Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Act of 1999
PL 106-51 (H.R.1664), enacted 08/17/1999

113 STAT. 252 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
Public Law 106-51 
106th Congress 
An Act 
Aug. 17, 1999 
Providing emergency authority for guarantees of loans to qualified steel and iron 
[H.R. 1664] 
^^^ companies and to qualified oil and gas companies, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
Emergency Steel 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
Loan Guarantee 
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury 
O
U an™Gas°^^ 
^^^ otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 
Guaranteed Loan 30, 1999, and for other purposes, namely: 
Act of 1999. 
Emergency Steel 
CHAPTER 1 
Loan Guarantee 
Act of 1999. 
S E C . 101. EMERGENCY S T E E L LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM, 
(a) 
15 use 1841 
SHORT TITLE.—This chapter may be cited as the "Emergency Steel 
''<'*®- 
Loan Guarantee Act of 1999". 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the United States steel industry has been severely 
harmed by a record surge of more than 40,000,000 tons of 
steel imports into the United States in 1998, caused by the 
world financial crisis; 
(2) this surge in imports resulted in the loss of more than 
10,000 steel worker jobs in 1998, and was the imminent cause 
of three bankruptcies by medium-sized steel companies. Acme 
Steel, Laclede Steel, and Geneva Steel; 
(3) the crisis also forced almost all United States steel 
companies into— 
(A) reduced volume, lower prices, and financial losses; 
and 
(B) an 
inability 
to obtain 
credit for 
continued 
operations and reinvestment in facilities; 
(4) the crisis also has affected the willingness of private 
banks and investment institutions to make loans to the United 
States steel industry for continued operation and reinvestment 
in facilities; 
(5) these steel bankruptcies, job losses, and financial losses 
are also having serious negative effects on the tax base of 
cities, counties, and States, and on the essential health, edu-
cation, and municipal services that these government entities 
provide to their citizens; and 
(6) a strong steel industry is necessary to the adequate 
defense preparedness of the United States in order to have 
sufficient steel available to build the ships, tanks, planes, and 
armaments necessary for the national defense. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) BOARD.—^The term "Board" means the Loan Guarantee 
Board established under subsection (e). 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
113 STAT. 253 
(2) PROGRAM.—^The term "Program" means the Emergency 
Steel Guarantee Loan Program established under subsection 
(d). 
(3) QUALIFIED STEEL COMPANY.—The term "qualified steel 
company" means any company that— 
(A) is incorporated under the laws of any State; 
(B) is engaged in the production and manufacture of 
a product defined by the American Iron and Steel Institute 
as a basic steel mill product, including ingots, slab and 
billets, plates, flat-rolled steel, sections and structural prod-
ucts, bars, rail type products, pipe and tube, and wire 
rod; and 
(C) has experienced layoffs, production losses, or 
financial losses since the beginning of the steel import 
crisis, in January 1998 or that operates substantial assets 
of a company that meets these qualifications. 
(d) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY STEEL GUARANTEE LOAN 
PROGRAM.—^There is established the Emergency Steel Guarantee 
Loan Program, to be administered by the Board, the purpose of 
which is to provide loan guarantees to qualified steel companies 
in accordance with this section. 
(e) 
LOAN 
GUARANTEE 
BOARD 
MEMBERSHIP.—^There 
is Establishment, 
established a Loan Guarantee Board, which shall be composed 
of— 
(1) the Secretary of Commerce; 
(2) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, who shall serve as Chairman of the Board; 
and 
(3) the 
Chairman 
of the 
Securities 
and 
Exchange 
Commission. 
(f) LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.— 
(1) AUTHORITY.—^The Program may guarantee loans pro-
vided to qualified steel companies by private banking and 
investment institutions in accordance with the procedures, 
rules, and regulations established by the Board. 
(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—^The aggregate amount of 
loans guaranteed and outstanding at any one time under this 
section may not exceed $1,000,000,000. 
(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggregate amount 
of loans guaranteed under this section with respect to a single 
qualified steel company may not exceed $250,000,000. 
