Title: FSA Loan Guarantee Enhancement Act of 2017
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
FSA Loan Guarantee Enhancement Act of 2017
This bill amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to provide additional authority for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make and guarantee farm loans through the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
The bill modifies the FSA's loan programs to: (1) increase the amount of unpaid debt permitted per borrower under farm ownership and operating loans guaranteed by USDA, (2) extend and increase the authorizations of funding to make or guarantee farm ownership and operating loans, and (3) require the authorization levels to be adjusted for inflation beginning in FY2019.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1921 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1921

 To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase 
   limitations and authorizations for Farm Service Agency guaranteed 
                     loans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 5, 2017

  Mr. Rounds introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase 
   limitations and authorizations for Farm Service Agency guaranteed 
                     loans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``FSA Loan Guarantee Enhancement Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. INCREASES IN LIMITATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS FOR GUARANTEED FARM 
              LOANS.

    (a) Ownership Loans.--Section 305(a)(2) of the Consolidated Farm 
and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1925(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$700,000'' and inserting ``$3,000,000''; 
        and
            (2) by striking ``2000'' and inserting ``2019''.
    (b) Operating Loans.--Section 313(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm 
and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$700,000'' and inserting ``$3,000,000''; 
        and
            (2) by striking ``2000'' and inserting ``2019''.
    (c) Authorization for Loans.--Section 346(b) of the Consolidated 
Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1994(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``The Secretary may'' and all that follows 
                through ``2018'' and inserting ``Of the funds of the 
                Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 
                deposit into the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund 
                provided for in section 309 and use from the Fund to 
                make or guarantee loans under subtitles A and B 
                $11,030,000,000 (increased by any applicable inflation 
                percentage in accordance with paragraph (5)) for each 
                of fiscal years 2018 through 2028'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``$1,200,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$3,030,000,000'';
                            (ii) in clause (i), by striking 
                        ``$350,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$1,500,000,000''; and
                            (iii) in clause (ii), by striking 
                        ``$850,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$1,530,000,000''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``$3,026,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$8,000,000,000'';
                            (ii) in clause (i), by striking 
                        ``$1,000,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$4,000,000,000''; and
                            (iii) in clause (ii), by striking 
                        ``$2,026,000,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$4,000,000,000''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Inflation percentage.--Beginning with fiscal year 
        2019, each of the amounts described in paragraph (1) shall be 
        increased for each fiscal year by the percentage (if any) by 
        which--
                    ``(A) the average of the Prices Paid By Farmers 
                Index (as compiled by the National Agricultural 
                Statistics Service of the Department of Agriculture) 
                for the 12-month period ending on August 31 of the 
                immediately preceding fiscal year; exceeds
                    ``(B) the average of that index (as so defined) for 
                the 12-month period ending on August 31, 1996.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on October 1, 2017.
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