[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3309-S3311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6101. Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Daines, Ms. Smith,
Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Schumer) submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of title X, add the following:
Subtitle H--Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient
Development
SEC. ___01. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Access to Fair
Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act''.
SEC. ___02. REQUIREMENT TO TESTIFY.
Section 104(b) of the Community Development Banking and
Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(b)) is
amended by adding to the end the following:
``(5) Annual testimony.--The Secretary of the Treasury (or
a designee of the Secretary) shall, at the discretion of the
chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and chairman of the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives, annually
testify before such committees (or a subcommittee of such
committees) regarding the operations of the Fund during the
previous fiscal year.''.
SEC. ___03. CDFI BOND GUARANTEE PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the authority to guarantee bonds under section 114A of the
Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act
of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4713a) (commonly referred to as the ``CDFI
Bond Guarantee Program'') provides community development
financial institutions with a sustainable source of long-term
capital and furthers the mission of the Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund (established under section 104(a)
of such Act (12 U.S.C. 4703(a))) to increase economic
opportunity and promote community development investments for
underserved populations and distressed communities in the
United States.
(b) Guarantees for Bonds and Notes Issued for Community or
Economic Development Purposes.--
(1) In general.--Section 114A of the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C.
4713a) is amended--
(A) in subsection (c)(2)--
(i) by inserting ``outstanding'' before ``principal
amount''; and
(ii) by striking ``multiplied by an amount equal to the
outstanding principal balance of issued notes or bonds,'';
(B) by amending subsection (e)(2) to read as follows:
``(2) Limitation on guarantee amount.--The Secretary may
not guarantee any amount under the program equal to less than
$25,000,000, but the total of all such guarantees in any
fiscal year may not exceed $1,000,000,000.''; and
(C) in subsection (k), by striking ``September 30, 2014''
and inserting ``the date that is the later of 4 years after
the date of enactment of the Access to Fair Financing for
Opportunity and Resilient Development Act or December 31,
2030.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory
Improvement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-325; 108 Stat. 2160)
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
114 the following:
``Sec. 114A. Guarantees for bonds and notes issued for community or
economic development purposes.''.
(c) Report on the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.--Not later
than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a report to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House
of Representatives on the effectiveness of the CDFI bond
guarantee program established under section 114A of the
Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act
of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4713a).
SEC. ___04. CAPITALIZATION ASSISTANCE TO ENHANCE LIQUIDITY.
(a) In General.--Section 113 of the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C.
4712) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The Fund may provide funds to
organizations for the purpose of--
``(A) purchasing loans that are originated by community
development financial institutions, loan participations, or
interests therein from community development financial
institutions;
``(B) providing guarantees, loan loss reserves, or other
forms of credit enhancement to promote liquidity for
community development financial institutions; and
``(C) otherwise enhancing the liquidity of community
development financial institutions.
``(2) Construction of federal government funds.--For
purposes of this subsection, notwithstanding section
105(a)(9) of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(9)), funds provided pursuant to such
Act shall be considered to be Federal Government funds.'';
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Selection.--
``(1) In general.--The selection of organizations to
receive assistance and the amount of assistance to be
provided to any organization under this section shall be at
the discretion of the Fund and in accordance with criteria
established by the Fund.
``(2) Eligibility.--Organizations eligible to receive
assistance under this section--
``(A) shall have a primary purpose of promoting community
development; and
``(B) are not required to be community development
financial institutions.
``(3) Prioritization.--For the purpose of making an award
of funds under this section, the Fund shall prioritize the
selection of organizations that--
``(A) demonstrate relevant experience or an ability to
carry out the activities under this section, including
experience leading or participating in loan purchase
structures or purchasing or participating in the purchase of,
assigning, or otherwise transferring, assets from community
development financial institutions;
``(B) demonstrate the capacity to increase the number or
dollar volume of loan originations or expand the products or
services of community development financial institutions,
including by leveraging the award with private capital; and
``(C) will use the funds to support community development
financial institutions that represent broad geographic
coverage or that serve borrowers that have experienced
significant unmet capital or financial services needs.'';
(3) in subsection (c), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``$5,000,000'' and inserting
``$20,000,000''; and
(B) by striking ``during any 3-year period''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Regulations.--The Secretary may promulgate such
regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out
the authorities or purposes of this section.''.
