plications for projects thereunder (except that, in the case of the finding required under such clause (4) of entitlement of a project to a priority established under section 603(a), such finding shall be made without regard to the provisions of clauses (1) and (3) of such section),

(3) he finds that there is compliance with section 605(e),

(4) he obtains assurances that the applicant will keep such records, and afford such access thereto, and make such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may reasonably require, and

(5) he also determines, in the case of a loan for which a guarantee is sought, that the terms, conditions, maturity, security (if any), and schedule and amounts of repayments with respect to the loan are sufficient to protect the financial interests of the United States and are otherwise reasonable and in accord with regulations, including a determination that the rate of interest does not exceed such per centum per annum on the principal obligation outstanding as the Secretary determines to be reasonable, taking into account the range of interest rates prevailing in the private market for similar loans and the risks assumed by the United States.

(c) No application under this section shall be disapproved until the Secretary has afforded the State agency an opportunity for a hearing.

(d) Amendment of an approved application shall be subject to approval in the same manner as an original application.

(e)(1) In the case of any loan to a nonprofit private agency, the United States shall be entitled to recover from the applicant the amount of any payments made pursuant to any guarantee of such loan under this part, unless the Secretary for good cause waives its right of recovery, and, upon making any such payment, the United States shall be subrogated to all of the rights of the recipient of the payments with respect to which the guarantee was made.

(2) Guarantees of loans to nonprofit private agencies under this part shall be subject to such further terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary to assure that the purposes of this part will be achieved, and, to the extent permitted by subsection (f), any of such terms and conditions may be modified by the Secretary to the extent he determines it to be consistent with the financial interest of the United States.

(f) Any guarantee of a loan to a nonprofit private agency made by the Secretary pursuant to this part shall be incontestable in the hands of an applicant on whose behalf such guarantee is made, and as to any person who makes or contracts to make a loan to such applicant in reliance thereon, except for fraud or misrepresentation on the part of such applicant or such other person.

PAYMENT OF INTEREST ON GUARANTEED LOAN

SEC. 624. [291j-4] (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), in the case of a guarantee of any loan to a nonprofit private agency under this part with respect to a hospital or other medical facility, the Secretary shall pay, to the holder of such loan and for and on behalf of such hospital or other medical facility amounts sufficient to reduce by 3 per centum per annum the net effective interest

rate otherwise payable on such loan. Each holder of a loan, to a nonprofit private agency, which is guaranteed under this part shall have a contractual right to receive from the United States interest payments required by the preceding sentence.

(b) Contracts to make the payments provided for in this section shall not carry an aggregate amount greater than such amount as may be provided in appropriations Acts.

LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF LOANS GUARANTEED OR DIRECTLY MADE

SEC. 625. [291j-5] The cumulative total of the principal of the loans outstanding at any time with respect to which guarantees have been issued, or which have been directly made, under this part may not exceed the lesser of—

(1) such limitations as may be specified in appropriations Acts, or

(2) in the case of loans covered by allotments for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, $500,000,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, $1,000,000,000; and for each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1973, and June 30, 1974.

LOAN GUARANTEE AND LOAN FUND

SEC. 626. [291j-6] (a)(1) There is hereby established in the Treasury a loan guarantee and loan fund (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "fund") which shall be available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation, in such amounts as may be specified from time to time in appropriations Acts, (i) to enable him to discharge his responsibilities under guarantees issued by him under this part, (ii) for payment of interest on the loans to nonprofit agencies which are guaranteed, (iii) for direct loans to public agencies which are sold and guaranteed, (iv) for payment of interest with respect to such loans, and (v) for repurchase by him of direct loans to public agencies which have been sold and guaranteed. There are authorized to be appropriated to the fund from time to time such amounts as may be necessary to provide capital required for the fund. To the extent authorized from time to time in appropriation Acts, there shall be deposited in the fund amounts received by the Secretary as interest payments or repayments of principal on loans and any other moneys, property, or assets derived by him from his operations under this part, including any moneys derived from the sale of assets.

(2) Of the moneys in the fund, there shall be available to the Secretary for the purpose of making of direct loans to public agencies only such sums as shall have been appropriated for such purpose pursuant to section 627 or sums received by the Secretary from the sale of such loans (in accordance with such section) and authorized in appropriations Acts to be used for such purpose.

(b) If at any time the moneys in the fund are insufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge his responsibilities under this part

(i) to make payments of interest on loans to nonprofit private agencies which he has guaranteed under this part;

(ii) to otherwise comply with guarantees under this part of loans to nonprofit private agencies;

(iii) to make payments of interest subsidies with respect to loans to public agencies which he has made, sold, and guaranteed under this part;

(iv) in the event of default by public agencies to make payments of principal and interest on loans which the Secretary has made, sold, and guaranteed, under this part, to make such payments to the purchaser of such loan;

(v) to repurchase loans to public agencies which have been sold and guaranteed under this part,

he is authorized to issue to the Secretary of the Treasury notes or other obligations in such forms and denominations, bearing such maturities, and subject to such terms and conditions, as may be prescribed by the Secretary with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, but only in such amounts as may be specified from time to time in appropriations Acts. Such notes or other obligations shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities during the month preceding the issuance of the notes or other obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase any notes and other obligations issued hereunder and for that purpose he is authorized to use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under that Act, as amended, are extended to include any purchase of such notes and obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury may at any time sell any of the notes or other obligations acquired by him under this subsection. All redemptions, purchases, and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of such notes or other obligations shall be treated as public debt transactions of the United States. Sums borrowed under this subsection shall be deposited in the fund and redemption of such notes and obligations shall be made by the Secretary from such fund.

