“CHAPTER 2 -
Title 15 > “CHAPTER 2
Sections (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— 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; the number of oil and gas rigs operating in the United States is at its lowest since 1944, when records of this tally began; 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; oil and gas prices are unlikely to increase for at least several years; declining production, well abandonment, and greatly reduced exploration and development are shrinking the domestic oil and gas industry; the world’s richest oil producing regions in the Middle East are experiencing increasingly greater political instability; United Nations policy may make Iraq the swing oil producing nation, thereby granting Saddam Hussein tremendous power; reliance on foreign oil for more than 60 percent of our daily oil and gas consumption is a national security threat; 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 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: The term ‘Board’ means the Loan Guarantee Board established by subsection (e). The term ‘Program’ means the Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program established by subsection (d). The term ‘qualified oil and gas company’ means a company that— is— an independent oil and gas company (within the meaning of section 57(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [ 26 U.S.C. 57(a)(2)(B)(i) ]); or 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 Corporation 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 providing tools, products, personnel, and technical solutions on a contractual basis to exploration and production 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 has experienced layoffs, production losses, or financial losses since the beginning of the oil import crisis, after January 1, 1997 .
(“(d) Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program.— 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. There is established to administer the Program a Loan Guarantee Board, to be composed of— the Secretary of Commerce; the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System designated by the Chairman, who shall serve as Chairman of the Board; and the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission designated by the Chairman.
(“(e) Authority.— The Program may guarantee loans provided to qualified oil and gas companies by private banking and investment institutions in accordance with procedures, rules, and regulations established by the Board. The aggregate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding at any one time under this section shall not exceed 10,000,000. The Board shall approve or deny an application for a guarantee under this section as soon as practicable after receipt of an application. For the additional cost of the loans guaranteed under this subsection, including the costs of modifying 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— 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; 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 guaranteed in accordance with its terms; 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 the company has agreed to an audit by the Government Accountability Office before issuance of the loan guarantee and annually while the guaranteed loan is outstanding.
(“(g) Terms and Conditions of Loan Guarantees.— 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. A commitment to issue a loan guarantee 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. A qualified oil and gas company receiving a loan 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 outstanding principal balance of the guaranteed loan. 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.
(“(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 [ Aug. 17, 1999 ], the Board shall issue such final procedures, rules, and regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.
“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: Provided 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 [ Aug. 17, 1999 ], the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a listing of the amounts by account of the reductions made pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.