§ 927. — General duties and prohibitions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC927]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 31--RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND TELEPHONE SERVICE
SUBCHAPTER II--RURAL TELEPHONE SERVICE
Sec. 927. General duties and prohibitions
(a) Duties
The Secretary and the Governor of the telephone bank shall--
(1) 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;
(2) 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;
(3) annually determine and publish the average described in
paragraph (2)(B); and
(4) make loans for all purposes for which telephone loans are
authorized under section 922 or 948 of this title, to the extent of
qualifying applications therefor.
(b) Prohibitions
The Secretary and the Governor of the telephone bank shall not--
(1) rescind an insured telephone loan, or a Rural Telephone Bank
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, the
Rural Telephone Bank, 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.
(May 20, 1936, ch. 432, title II, Sec. 206, as added Pub. L. 101-624,
title XXIII, Sec. 2357, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4040; amended Pub. L.
103-354, title II, Sec. 235(a)(7), (13), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3221.)
Amendments
1994--Pub. L. 103-354 substituted ``Secretary'' for
``Administrator'' in subsecs. (a) and (b) and ``Secretary'' for ``Rural
Electrification Administration'' in subsec. (b)(2).
