Title: Reinforcing Utility Restoration After Losses (RURAL) Act
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Reinforcing Utility Restoration After Losses (RURAL) Act
This bill provides authority and funding for the Department of Agriculture to establish a loan program for certain rural utility service providers (e.g., electric, telecommunications, or waste disposal service providers) to replace specified losses during a federally declared disaster or emergency.
During such a disaster or emergency, interest on the loan shall not accrue, and repayment of principal shall not be required. Borrowers may qualify for partial loan forgiveness if certain requirements are met.
The bill also establishes and provides funding for a Rural Utility Bridge Loan Fund to implement the program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1291 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1291

  To provide for loans to critical rural utility service providers to 
 ensure continued service and safe operation of rural utility systems 
          during certain emergencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 2021

Mr. Crawford (for himself and Mr. Cole) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for loans to critical rural utility service providers to 
 ensure continued service and safe operation of rural utility systems 
          during certain emergencies, 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 ``Reinforcing Utility Restoration 
After Losses (RURAL) Act''.

SEC. 2. RURAL UTILITY BRIDGE LOANS.

    (a) In General.--Title VII of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950cc-950cc-2) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 704. RURAL UTILITY BRIDGE LOANS.

    ``(a) Line of Credit.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may provide an eligible 
        borrower with a line of credit from which a loan may be made to 
        replace qualified losses as a result of a covered emergency.
            ``(2) Amount.--The amount of the line of credit shall be 
        the lesser of--
                    ``(A) 25 percent of the total revenue received by 
                the borrower during the 12-month period ending with the 
                day before the date of the determination referred to in 
                subsection (c)(3) with respect to the covered 
                emergency; or
                    ``(B) $5,000,000.
    ``(b) Loans.--
            ``(1) In general.--On receipt by the Secretary of 
        documentation that the eligible borrower has a qualified loss 
        as a result of a covered emergency, the Secretary shall make a 
        loan to the borrower from the line of credit in an amount equal 
        to the lesser of--
                    ``(A) the qualified loss; or
                    ``(B) the unused amount of the line of credit.
            ``(2) Eligibility of qualified loss.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, a qualified loss is 
                eligible for a loan made from the line of credit if the 
                loss is incurred not more than 180 days after the date 
                of the determination referred to in subsection (c)(3) 
                with respect to the covered emergency.
                    ``(B) Authority to adjust.--The Secretary may--
                            ``(i) on request of the eligible borrower, 
                        reduce the length of eligibility period 
                        described in subparagraph (A); or
                            ``(ii) on a determination that the borrower 
                        is continuing to incur significant qualified 
                        losses as a result of a covered emergency, 
                        increase the length of the period.
            ``(3) Loan terms.--
                    ``(A) No payment required during emergency.--During 
                the covered emergency, interest on the loan shall not 
                accrue, and repayment of principal on the loan shall 
                not be required.
                    ``(B) Loan consolidation after emergency ends.--
                Unless the Secretary determines that the borrower 
                requires additional time to submit documentation of 
                qualified losses, on the date that is 60 days after the 
                eligibility period described in paragraph (2) ends, the 
                Secretary shall close the line of credit, and 
                consolidate all loans made to the borrower under this 
                section with respect to the emergency into a single 
                loan with the following terms:
                            ``(i) Grace period.--During the 2-year 
                        period that begins with the date the 
                        consolidated loan is made, interest on the 
                        consolidated loan shall not accrue, and 
                        repayment of principal on the consolidated loan 
                        shall not be required.
                            ``(ii) Interest.--Interest on the 
                        consolidated loan shall accrue at a rate of 1 
                        percent per year during the 3-year period that 
                        begins at the end of that 2-year period.
                            ``(iii) Repayment period.--The loan shall 
                        be repayable in full by the end of the 5-year 
                        period that begins with the date the 
                        consolidated loan is made.
                    ``(C) No fee or prepayment penalty.--The Secretary 
                may not impose a fee or prepayment penalty with respect 
                to any loan made under this section.
            ``(4) Forgiveness.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), if the borrower makes 1 or more 
                qualified write-offs after the 1-year period that 
                begins with the date a consolidated loan is made to the 
                borrower under this section, the Secretary shall 
                forgive repayment of a portion of the loan, in an 
                amount equal to--
                            ``(i) 90 percent of the first $500,000 of 
                        the total amount of the qualified write-offs;
                            ``(ii) 60 percent of the next $1,000,000 of 
                        the total amount of the qualified write-offs; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) 30 percent of the next $1,000,000 
                        of the total amount of the qualified write-
                        offs.
                    ``(B) Ineligibility of borrower who interrupts 
                service during emergency.--Subparagraph (A) shall not 
                apply with respect to the borrower if, during the 
                covered emergency, the borrower suspends or interrupts 