(b) Emergency Capital Investment Funds.--Section 104A of
the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions
Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703a) is amended by striking
subsection (l) and inserting the following:
``(l) Deposit of Funds.--All funds received by the
Secretary in connection with purchases made pursuant this
section, including interest payments, dividend payments, and
proceeds from the sale of any financial instrument, shall be
deposited into the Fund and used--
``(1) to provide financial assistance to organizations
pursuant to section 113; and
``(2) to provide financial and technical assistance
pursuant to section 108, except that subsection (e) of that
section shall be waived.''.
(c) Annual Reports.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms ``community
development financial institution'' and ``Fund'' have the
meanings given the terms in section 103 of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994
(12 U.S.C. 4702).
(2) Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which assistance is first provided under section 113 of the
Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act
of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4712) pursuant to the amendments made by
subsection (a) of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a written
report describing the use of the Fund for the 1-year period
preceding the submission of the report for the purposes
described in subsection (a)(1) of such section 113, as
amended by subsection (a) of this section, which shall
include, with respect to the period covered by the report--
(A) the total amount of--
(i) loans, loan participations, and interests therein
purchased from community development financial institutions;
(ii) loans that support affordable housing construction;
and
(iii) guarantees, loan loss reserves, and other forms of
credit enhancement provided to community development
financial institutions;
[[Page S3310]]
(B) the effect of the purchases and guarantees made by the
Fund on the overall competitiveness of community development
financial institutions; and
(C) the impact of the purchases and guarantees made by the
Fund on the liquidity of community development financial
institutions.
SEC. ___05. NATIVE CDFI RELENDING PROGRAM.
Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Set Aside for Native Community Development Financial
Institutions.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `Alaska Native' has the meaning given the
term `Native' in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b));
``(B) the term `appropriate congressional committees'
means--
``(i) the Committee on Agriculture of the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives;
``(v) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
``(vi) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
``(C) the term `community development financial
institution' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of
the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions
Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702);
``(D) the term `Indian Tribe' has the meaning given the
term `Indian tribe' in section 4 of the Native American
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4103);
``(E) the term `Native community development financial
institution' means an entity--
``(i) that has been certified as a community development
financial institution by the Secretary of the Treasury;
``(ii) that is not less than 51 percent owned or controlled
by members of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or
Native Hawaiian communities; and
``(iii) for which not less than 51 percent of the
activities of the entity serve Indian Tribes, Alaska Native
communities, or Native Hawaiian communities;
``(F) the term `Native Hawaiian' has the meaning given the
term in section 801 of the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); and
``(G) the term `priority Tribal land' means--
``(i) any land located within the boundaries of--
``(I) an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or
``(II) a former reservation within Oklahoma;
``(ii) any land not located within the boundaries of an
Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which
is held--
``(I) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an
Indian Tribe or an individual Indian;
``(II) by an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian, subject
to restriction against alienation under laws of the United
States; or
``(III) by a dependent Indian community;
``(iii) any land located within a region established
pursuant to section 7(a) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(a));
``(iv) Hawaiian Home Lands, as defined in section 801 of
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination
Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); or
``(v) those areas or communities designated by the
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs of the Department of
the Interior that are near, adjacent, or contiguous to
reservations where financial assistance and social service
programs are provided to Indians because of their status as
Indians.
``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to--
``(A) increase homeownership opportunities for Indian
Tribes, Alaska Native Communities, and Native Hawaiian
communities in rural areas; and
``(B) provide capital to Native community development
financial institutions to increase the number of mortgage
transactions carried out by those institutions.
``(3) Set aside for native cdfis.--Of amounts appropriated
to make direct loans under this section for each fiscal year,
the Secretary may use not more than $50,000,000 to make
direct loans to Native community development financial
institutions in accordance with this subsection.
