[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3536 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3536

 To provide financial assistance for technology adaptation to promote 
                                exports.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1993

Mr. Klein introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to 
   the Committees on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs and Science, 
                         Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide financial assistance for technology adaptation to promote 
                                exports.

    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 ``Environmentally Advanced 
Technologies Research and Development Act''.

SECTION 2.  FINANCIAL  ASSISTANCE  FOR  TECHNOLOGY ADAPTATION TO 
              PROMOTE EXPORTS.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a revolving fund to be 
known as the Environmental Technology Export Revolving Fund for the 
purpose of providing financial assistance for the adaptation and 
demonstration of United States environmental technologies to enhance 
exports to major international markets.
    (b) Forms of Financial Assistance.--To carry out this section, the 
Secretary of Commerce may, to the extent provided in appropriations 
Acts, use the Fund for the purpose of making loans, loan guarantees, or 
other forms of financial assistance to United States companies, 
independent research centers, institutions of higher education, and 
other organizations the Secretary considers appropriate.
    (c) Priorities.--In providing financial assistance under this 
section, the Secretary of Commerce shall give priority to environmental 
technologies--
            (1) that require modifications through further research and 
        development to enable commercialization in international 
        markets;
            (2) that have substantial potential for use in export 
        markets; and
            (3) for which substantial manufacture will remain in the 
        United States.
    (d) Operating Plan.--Not later than January 1, 1995, the Secretary 
of Commerce shall submit to the Congress an operating plan to carry out 
this section. The plan shall contain a description of coordination 
efforts with other sources of export finance assistance, including the 
Agency for International Development and the Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation, and an evaluation of alternative approaches to 
carrying out this section (including priorities referred to in 
subsection (c)). The Secretary shall develop recommendations, as 
appropriate, to carry out this section in the most effective and 
efficient manner achievable. The recommendations shall include a 
description of the system of evaluation used under this subsection.
    (e) Terms and Conditions for Financial Assistance.--
            (1) Limitation on project amount.--Loans, loan guarantees, 
        and other forms of financial assistance made under this section 
        shall be in such form and under such terms and conditions as 
        the Secretary of Commerce may prescribe by regulation. The 
        amount of assistance provided under this section for a project 
        may not exceed 50 percent of the total eligible project costs. 
        The term ``total eligible project costs'' shall be defined by 
        the Secretary of Commerce by regulation.
            (2) Limitation on total cost.--Financial assistance under 
        this section shall be made under such terms and conditions as 
        are necessary to ensure that the cost of carrying out this 
        section shall not exceed 15 percent of the corresponding credit 
        authority to carry out this section. For purposes of this 
        paragraph--
                    (A) the term ``cost'' has the meaning given such 
                term in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act 
                of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a); and
                    (B) the term ``credit authority'' has the meaning 
                given such term in section 3(10) of the Congressional 
                Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(10)).
    (f) Repayment.--Repayment on loans made under this section and the 
proceeds from any other agreement entered into by the Secretary of 
Commerce under this section shall be credited to the Fund. A loan or 
loan guarantee agreement under this section may, at the discretion of 
the Secretary of Commerce, include a requirement--
            (1) that a portion of any royalties received in connection 
        with a technology developed with financial assistance under 
        this section be paid to the United States; and
            (2) in any case in which the technology is used by the 
        recipient of such financial assistance for the production and 
        sale of goods, that a payment equal to the amount paid under 
        paragraph (1) in connection with the technology be paid to the 
        United States.
    (g) Interest.--Interest on a loan, or portion of a loan, awarded or 
guaranteed by the Federal Government under this section shall be at a 
rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, at the time such loan 
is made, to equal the then current average market yield on outstanding 
debt obligations of the United States with remaining periods to 
maturity comparable to the maturity of such loan, plus an additional 
charge of up to 1 percent applied by the Secretary of Commerce to cover 
expected defaults and reasonable administrative costs of carrying out 
this section. For purposes of this section, the term ``default'' shall 
be defined by the Secretary of Commerce by regulation.
    (h) Management of the Fund.--The Secretary of Commerce shall manage 
the Fund and shall annually submit to the Congress a report on the 
financial condition and the results of operation of the Fund during the 
preceding fiscal year.
    (i) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, upon 
request, provide technical assistance and services, as appropriate and 
needed, to awardees under this section and shall ensure that awardees 
have ready access to such assistance. The Secretary may charge fees for 
technical assistance and services. The Secretary may waive such fees on 
a case-by-case basis. Fees paid to the United States under this section 
shall be deposited in the revolving fund.
    (j) Coordination With Other Federal Activities.--The Secretary of 
Commerce shall, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate the 
activities under this section with similar Federal activities to avoid 
unnecessary duplication of effort.
    (k) Outreach to Economically Depressed Areas.--The Secretary of 
Commerce shall seek to ensure that qualified business concerns located 
in areas determined by the Secretary to have a depressed economy, or a 
significant concentration of defense-related industries, or chronically 
high unemployment, are notified of the availability of financial 
assistance under this section and, to the extent practicable, to 
encourage and facilitate the participation of such qualified business 
concerns in activities for which financial assistance in provided under 
this section.

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