IB 
Union Calendar No. 348 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5039 
[Report No. 109–604] 
To establish a program to revitalize rural multifamily housing assisted under 
the Housing Act of 1949. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2006 
Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. NEY, 
Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mr. 
HINOJOSA, and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Financial Services 
JULY 27, 2006 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CLAY, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mr. 
PEARCE 
JULY 27, 2006 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 29, 2006] 
A BILL 
To establish a program to revitalize rural multifamily 
housing assisted under the Housing Act of 1949. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saving America’s Rural 
Housing Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) section 502(c) of the Housing Act of 1949 re-
stricts the rights of certain owners of projects for 
which loans were made or insured under section 515 
of such Act to prepay such loans; 
(2) expensive litigation against the Department 
of Agriculture has cost the taxpayers of the United 
States millions of dollars to date, funds that would be 
better spent preserving affordable multifamily hous-
ing; 
(3) if such section 502(c) is partially repealed 
and the prepayment restrictions are eliminated for 
multifamily housing loans made before 1989 under 
section 515, it is expected, according to a report, that 
approximately 10 percent of the portfolio of such 
loans would be prepaid and those projects would leave 
the program; 
(4) the average age of a multifamily housing 
project with a section 515 loan is 28 years, and there-
fore much of the portfolio of such projects is aging 
and in need of revitalization, while the need for af-
fordable rural housing is increasing; 
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(5) section 515 projects house some of the poorest 
families in rural America, with almost 60 percent of 
the units occupied by senior citizens or persons with 
disabilities and an average annual household income 
among all occupants of approximately $10,000; 
(6) in many small towns and communities, rent-
al housing financed by direct loans under section 515 
is the only decent, affordable rental housing avail-
able.; and 
(7) consequently, any revitalization or disposi-
tion of this portfolio, which houses nearly 450,000 
low-income families and seniors, should be handled 
with great care. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
carry out a program that encourages, to the extent 
practicable, the retention of section 515 housing 
project developments for long-term use and the repair 
and preservation of such properties, and ensures that 
the minimum number of residents are displaced; 
(2) to repeal a portion of section 502(c) of the 
Housing Act of 1949 to avoid further costly litigation 
against the Department of Agriculture; 
(3) to preserve the availability of affordable 
rural housing by providing a voluntary mechanism 
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for owners of multifamily rural housing projects with 
loans under section 515 to enter into loan restruc-
turing agreements with the Secretary to provide cap-
ital for revitalization activities; and 
(4) to provide for affordable rents for tenants 
who live in such projects that are revitalized under 
this Act and to protect tenants who live in such 
projects for which the loan is prepaid. 
SEC. 3. REVITALIZATION OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. 
(a) REVITALIZATION PROGRAM.—Title V of the Hous-
ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 544. REVITALIZATION AND TENANT PROTECTION 
VOUCHERS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section are— 
‘‘(1) to protect tenants who live in multifamily 
housing projects that are subsidized under this title 
and, in the case of prepayments of loans under sec-
tion 515, to protect tenants that are displaced when 
the projects cease being eligible projects; 
‘‘(2) to strengthen the long-term viability of eli-
gible projects; 
‘‘(3) to promote the revitalization of rural multi-
family housing projects; and 
‘‘(4) to accomplish such several purposes— 
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‘‘(A) by providing a voluntary mechanism 
for project owners to enter into loan restruc-
turing agreements with the Secretary to obtain 
new types of financial assistance to rehabilitate 
and maintain the projects; and 
‘‘(B) by deregulating certain projects in a 
manner that still provides measurable perform-
ance standards and effective financing and reha-
bilitation of multifamily housing. 
‘‘(b) REVITALIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, subject 
to the availability of amounts appropriated, carry 
out a revitalization program in accordance with this 
subsection to provide financial incentives and other 
assistance to owners of eligible projects through vol-
untary long-term use agreements entered into between 
the project owners and the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS TO PARTICIPATE.—The Sec-
retary may accept applications from owners of eligi-
ble projects to participate in the revitalization pro-
gram under this section. 
‘‘(3) LONG-TERM VIABILITY PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary may 
prepare and approve a long-term viability plan 
under this paragraph with respect to each eligi-
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