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO LOANS TO PUBLIC FACILITIES

SEC. 627. [291j-7] (a)(1) Any loan made by the Secretary to a public agency under this part for the modernization or construction of a public hospital or other health facility shall require such public agency to pay interest thereon at a rate comparable to the current rate of interest prevailing with respect to loans, to nonprofit private agencies, which are guaranteed under this part, for the modernization or construction of similar facilities in the same or similar areas, minus 3 per centum per annum.

(2)(A) No loan to a public agency shall be made under this part unless

(i) the Secretary is reasonably satisfied that such agency will be able to make payments of principal and interest thereon when due, and

(ii) such agency provides the Secretary with reasonable assurances that there will be available to such agency such additional funds as may be necessary to complete the project with respect to which such loan is requested.

(B) Any loan to a public agency shall have such security, have such maturity date, be repayable in such installments, and be subject to such other terms and conditions (including provision for recovery in case of default) as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of this part while adequately protecting the financial interests of the United States.

(3) In making loans to public agencies under this part, the Secretary shall give due regard to achieving an equitable geographical distribution of such loans.

(b)(1) The Secretary shall from time to time, but with due regard to the financial interests of the United States, sell loans referred to in subsection (a)(1) either on the private market or to the Federal National Mortgage Association in accordance with section 302 of the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act.

(2) Any loan so sold shall be sold for an amount which is equal (or approximately equal) to the amount of the unpaid principal of such loan as of the time of sale.

(c)(1) The Secretary is authorized to enter into an agreement with the purchaser of any loan sold under this part under which the Secretary agrees

(A) to guarantee to such purchaser (and any successor in interest to such purchaser) payments of the principal and interest payable under such loan, and

(B) to pay as an interest subsidy to such purchaser (and any successor in interest of such purchaser) amounts which when added to the amount of interest payable on such loan, are equivalent to a reasonable rate of interest on such loan as determined by the Secretary, after taking into account the range of prevailing interest rates in the private market on similar loans and the risks assumed by the United States. (2) Any such agreement

(A) may provide that the Secretary shall act as agent of any such purchaser, for the purpose of collecting from the public agency to which such loan was made and paying over to such purchaser, any payments of principal and interest payable by such agency under such loan;

(B) may provide for the repurchase by the Secretary of any such loan on such terms and conditions as may be specified in the agreement;

(C) shall provide that, in the event of any default by the public agency to which such loan was made in payment of principal and interest due on such loan, the Secretary shall, upon notification to the purchaser (or to the successor in interest of such purchaser), have the option to close out such loan (and any obligations of the Secretary with respect thereto) by paying to the purchaser (or his successor in interest) the total amount of outstanding principal and interest due thereon at the time of such notification; and

(D) shall provide that, in the event such loan is closed out as provided in subparagraph (C), or in the event of any other loss incurred by the Secretary by reason of the failure of such public agency to make payments of principal and interest on such loan, the Secretary shall be subrogated to all rights of such purchaser for recovery of such loss from such public agency.

(d) The Secretary may, for good cause, waive any right of recovery which he has against a public agency by reason of the failure of such agency to make payments of principal and interest on a loan made to such agency under this part.

(e) After any loan to a public agency under this part has been sold and guaranteed, interest paid on such loan and any interest subsidy paid by the Secretary with respect to such loan which is received by the purchaser thereof (or his successor in interest) shall be included in gross income for the purposes of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

(f) Amounts received by the Secretary as proceeds from the sale of loans under this section shall be deposited in the loan fund established by section 626, and shall be available to the Secretary for the making of further loans under this part in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a)(2) of such section.

(g) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, for deposit in the loan fund established by section 626, $30,000,000 to provide initial capital for the making of direct loans by the Secretary to public agencies for the modernization or construction of facilities referred to in subsection (a)(1).

PART C-CONSTRUCTION OR MODERNIZATION OF EMERGENCY ROOMS

AUTHORIZATION

SEC. 631. [291j-8] In order to assist in the provision of adequate emergency room service in various communities of the Nation for treatment of accident victims and handling of other medical emergencies through special project grants for the construction or modernization of emergency rooms of general hospitals, there are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 each for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, and the next two fiscal years.

ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS

SEC. 632. [291j-9] Funds appropriated pursuant to section 631 shall be available for grants by the Secretary for not to exceed 50 per centum of the cost of construction or modernization of emergency rooms of public or nonprofit general hospitals, including provision or replacement of medical transportation facilities. Such grants shall be made by the Secretary only after consultation with the State agency designated in accordance with section 604(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act. In order to be eligible for a grant under this part, the project, and the applicant therefor, must meet such criteria as may be prescribed by regulations. Such regulations shall be so designed as to provide aid only with respect to projects for which adequate assistance is not readily available from other Federal, State, local, or other sources, and to assist in providing modern, efficient, and effective emergency room service needed to care for victims of highway, industrial, agricultural, or other accidents and to handle other medical emergencies, and to assist in providing such service in geographical areas which have special need therefor.