Development Financing Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
Development Financing Act of 1979 - States that the purposes of this Act are to generate and retain private sector employment opportunities in distressed areas through guaranteed loans, direct loans, and interest subsidies, in order to encourage and enable businesses to remain, locate, or expand in such areas, and to provide liquidity to financial institutions through guarantees of long-term loans to such businesses. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) make direct loans to finance projects in designated areas for up to 65 percent of project costs; (2) guarantee 100 percent of up to 90 percent of the principal amount of, and interest payments on, loans made to finance eligible projects; and (3) contract to pay interest subsidies for a period not to exceed ten years in connection with guaranteed loans. Stipulates that such assistance must be related to industrial or commercial purposes which will generate or retain private sector employment. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for the selection of projects for assistance. Sets forth factors to be considered by the Secretary in deciding among applicants and conditions of assistance including, but not limited to, assurances of repayment and the term of the loan or guarantee or the expected life of the asset financed. Establishes dollar amount limitations on guaranteed and direct loans, and on the size of firms to be assisted. Prohibits more than 30 percent of the aggregate principal amount of loans which may be made or guaranteed in any fiscal year to be used to provide working capital. Stipulates that loan guarantees and interest subsidy agreements shall be incontestable. Permits the Secretary to subordinate up to 20 percent of the Federal financial assistance extended under this Act to other loans made in connection with an eligible project. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into arrangements for the servicing of direct and guaranteed loans. Requires the Secretary to keep confidential trade secrets received in connection with applications for loans. Authorizes appropriations for loan guarantees and specific development financing programs for fiscal year 1980. Terminates the authority to make loans or guarantees or to enter into contracts to provide interest subsidies under this Act on September 30, 1980.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 15, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 15, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM MOORHEAD (D-PA) introduced it on May 15, 1979, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 15, 1979, 17285 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17285 days ago, on May 15, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers