US LAWS, STATUTES & CODES ON-LINE

[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 7USC947]

 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
         CHAPTER 31--RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND TELEPHONE SERVICE
 
                   SUBCHAPTER IV--RURAL TELEPHONE BANK
 
Sec. 947. Borrowing power; telephone debentures; issuance; 
        interest rates; terms and conditions; ratio to paid-in capital 
        and retained earnings; investments in debentures; debentures as 
        security; purchase and sale of debentures by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury; treatment as public debt transactions of the 
        United States; exclusion of transactions from budget totals
        
    (a) The telephone bank is authorized to obtain funds through the 
public or private sale of its bonds, debentures, notes, and other 
evidences of indebtedness (herein collectively called telephone 
debentures). Telephone debentures shall be issued at such times, bear 
interest at such rates, and contain such other terms and conditions as 
the Telephone Bank Board shall determine: Provided, however, That the 
amount of the telephone debentures which may be outstanding at any one 
time pursuant to this section shall not exceed twenty times the paid-in 
capital and retained earnings of the telephone bank. Telephone 
debentures shall not be exempt, either as to principal or interest, from 
any taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States, by any 
territory, dependency, or possession thereof, or by any State or local 
taxing authority. Telephone debentures shall be lawful investments and 
may be accepted as security for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, 
the investment or deposit of which shall be under the authority and 
control of the United States or any officer or officers thereof.
    (b) The Telephone Bank is also authorized to issue telephone 
debentures to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the 
Treasury may in his discretion purchase any such debentures, and for 
such purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a 
public debt transaction the proceeds of the sale of any securities 
hereafter issued under chapter 31 of title 31, as now or hereafter in 
force, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 
31 of title 31 as now or hereafter in force are extended to include such 
purchases. Each purchase of telephone debentures by the Secretary of the 
Treasury under this subsection shall be upon such terms and conditions 
as to yield a return at a rate not less than a rate determined by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average 
yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of 
comparable maturity. The Secretary of the Treasury may sell, upon such 
terms and conditions and at such price or prices as he shall determine, 
any of the telephone debentures acquired by him under this subsection. 
All purchases and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of such 
debentures under this subsection shall be treated as public debt 
transactions of the United States.
    (c) Purchases and resales by the Secretary of the Treasury as 
authorized in subsection (b) of this section shall not be included in 
the totals of the budget of the United States Government and shall be 
exempt from any general limitation imposed by statute on expenditures 
and net lending (budget outlays) of the United States.

(May 20, 1936, ch. 432, title IV, Sec. 407, as added Pub. L. 92-12, 
Sec. 2, May 7, 1971, 85 Stat. 34; amended Pub. L. 92-324, Sec. 2, June 
30, 1972, 86 Stat. 390; Pub. L. 93-32, Secs. 6, 7, May 11, 1973, 87 
Stat. 70.)

                          Codification

    In subsec. (b), ``chapter 31 of title 31'' substituted for ``the 
Second Liberty Bond Act'' on authority of Pub. L. 97-258, Sec. 4(b), 
Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 
31, Money and Finance.


                               Amendments

    1973--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93-32, Sec. 6, increased from eight times 
the paid-in capital and retained earnings of the telephone bank to 
twenty times the paid-in capital and retained earnings of the telephone 
bank the amount of telephone debentures which may be outstanding at any 
one time and struck out provisions directing the insertion by the 
telephone bank in all its telephone debentures of appropriate language 
indicating that such telephone debentures together with interest thereon 
are not guaranteed by the United States and do not constitute a debt or 
obligation of the United States or of any agency or instrumentality 
thereof other than the telephone bank.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 93-32, Sec. 7, added subsec. (c).
    1972--Pub. L. 92-324 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) 
and added subsec. (b).


                    Effective Date of 1973 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 93-32 effective May 11, 1973, see section 12 of 
Pub. L. 92-32, set out as an Effective Date note under section 930 of 
this title.


                    Effective Date of 1972 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 92-324 effective June 30, 1972, see section 4 
of Pub. L. 92-324, set out as an Effective Date note under section 921b 
of this title.


                             Effective Date

    Section effective May 7, 1971, see section 7 of Pub. L. 92-12, set 
out as a note under section 921a of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 948 of this title.