Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act of 1979 - Establishes a body corporate known as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation with a principal office to be located in the District of Columbia. Provides that the Corporation shall have a capital stock of $5,000,000,000 to be appropriated from the Treasury of the United States. Specifies the membership of the Board of Directors of such Corporation and grants the Corporation the powers necessary to function as such. Authorizes the Corporation, in order to aid in financing agriculture, commerce, and industry, to make loans to any business concern: (1) to enable such concern to finance plant construction, conversion, or expansion, or the acquisition of equipment, facilities, machinery, supplies, or materials; (2) to supply such concern with working capital; or (3) to aid such concern in the payment of current debts or obligations, if such aid is considered by the Board of Directors to be in the public interest. Prohibits the making of a loan to any business concern under this Act unless such concern is otherwise unable to obtain a loan on reasonable terms. Provides that each loan made under this Act may be made for a period not exceeding ten years, and the Corporation may extend the time of payment of any such loan up to 12 years from the date upon which such loan was made originally. States that each such loan shall bear interest at a rate equal to the current average yield (as certified by the Secretary or the Treasury to the Corporation) on all outstanding obligations of the United States as of the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the loan is made. Authorizes the Corporation to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on a loan made to such business concern by a non-Federal lender under the same circumstances in which the business would be eligible for a loan from the Corporation if it was not available on reasonable terms from any other source. Stipulates that loan guarantees shall be for a period not exceeding ten years. Provides that the aggregate of the principal amounts of the loans outstanding at any time with respect to which guarantees have been made shall not exceed $5,000,000,000. Permits the Corporation, with the approval of the President, to subscribe for common or preferred stock in specified business concerns or to purchase capital notes or debentures of such concern and with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury to sell such stock or notes in the open market. Authorizes the Corporation to have outstanding, at any time, obligations in an aggregate amount not exceeding three times its subscribed capital. Provides that such obligations shall be free from taxation. Establishes criminal sanctions for: (1) false statements in the attempt to secure loans under this Act; (2) false statements or fraudulent acts in connection with any obligation incurred by the Corporation under this Act; or (3) willful misapplication of funds by any individual entrusted with such funds under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act. Stipulates that payments, loans, and guarantees under this Act shall be limited to amounts provided in advance by appropriation Acts.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 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 November 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?
JAMIE WHITTEN (D-MS) introduced it on November 15, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 November 15, 1979, 17101 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17101 days ago, on November 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