                utility service to any customer or subscriber of the 
                borrower for non-payment of an amount owed to the 
                borrower.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible borrower.--The term `eligible borrower' 
        means an entity that--
                    ``(A) provides electric, telecommunications, clean 
                water, waste water, or waste disposal services; and
                    ``(B) is eligible for assistance under--
                            ``(i) section 4, 201, or 601 of the Rural 
                        Electrification Act of 1936; or
                            ``(ii) section 306(a) of the Consolidated 
                        Farm and Rural Development Act.
            ``(2) Qualified loss.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                term `qualified loss' means, with respect to a borrower 
                and a covered emergency--
                            ``(i) an amount owed to the borrower for 
                        services provided during the emergency, which 
                        are more than 15 days past due; and
                            ``(ii) an amount not received by the 
                        borrower because of reduced demand for services 
                        sold by the borrower on a per-unit basis, to 
                        the extent that the reduction is attributable 
                        to the emergency.
                    ``(B) Reduction.--The total amount determined under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by the fair market 
                value of any assistance received by the borrower from 
                any source while the line of credit is open, for the 
                purpose of offsetting the loss of routine operating 
                revenue or covering the cost of routine operating 
                expenses, during the covered emergency, excluding any 
                assistance provided to repair, recover, or rebuild from 
                damage due to the emergency.
            ``(3) Covered emergency.--The term `covered emergency' 
        means--
                    ``(A) a major disaster or emergency, as determined 
                by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act;
                    ``(B) a natural disaster, as determined by the 
                Secretary of Agriculture; or
                    ``(C) an emergency involving Federal primary 
                responsibility determined to exist by the President 
                under the section 501(b) of such Act.
            ``(4) Qualified write-off.--The term `qualified write-off' 
        means, with respect to a borrower--
                    ``(A) an amount described in paragraph (2)(A)(i), 
                if the borrower assigns to the Secretary the right to 
                any payment of the amount; and
                    ``(B) 90 percent of an amount described in 
                paragraph (2)(A)(ii).
    ``(d) Regulations.--The Secretary may, on an expedited basis, 
prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out the preceding 
provisions of this section.
    ``(e) Rural Utility Bridge Loan Fund.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury 
        of the United States a revolving fund to be known as the `Rural 
        Utility Bridge Loan Fund' (in this subsection referred to as 
        the `Fund').
            ``(2) Deposits and credits.--There shall be deposited in, 
        or credited to, the Fund the following:
                    ``(A) All amounts appropriated to the Fund.
                    ``(B) All amounts paid as principal or interest on 
                a loan made under this section.
                    ``(C) All interest on, and proceeds from the sale 
                or redemption of, any obligations invested in under 
                paragraph (4).
            ``(3) Use of funds.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The amounts in the Fund shall be 
                available for the cost of making loans under this 
                section without further appropriation.
                    ``(B) Administrative expenses.--With respect to 
                each covered emergency, the Secretary may use amounts 
                in the Fund for administrative expenses, as follows:
                            ``(i) Establishment of lines of credit.--
                        For expenses incurred in establishing lines of 
                        credit under this section, an amount equal to 1 
                        percent of the Fund balance as of the date of 
                        the determination referred to in subsection 
                        (c)(3) with respect to the covered emergency.
                            ``(ii) Making and servicing of loans.--
                        During each fiscal year, for expenses incurred 
                        in making and servicing loans (including 
                        consolidated loans) under this section, an 
                        amount equal to 3 percent of the average total 
                        amount of loans outstanding under this section 
                        during the fiscal year with respect to the 
                        covered emergency.
                            ``(iii) Limitation.--In addition, the 
                        Secretary may not use more than $30,000,000 
                        during each fiscal year for any administrative 
                        expense incurred in carrying out this section.
            ``(4) Investments.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may request the 
                Secretary of the Treasury to invest the portion of the 
                Fund that is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, required to meet the current needs of the 
                Fund.
                    ``(B) Eligible investments.--On receipt of such a 
                request, the Secretary of the Treasury shall invest the 
                amount involved in obligations of the United States or 
                obligations that are guaranteed as to principal and 
                interest by the United States, with maturities suitable 
                to the needs of the Fund as determined by the Secretary 
                of Agriculture.''.
    (b) Appropriation.--Out of any amounts in the Treasury of the 
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the 
Rural Utility Bridge Loan Fund $5,000,000,000, without fiscal year 
limitation. For purposes of section 704(e)(3)(B)(i) of the Rural 
Electrification Act of 1936, with respect to a covered emergency 
declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fund balance is 
deemed to be the amount specified in the preceding sentence.
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