, including a corporation not oper-
ated for profit;
‘‘(C) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; or
‘‘(D) a public or quasi-public agency.
‘‘(4) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the National Sheep
Industry Improvement Center Revolving Fund established
under subsection (e).
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER.—The Secretary shall establish
a National Sheep Industry Improvement Center.
‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Center shall be to—
‘‘(1) promote strategic development activities and collabo-
rative efforts by private and State entities to maximize the
impact of Federal assistance to strengthen and enhance produc-
tion and marketing of sheep or goat products in the United
States;
‘‘(2) optimize the use of available human capital and
resources within the sheep or goat industries;
‘‘(3) provide assistance to meet the needs of the sheep
or goat industry for infrastructure development, business devel-
opment, production, resource development, and market and
environmental research;
‘‘(4) advance activities that empower and build the capacity
of the United States sheep or goat industry to design unique
H. R. 2854—246
responses to the special needs of the sheep or goat industries
on both a regional and national basis; and
‘‘(5) adopt flexible and innovative approaches to solving
the long-term needs of the United States sheep or goat industry.
‘‘(d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall submit to the Secretary
an annual strategic plan for the delivery of financial assistance
provided by the Center.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A strategic plan shall identify—
‘‘(A) goals, methods, and a benchmark for measuring
the success of carrying out the plan and how the plan
relates to the national and regional goals of the Center;
‘‘(B) the amount and sources of Federal and non-Fed-
eral funds that are available for carrying out the plan;
‘‘(C) funding priorities;
‘‘(D) selection criteria for funding; and
‘‘(E) a method of distributing funding.
‘‘(e) REVOLVING FUND.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Treasury
the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Revolving
Fund. The Fund shall be available to the Center, without
fiscal year limitation, to carry out the authorized programs
and activities of the Center under this section.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF FUND.—There shall be deposited in the
Fund—
‘‘(A) such amounts as may be appropriated, transferred,
or otherwise made available to support programs and
activities of the Center;
‘‘(B) payments received from any source for products,
services, or property furnished in connection with the
activities of the Center;
‘‘(C) fees and royalties collected by the Center from
licensing or other arrangements relating to commercializa-
tion of products developed through projects funded, in
whole or part, by grants, contracts, or cooperative agree-
ments executed by the Center;
‘‘(D) proceeds from the sale of assets, loans, and equity
interests made in furtherance of the purposes of the Center;
‘‘(E) donations or contributions accepted by the Center
to support authorized programs and activities; and
‘‘(F) any other funds acquired by the Center.
‘‘(3) USE OF FUND.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center may use amounts in
the Fund to make grants and loans to eligible entities
in accordance with a strategic plan submitted under sub-
section (d).
‘‘(B) CONTINUED EXISTENCE.—The Center shall manage
the Fund in a manner that ensures that sufficient amounts
are available in the Fund to carry out subsection (c).
‘‘(C) DIVERSE AREA.—The Center shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, use the Fund to serve broad geographic
areas and regions of diverse production.
‘‘(D) VARIETY OF LOANS AND GRANTS.—The Center shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, use the Fund to provide
a variety of grants and intermediate- and long-term loans.