(4) TIMELINES.—^The Board shall approve or deny each 
application for a guarantee under this section as soon as pos-
sible after receipt of such application. 
(5) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional cost of the loans 
guaranteed under this subsection, including the costs of modi-
fying the loans as defined in section 502 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is appropriated 
$140,000,000 to remain available until expended. 
(g) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—^A loan guarantee 
may be issued under this section upon application to the Board 
by a qualified steel company pursuant to an agreement to provide 
a loan to that qualified steel company by a private bank or invest-
ment company, if the Board determines that— 
(1) credit is not otherwise available to that company under 
reasonable terms or conditions sufficient to meet its financing 
113 STAT. 254 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
needs, as reflected in the financial and business plans of that 
company; 
(2) the prospective earning power of that company, together 
with the character and value of the security pledged, furnish 
reasonable assurance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed 
in accordance with its terms; 
(3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at a rate 
determined by the Board to be reasonable, taking into account 
the current average yield on outstanding obligations of the 
United States with remaining periods of maturity comparable 
to the maturity of such loan; 
(4) the company has agreed to an audit by the Greneral 
Accounting Office prior to the issuance of the loan guarantee 
and annually thereafter while any such guaranteed loan is 
outstanding; and 
(5) in the case of a purchaser of substantial assets of 
a qualified steel company, the qualified steel company estab-
lishes that it is unable to reorganize itself. 
(h) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUARANTEES.— 
(1) LOAN DURATION.—All loans guaranteed under this sec-
tion shall be payable in full not later than December 31, 2005, 
and the terms and conditions of each such loan shall provide 
that the loan may not be amended, or any provision thereof 
waived, without the consent of the Board. 
(2) LOAN SECURITY.—^Any commitment to issue a loan guar-
antee under this section shall contain such affirmative and 
negative covenants and other protective provisions that the 
Board determines are appropriate. The Board shall require 
security for the loans to be guaranteed under this section 
at the time at which the commitment is made. 
(3) FEES.—A qualified steel company receiving a guarantee 
under this section shall pay a fee to the Department of the 
Treasury to cover costs of the program, but in no event shall 
such fee exceed an amount equal to 0.5 percent of the out-
standing principal balance of the guaranteed loan. 
(4) GUARANTEE LEVEL.—No loan guarantee may be provided 
under this section if the guarantee exceeds 85 percent of the 
amount of principal of the loan. 
(i) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—^The Secretary of Commerce shall 
submit to Congress a full report of the activities of the Board 
under this section during each of fiscal years 1999 and 2000, and 
annually thereafter, during such period as any loan guaranteed 
under this section is outstanding. 
(j) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—^For necessary 
expenses to administer the Program, $5,000,000 is appropriated 
to the Department of Commerce, to remain available until expended, 
which may be transferred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Trade Development of the International Trade Administration. 
(k) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.—^The authority 
of the Board to make commitments to guarantee any loan under 
this section shall terminate on December 31, 2001. 
(1) REGULATORY ACTION.—^The Board shall issue such final 
procedures, rules, and regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out this section not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(m) IRON ORE COMPANIES.— 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
113 STAT. 255 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of this sub-
section, an iron ore company incorporated under the laws of 
any State shall be treated as a qualified steel company for 
purposes of the Program. 
(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT FOR IRON ORE COMPANY.— 
Of the aggregate amount of loans authorized to be guaranteed 
and outstanding at any one time under subsection (f)(2), an 
amount not to exceed $30,000,000 shall be loans with respect 
to iron ore companies. 
FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL EXPENSES 
(RESCISSIONS) 
SEC. 102. (a) Of the funds available in the nondefense category 
to the agencies of the Federal Government, $145,000,000 are hereby 
rescinded: Provided, That rescissions pursuant to this subsection 
shall be taken only from administrative and travel accounts: Pro-
vided further. That rescissions shall be taken on a pro rata basis 
from funds available to every Federal agency, department, and 
office in the executive branch, including the Office of the President. 
