Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2021
Latest action · Mar 25, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 25, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2021
This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community.
Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA or the Department of the Treasury (in the case of a loan owned by the Federal Financing Bank) must
- adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and
- make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower.
In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA or Treasury shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower.
The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications and for the liquidation of residual intragovernmental amounts owed by the Federal Financing Bank in connection with certain loans.
Cosponsors 31
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 25, 2021 to May 19, 2022; 21 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-OK | James M. Inhofe | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-ND | John Hoeven | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-IA | Joni Ernst | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| I-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Mark Kelly | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee | Referred Mar 25, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 25, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Mar 25, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47066 | Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Agriculture: Selected Current Issues Archived | Report | Apr 11, 2022 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2244 | Flexible Financing for Rural America Act | Related bill | Jun 15, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for the adjustment or modification by the Secretary of Agriculture of loans for critical rural utility service providers, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
- Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
- Agriculture and Food
- Appropriations
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Department of Agriculture
- Electric power generation and transmission
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Interest, dividends, interest rates
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Public utilities and utility rates
- Rural conditions and development
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 25, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
