7 U.S.C. § 6944 — Rural Business and Cooperative Develop-

Page 1938 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6944 1 See References in Text note below. 1 See References in Text note below. Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of Title 42 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 104–127 redesignated par. (3) as (2), substituted ‘‘section 2008d of this title’’ for ‘‘sections 2008 through 2008d of this title’’, and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘Pro- grams and activities authorized under section 1932(i) of this title and related provisions of law.’’ § 6944. Rural Business and Cooperative Develop- ment Service (a) Establishment authorized Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to establish and maintain within the Department the Rural Busi- ness and Cooperative Development Service and to assign to the Service such functions as the Secretary considers appropriate. (b) Functions If the Secretary establishes the Rural Busi- ness and Cooperative Development Service under subsection (a), the Secretary is authorized to assign to the Service jurisdiction over the fol- lowing: (1) Section 313 and title V of the Rural Elec- trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940c and 950aa et seq.). (2) Subtitle G 1 of title XVI of the Food, Ag- riculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. (3) Sections 306(a)(1) and 310B of the Consoli- dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(1) and 1932). (4) Section 1323 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 7 U.S.C. 1932 note). (5) The Act of July 2, 1926 (44 Stat. 802, chap- ter 725; 7 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 234, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3220.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), is act May 20, 1936, ch. 432, 49 Stat. 1363. Title V of the Act is classified generally to subchapter V (§ 950aa et seq.) of chapter 31 of this title. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 901 of this title and Tables. The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is Pub. L. 101–624, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3359, as amended. Subtitle G of title XVI of the Act, known as the Alternative Agricul- tural Research and Commercialization Act of 1990, was classified generally to subchapter VI (§ 5901 et seq.) of chapter 88 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 107–171, title VI, § 6201(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 418. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1990 Amendments note set out under sec- tion 1421 of this title and Tables. Act of July 2, 1926, referred to in subsec. (b)(5), is act July 2, 1926, ch. 725, 44 Stat. 802, which is classified gen- erally to chapter 18 (§ 451 et seq.) of this title. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. § 6945. Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund (a) Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund On and after September 30, 2008, there is estab- lished in the Treasury a fund entitled the ‘‘Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund’’. (b) Purpose and availability of Fund Subject to subsection (d), amounts in the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund shall be available to the Secretary of Agri- culture, until expended, to provide additional amounts, in the form of loans, grants, loan guar- antees, or cooperative agreements, for any au- thorized activity of agencies of the Rural Devel- opment Mission Area in areas affected by a dis- aster declared by the President, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Governor of a State or Terri- tory. The cost of such direct and guaranteed loans, including the cost of modifying loans, shall be as defined in section 661a of title 2. Amounts so provided shall be in addition to any other amounts available to carry out the activ- ity, but shall not be limited to the original form of assistance, if any. In carrying out this sec- tion, the Secretary may transfer funds into ex- isting or new accounts as determined by the Secretary. (c) Waiver of activity or project limitations For any activity or project for which amounts in the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund will be obligated under subsection (b)— (1) the Secretary of Agriculture may waive any limits on population, income, age, and du- plication with respect to replacement of dam- aged or destroyed utilities, or cost-sharing otherwise applicable, except that, if the amounts proposed to be obligated in connec- tion with the disaster would exceed the amount specified in subsection (h), the notifi- cation required by that subsection shall in- clude information and justification with re- gard to any waivers to be granted under this subsection; (2) the Secretary of Agriculture may use al- ternative sources of income data provided by local, regional, State, or Federal government sources to determine program eligibility; and (3) with respect to grants authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19),1 the Secretary of Agri- culture shall not require the applicant to dem- onstrate that it is unable to finance the pro- posed project from its own resources, or through commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms, or other funding sources without grant assistance. (d) Treatment of certain amounts in Fund Amounts appropriated directly to the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund by this Act or any subsequent Act for a specific purpose shall be available only for that purpose until such time as the transfer authority provided by subsection (f) takes effect with regard to the amounts. Only subsection (c), including the no- tification requirements of such subsection, and subsections (g) and (i) apply to amounts de- scribed in this subsection. (e) Transfer of prior appropriations to Fund The Secretary of Agriculture may transfer to the Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund, and merge with other amounts generally appropriated to the Fund, the available unobli- gated balance of any amounts that were appro- priated before September 30, 2008, for programs