I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7483 
To provide for the adjustment or modification by the Secretary of Agriculture 
of loans for critical rural utility service providers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 2, 2020 
Mrs. HARTZLER (for herself and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 
to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Budget, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the adjustment or modification by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture of loans for critical rural utility 
service providers, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Flexible Financing for 
Rural America Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 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 Sec-
retary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) a request to adjust the interest rate or mod-
ify any other term of the qualified loan, which shall include 
a report summarizing how the loan adjustment would as-
sist the borrower in providing critical utility services to 
rural communities. 
(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, 
922, 935, 936, 950bb); or 
(2) the program carried out under the matter 
under the heading ‘‘DISTANCE
LEARNING, TELE-
MEDICINE, AND BROADBAND PROGRAM’’ in title I of 
division A of the American Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 
118) (commonly known as the ‘‘Broadband Initia-
tives Program’’). 
(c) ADJUSTMENT OF INTEREST RATE; MODIFICA-
TION OF LOAN TERMS.— 
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(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 Depart-
ment of the Treasury, as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act, for obligations of comparable 
maturity to the term remaining on the out-
standing balance of the loan or other such high-
er rate as the borrower may request; and 
(B) in the case of a request for a modifica-
tion to a loan term other than the adjustment 
described in subparagraph (A), may use the au-
thorities provided in sections 2, 201, 306C and 
703 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 
U.S.C. 902, 922, 936c, 950cc–2) and section 
331(b)(4) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981(b)(4)) to 
make such other modifications to the loan 
terms that the Secretary determines are nec-
essary— 
(i) to address changes in the financial 
position of the borrower due to the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary 
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of Health and Human Services under sec-
tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, 
with respect to COVID–19; and 
(ii) to promote the financial sustain-
ability of the borrower. 
(2) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—An adjustment or 
modification under subparagraph (A) or (B), respec-
tively, 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 ap-
propriated to the Secretary— 
(A) such sums as are necessary to carry 
out subsection (c)(1)(A); and 
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(B) $300,000,000 to carry out subsection 
(c)(1)(B). 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appropriated 
by paragraph (1) shall remain available through De-
cember 31, 2021. 
(g) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amounts provided by 
this Act are designated as an emergency require-
ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay- 
As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 
(2) 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. 
Æ 
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