(b) Within 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate a listing of the amounts by account 
of the reductions made pursuant to the provisions of subsection 
(a) of this section. 
15 use 1841 
note. 
Deadline. 
Reports. 
CHAPTER 2 
SEC. 201. PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT, (a) SHORT 
TITLE.—^This chapter may be cited as the "Emergency Oil and 
Gas Guaranteed Loan Program Act". 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) consumption of foreign oil in the United States is 
estimated to equal 56 percent of all oil consumed, and that 
percentage could reach 68 percent by 2010 if current prices 
prevail; 
(2) the number of oil and gas rigs operating in the United 
States is at its lowest since 1944, when records of this tally 
began; 
(3) if prices do not increase soon, the United States could 
lose at least half its marginal wells, which in aggregate produce 
as much oil as the United States imports from Saudi Arabia; 
(4) oil and gas prices are unlikely to increase for at least 
several years; 
(5) declining production, well abandonment, and greatly 
reduced exploration and development are shrinking 
the 
domestic oil and gas industry; 
(6) the world's richest oil producing regions in the Middle 
East are experiencing increasingly greater political instability; 
(7) United Nations policy may make Iraq the swing oil 
producing nation, thereby granting Saddam Hussein tremen-
dous power; 
(8) reliance on foreign oil for more than 60 percent of 
our daily oil and gas consumption is a national security threat; 
Emergency Oil 
and Gas 
Guaranteed Loan 
Program Act. 
15 u s e 1841 
note. 
113 STAT. 256 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
Establishment. 
(9) the level of United States oil security is directly related 
to the level of domestic production of oil, natural gas liquids, 
and natural gas; and 
(10) a national security policy should be developed that 
ensures that adequate supplies of oil are available at all times 
free of the threat of embargo or other foreign hostile acts. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) BOARD.—^The term "Board" means the Loan Guarantee 
Board established by subsection (e). 
(2) PROGRAM.—The term "Program" means the Emergency 
Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program established by sub-
section (d). 
(3) QUALIFIED OIL AND GAS COMPANY.—^The term "qualified 
oil and gas company" means a company that— 
(A)is— 
(i) an independent oil and gas company (within 
the meaning of section 57(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986); or 
(ii) a small business concern under section 3 of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) (or a company 
based in Alaska, including an Alaska Native Corpora-
tion created pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)) that is an 
oil field service company whose main business is pro-
viding tools, products, personnel, and technical solu-
tions on a contractual basis to exploration and produc-
tion operators that drill, complete wells, and produce, 
transport, refine, and sell hydrocarbons and their 
byproducts as the main commercial business of the 
concern or company; and 
(B) has experienced layoffs, production losses, or finan-
cial losses since the beginning of the oil import crisis, 
after January 1, 1997. 
(d) EMERGENCY OIL AND GAS GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—^There is established the Emergency Oil 
and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program, the purpose of which shall 
be to provide loan guarantees to qualified oil and gas companies 
in accordance with this section. 
(2) LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD.—^There is established to 
administer the Program a Loan Guarantee Board, to be com-
posed of— 
(A) the Secretary of Commerce; 
(B) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, who shall serve as Chairman 
of the Board; and 
(C) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission. 
(e) AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—^The Program may guarantee loans pro-
vided to qualified oil and gas companies by private banking 
and investment institutions in accordance with procedures, 
rules, and regulations established by the Board. 
(2) TOTAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—^The aggregate amount of 
loans guaranteed and outstanding at any one time under this 
section shall not exceed $500,000,000. 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
113 STAT. 257 
(3) INDIVIDUAL GUARANTEE LIMIT.—The aggregate amount 
of loans guaranteed under this section with respect to a single 
qualified oil and gas company shall not exceed $10,000,000. 
(4) EXPEDITIOUS ACTION ON APPLICATIONS.—The Board 
shall approve or deny an application for a guarantee under 
this section as soon as practicable after receipt of an application. 
