S.Amdt. 3034

SA 3034. Mr. TESTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2786 proposed by Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr.
Dodd, and Mr. Harkin) to the bill H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the
case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal
employees, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

On page 828, between lines 3 and 4, insert the following:

SEC. 3130. CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM FOR
RURAL ENTITIES.

(a) In General.--The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1602 the
following:

``SEC. 1603. CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM
FOR RURAL ENTITIES.

``(a) Authority To Make and Guarantee Loans.--
``(1) Authority to make loans.--The Secretary may make
loans from the fund established under section 1602(d) to any
rural entity for projects for capital improvements,
including--
``(A) the acquisition of software and hardware necessary to
implement electronic health records as required under section
3011;
``(B) the acquisition of land necessary for the capital
improvements;
``(C) the renovation or modernization of any building;
``(D) the acquisition or repair of fixed or major movable
equipment; and
``(E) such other project expenses as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(2) Authority to guarantee loans.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may guarantee the payment
of principal and interest for loans made to rural entities
for projects for any capital improvement described in
paragraph (1) to any non-Federal lender.
``(B) Interest subsidies.--In the case of a guarantee of
any loan made to a rural entity under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary may pay to the holder of such loan, for and on
behalf of the project for which the loan was made, amounts
sufficient to reduce (by not more than 3 percent) the net
effective interest rate otherwise payable on such loan.
``(b) Amount of Loan.--The principal amount of a loan
directly made or guaranteed under subsection (a) for a
project for capital improvement may not exceed $2,500,000.
``(c) Funding Limitations.--
``(1) Government credit subsidy exposure.--The total of the
Government credit subsidy exposure under the Federal Credit
Reform Act of 1990 scoring protocol with respect to the loans
outstanding at any time with respect to which guarantees have
been issued, or which have been directly made, under
subsection (a) may not exceed $50,000,000 per year.
``(2) Total amounts.--Subject to paragraph (1), the total
of the principal amount of all loans directly made or
guaranteed under subsection (a) may not exceed $400,000,000
per year.
``(d) Capital Assessment and Planning Grants.--
``(1) Nonrepayable grants.--Subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary may make a grant to a rural entity, in an amount
not to exceed $50,000, for purposes of capital assessment and
business planning.
``(2) Limitation.--The cumulative total of grants awarded
under this subsection may not exceed $2,500,000 per year.
``(e) Termination of Authority.--The Secretary may not
directly make or guarantee any loan under subsection (a) or
make a grant under subsection (d) after September 30,
2013.''.
(b) Rural Entity Defined.--Section 1624 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300s-3) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(15)(A) The term `rural entity' includes--
``(i) a rural health clinic, as defined in section
1861(aa)(2) of the Social Security Act;
``(ii) any medical facility with at least 1 bed, but not
more than 49 beds, that is located in--
``(I) a county that is not part of a metropolitan
statistical area; or
``(II) a rural census tract of a metropolitan statistical
area (as determined under the most recent modification of the
Goldsmith Modification, originally published in the Federal
Register on February 27, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 6725)); and
``(iii) a hospital that is classified as a critical access
hospital or a rural hospital with fewer than 1,500 discharges
per year.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the fact that a
clinic, facility, or hospital has been geographically
reclassified under the Medicare program under title XVIII of
the Social Security Act shall not preclude a hospital from
being considered a rural entity under clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (A).''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1602 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300q-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(2)(D), by inserting ``or
1603(a)(2)(B)'' after ``1601(a)(2)(B)''; and
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ``section
1601(a)(2)(B)'' and inserting ``sections 1601(a)(2)(B) and
1603(a)(2)(B)''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ``or 1603(a)(2)(B)''
after ``1601(a)(2)(B)''.
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