``(4) Application requirements.--A Native community
development financial institution desiring a loan under this
subsection shall demonstrate that the institution--
``(A) can provide the non-Federal cost share required under
paragraph (6); and
``(B) is able to originate and service loans for single
family homes.
``(5) Lending requirements.--A Native community development
financial institution that receives a loan pursuant to this
subsection shall--
``(A) use those amounts to make loans to borrowers--
``(i) who otherwise meet the requirements for a loan under
this section; and
``(ii) who--
``(I) are members of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native
community, or a Native Hawaiian community; or
``(II) maintain a household in which not less than 1 member
is a member of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native community,
or a Native Hawaiian community; and
``(B) in making loans under subparagraph (A), give priority
to borrowers described in that subparagraph who are residing
on priority Tribal land.
``(6) Non-federal cost share.--
``(A) In general.--A Native community development financial
institution that receives a loan under this section shall be
required to match not less than 20 percent of the amount
received.
``(B) Waiver.--In the case of a loan for which amounts are
used to make loans to borrowers described in paragraph
(5)(B), the Secretary shall waive the non-Federal cost share
requirement described in subparagraph (A) with respect to
those loan amounts.
``(7) Reporting.--
``(A) Annual report by native cdfis.--Each Native community
development financial institution that receives a loan
pursuant to this subsection shall submit an annual report to
the Secretary on the lending activities of the institution
using the loan amounts, which shall include--
``(i) a description of the outreach efforts of the
institution in local communities to identify eligible
borrowers;
``(ii) a description of how the institution leveraged
additional capital to reach prospective borrowers;
``(iii) the number of loan applications received, approved,
and deployed;
``(iv) the average loan amount;
``(v) the number of finalized loans that were made on
Tribal trust lands and not on Tribal trust lands; and
``(vi) the number of finalized loans that were made on
priority Tribal land and not priority Tribal land.
``(B) Annual report to congress.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every
year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate congressional communities a report that
includes--
``(i) a list of loans made to Native community development
financial institutions pursuant to this subsection, including
the name of the institution and the loan amount;
``(ii) the percentage of loans made under this section to
members of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native communities, and
Native Hawaiian communities, respectively, including a
breakdown of loans made to households residing on and not on
Tribal trust lands; and
``(iii) the average loan amount made by Native community
development financial institutions pursuant to this
subsection.
``(C) Evaluation of program.--Not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary and
the Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct an evaluation of
and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the program under this subsection, which shall--
``(i) evaluate the effectiveness of the program, including
an evaluation of the demand for loans under the program; and
``(ii) include recommendations relating to the program,
including whether--
``(I) the program should be expanded to such that all
community development financial institutions may make loans
under the program to the borrowers described in paragraph
(5); and
``(II) the set aside amount paragraph (3) should be
modified in order to match demand under the program.
``(8) Grants for operational support.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
Native community development financial institutions that
receive a loan under this section to provide operational
support and other related services to those institutions,
subject to--
``(i) the satisfactory performance, as determined by the
Secretary, of a Native community development financial
institution in carrying out this section; and
``(ii) the availability of funding.
``(B) Amount.--A Native community development financial
institution that receives a loan under this section shall be
eligible to receive a grant described in subparagraph (A) in
an amount equal to 20 percent of the direct loan amount
received by the Native community development financial
institution under the program under this section as of the
date on which the direct loan is awarded.
``(9) Outreach and technical assistance.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027--
``(A) to provide technical assistance to Native community
development financial institutions--
``(i) relating to homeownership and other housing-related
assistance provided by the Secretary; and
``(ii) to assist those institutions to perform outreach to
eligible homebuyers relating to the loan program under this
section; or
``(B) to provide funding to a national organization
representing Native American housing interests to perform
outreach and provide technical assistance as described in
clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, of subparagraph (A).
``(10) Administrative costs.--In addition to other
available funds, the Secretary may use not more than 3
percent of the amounts made available to carry out this
subsection
[[Page S3311]]
for administration of the programs established under this
subsection.''.
______