§50302 Loan Guarantees for Production of Commercial Reusable In-space Transportation

Summary

The Secretary may guarantee loans to eligible U.S. commercial companies to help them build commercial reusable in-space transportation services or systems. The Secretary will set rules to decide who is eligible and must make sure a provider can handle the loan. A guarantee can only be made if the Secretary finds that credit would not be reasonably available otherwise. The Secretary must collect a credit subsidy from each borrower equal to the cost defined in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)). If loan money is paid out over time, the subsidy must be collected pro rata when each disbursement is made. Loans under this program cannot be made junior to other debts or give tax-excluded income or large collateral for tax-excluded obligations. The guarantee will serve as final proof that it was properly obtained, the loan qualifies, and the guarantee is valid unless there was fraud or a major false statement by the loan holder. The Attorney General can enforce U.S. rights under the guarantee and may agree to delay enforcement if all parties agree and it does not cost the United States. If a borrower defaults, the Secretary may take control of the financed physical asset and finish, fix, run, maintain, or sell it. The Secretary may also issue credit instruments whose total cost does not exceed $1,500,000,000, but only if later appropriations provide the needed budget authority; those instruments require a credit subsidy under the Federal Credit Reform Act and are in addition to loan guarantees.