(5) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—For the additional cost of the loans 
guaranteed under this subsection, including the costs of modi-
fying the loans as defined in section 502 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), there is appropriated 
$122,500,000 to remain available until expended. 
(f) REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN GUARANTEES.—^The Board may 
issue a loan guarantee on application by a qualified oil and gas 
company under an agreement by a private bank or investment 
company to provide a loan to the qualified oil and gas company, 
if the Board determines that— 
(1) credit is not otherwise available to the company under 
reasonable terms or conditions sufficient to meet its financing 
needs, as reflected in the financial and business plans of the 
company; 
(2) the prospective earning power of the company, together 
with the character and value of the security pledged, provide 
a reasonable assurance of repayment of the loan to be guaran-
teed in accordance with its terms; 
(3) the loan to be guaranteed bears interest at a rate 
, 
determined by the Board to be reasonable, taking into account 
' 
the current average yield on outstanding obligations of the 
United States with remaining periods of maturity comparable 
to the maturity of the loan; and 
(4) the company has agreed to an audit by the General 
Accounting Office before issuance of the loan guarantee and 
annually while the guaranteed loan is outstanding. 
(g) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOAN GUARANTEES.— 
(1) LOAN DURATION.—^All loans guaranteed under this 
section shall be repayable in full not later than December 
31, 2010, and the terms and conditions of each such loan 
shall provide that the loan agreement may not be amended, 
or any provision of the loan agreement waived, without the 
consent of the Board. 
(2) LOAN SECURITY.—^A commitment to issue a loan guar-
antee under this section shall contain such affirmative and 
negative covenants and other protective provisions as the Board 
determines are appropriate. The Board shall require security 
for the loans to be guaranteed under this section at the time 
at which the commitment is made. 
(3) FEES.—^A qualified oil and gas company receiving a 
loan guarantee under this section shall pay a fee to the Depart-
ment of the Treasury to cover costs of the program, but in 
no event shall such fee exceed an amount equal to 0.5 percent 
of the outstanding principal balance of the guaranteed loan. 
(4) GUARANTEE LEVEL.—No loan guarantee may be provided 
under this section if the guarantee exceeds 85 percent of the 
amount of principal of the loan. 
(h) REPORTS.—During fiscal year 1999 and each fiscal year 
thereafter until each guaranteed loan has been repaid in full, the 
Secretary of Commerce shall submit to Congress a report on the 
activities of the Board. 
113 STAT. 258 
PUBLIC LAW 106-51—AUG. 17, 1999 
15 use 1841 
note. 
Deadline. 
Reports. 
(i) SALARIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—^For necessary 
expenses to administer the Program, $2,500,000 is appropriated 
to the Department of Commerce, to remain available until expended, 
which may be transferred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Trade Development of the International Trade Administration. 
(j) TERMINATION OF GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.—^The authority 
of the Board to make commitments to guarantee any loan under 
this section shall terminate on December 31, 2001. 
(k) REGULATORY ACTION.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Board shall issue such 
final procedures, rules, and regulations as are necessary to carry 
out this section. 
FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL EXPENSES 
(RESCISSIONS) 
SEC. 202. (a) Of the funds available in the nondefense category 
to the agencies of the Federal Government, $125,000,000 are hereby 
rescinded: Provided, That rescissions pursuant to this subsection 
shall be taken only from administrative and travel accounts: Pro-
vided further. That rescissions shall be taken on a pro rata basis 
from funds available to every Federal agency, department, and 
office in the executive branch, including the Office of the President. 
(b) Within 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate a listing of the amounts by account 
of the reductions made pursuant to the provisions of subsection 
(a) of this section. 
CHAPTER 3 
15 use 1841 
note. 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 301. No part of any appropriation contained in the Act 
shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year 
unless expressly so provided herein. 
This Act may be cited as the "Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee 
and Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Act of 1999". 
Approved August 17, 1999. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1664: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-125 (Comm. on Appropriations). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 145 (1999): 
May 6, considered and passed House. 
June 15, 17, 18, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Aug. 4, House concurred in Senate amendments.