Title 7AgricultureRelease 119-73

§927 General duties and prohibitions

Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 31— - RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND TELEPHONE SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - RURAL TELEPHONE SERVICE › § 927

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must use depreciation rates approved by the phone regulator when checking if a phone loan will work for items that have those approvals. For other items, the Secretary must use the average depreciation rate used by borrowers of telephone loans under this chapter, and must calculate and publish that average every year. The Secretary must make loans for any purpose allowed under section 922 when applications meet the rules. The Secretary cannot cancel an insured telephone loan without the borrower’s consent unless all chapter-funded purposes for that borrower are finished. The Secretary may not control the order of loan advances for borrowers who got loans from the Secretary or the Federal Financing Bank. The Secretary also may not deny or punish an applicant or borrower based on a rule or written policy that has not been published as required under section 553 of title 5.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §927

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall—
(1)in evaluating the feasibility of a telephone loan to be made to a borrower for telephone services, use—
(A)with respect to items for which the regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the provision of such services has approved the depreciation rates used by the borrower, such approved rates; and
(B)with respect to other items, the average of the depreciation rates used by borrowers of telephone loans made under this chapter;
(2)annually determine and publish the average described in paragraph (2)(B); and
(3)make loans for all purposes for which telephone loans are authorized under section 922 of this title, to the extent of qualifying applications therefor.
(b)The Secretary shall not—
(1)rescind an insured telephone loan made under this chapter without the consent of the borrower, unless all of the purposes for which telephone loans have been made to the borrower under this chapter have been accomplished with funds provided under this chapter;
(2)regulate the order or sequence of advances of funds under telephone loans made under this chapter to any borrower who has received any combination of telephone loans from the Secretary or the Federal Financing Bank; or
(3)deny a loan or advance to, or take any other adverse action against, an applicant for, or a borrower of, a telephone loan under this chapter for any reason that is not based on a rule, regulation, bulletin, or other written policy standard that has not been published pursuant to section 553 of title 5.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334, § 6602(b)(4)(A), struck out “and the Governor of the telephone bank” after “The Secretary” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(1), (2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 602(b)(4)(B), (D), redesignated pars. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2), respectively, and struck out par. (1) which read as follows: “notwithstanding section 553(a)(2) of title 5, cause to be published in the Federal Register, in accordance with subsections (b) through (e) of section 553 of such title, all rules,

Regulations

, bulletins, and other written policy standards governing the operations of the telephone loan and loan guarantee programs administered under this chapter other than those relating to agency management and personnel;”. Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 6602(b)(4)(C), (D), redesignated par. (4) as (3) and struck out “or 948” after “section 922”. Former par. (3) redesignated (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–334, § 6602(b)(5)(A), struck out “and the Governor of the telephone bank” after “The Secretary” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 6602(b)(5)(B), struck out “, or a Rural Telephone Bank loan,” after “an insured telephone loan”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 6602(b)(5)(C), struck out “, the Rural Telephone Bank,” after “from the Secretary”. 1994—Pub. L. 103–354 substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” in subsecs. (a) and (b) and “Secretary” for “Rural Electrification Administration” in subsec. (b)(2).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 927

Title 7Agriculture

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73