Title 7 › CHAPTER 50 — AGRICULTURAL CREDIT › SUBCHAPTER IV — ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › § 2008h
The Secretary must not give a direct operating loan to anyone who is behind on any loan made or guaranteed under this program. The Secretary also must not make a loan to a borrower who has ever received debt forgiveness on a loan from this program. The Secretary may not guarantee a loan to a borrower who got debt forgiveness after April 4, 1996, or who got debt forgiveness more than 3 times on or before April 4, 1996. There are a few exceptions. The Secretary may make a direct or guaranteed operating loan to someone who was restructured with a write-down under section 2001, who is current on payments under a confirmed bankruptcy reorganization plan (chapters 11, 12, or 13), or who got debt forgiveness once because of a major disaster declared on or after April 4, 1996. Emergency loans under section 1961 can be made to borrowers who had no more than one forgiveness on or before April 4, 1996 and none after that date. A borrower restructured under section 2001 is not treated as having received debt forgiveness. Finally, the Secretary may not give debt forgiveness on a direct loan to a borrower who already had debt forgiveness on another direct loan.
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Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 2008h
Title 7, Agriculture
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110