(a) In general

(1) Guarantees

Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary shall guarantee payments on bonds or notes issued by cooperative or other lenders organized on a not-for-profit basis, if the proceeds of the bonds or notes are used to make utility infrastructure loans, or refinance bonds or notes issued for those purposes, to a borrower that has at any time received, or is eligible to receive, a loan under this chapter.

(2) Terms

A bond or note guaranteed under this section shall, by agreement between the Secretary and the borrower—

(A) be for a term of 30 years (or another term of years that the Secretary determines is appropriate); and

(B) be repaid by the borrower—

(i) in periodic installments of principal and interest;

(ii) in periodic installments of interest and, at the end of the term of the bond or note, as applicable, by the repayment of the outstanding principal; or

(iii) through a combination of the methods described in clauses (i) and (ii).

(b) Limitations

(1) Outstanding loans

A lender shall not receive a guarantee under this section for a bond or note if, at the time of the guarantee, the total principal amount of such guaranteed bonds or notes outstanding of the lender would exceed the principal amount of outstanding loans of the lender for eligible purposes described in subsection (a)(1).

(2) Qualifications

The Secretary may deny the request of a lender for the guarantee of a bond or note under this section if the Secretary determines that—

(A) the lender does not have appropriate expertise or experience or is otherwise not qualified to make loans for eligible purposes described in subsection (a)(1);

(B) the bond or note issued by the lender would not be investment grade quality without a guarantee; or

(C) the lender has not provided to the Secretary a list of loan amounts approved by the lender that the lender certifies are for eligible purposes described in subsection (a)(1).

(3) Annual amount

The total amount of guarantees provided by the Secretary under this section during a fiscal year shall not exceed $1,000,000,000, subject to the availability of funds under subsection (e).

(c) Fees

(1) In general

A lender that receives a guarantee issued under this section on a bond or note shall pay a fee to the Secretary.

(2) Amount

(A) In general

The amount of the annual fee paid for the guarantee of a bond or note under this section shall be equal to 30 basis points of the amount of the unpaid principal of the bond or note guaranteed under this section.

(B) Prohibition

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsection (e)(2), no other fees shall be assessed.

(3) Payment

(A) In general

A lender shall pay the fees required under this subsection on a semiannual basis.

(B) Structured schedule

The Secretary shall, with the consent of the lender, structure the schedule for payment of the fee to ensure that sufficient funds are available to pay the subsidy costs for note or bond guarantees as provided for in subsection (e)(2).

(4) Rural economic development subaccount

Subject to subsection (e)(2), fees collected under this subsection shall be—

(A) deposited into the rural economic development subaccount that shall be maintained as required by sections 940c(b)(2) and 940c-2(f) of this title, to remain available until expended; and

(B) used for the purposes described in section 940c(b)(2) of this title.

(d) Guarantees

(1) In general

A guarantee issued under this section shall—

(A) be for the full amount of a bond or note, including the amount of principal, interest, and call premiums;

(B) be fully assignable and transferable; and

(C) represent the full faith and credit of the United States.

(2) Limitation

To ensure that the Secretary has the resources necessary to properly examine the proposed guarantees, the Secretary may limit the number of guarantees issued under this section to 5 per year.

(3) Department opinion

On the timely request of a lender, the General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture shall provide the Secretary with an opinion regarding the validity and authority of a guarantee issued to the lender under this section.

(e) Authorization of appropriations

(1) In general

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.

(2) Fees

To the extent that the amount of funds appropriated for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) are not sufficient to carry out this section, the Secretary may use up to 1/3 of the fees collected under subsection (c) for the cost of providing guarantees of bonds and notes under this section before depositing the remainder of the fees into the rural economic development subaccount required to be maintained by sections 940c(b)(2) and 940c-2(f) of this title.

(f) Termination

The authority provided under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2023.