25 U.S.C. § 1497 — Indian Loan Guaranty and Insurance

Page 235 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 1497 refuse to pay a valid guaranty or insurance claim on loans previously made in good faith. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 213, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 81.) § 1494. Evidence of eligibility of loan for and amount of guaranty or insurance; defenses and partial defenses against original lender Any evidence of guaranty or insurance issued by the Secretary shall be conclusive evidence of the eligibility of the loan for guaranty or insur- ance under the provisions of this chapter and the amount of such guaranty or insurance: Pro- vided, That nothing in this section shall pre- clude the Secretary from establishing, as against the original lender, defenses based on fraud or material misrepresentation or bar him from establishing, by regulations in force at the date of such issuance or disbursement, which- ever is the earlier, partial defenses to the amount payable on the guaranty or insurance. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 214, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 81.) § 1495. Land and personal property titles Title to any land purchased by a tribe or by an individual Indian with loans guaranteed or in- sured pursuant to this subchapter may be taken in trust, unless the land is located outside the boundaries of a reservation or a tribal consolida- tion area approved by the Secretary. Title to any land purchased by a tribe or an individual Indian which is outside the boundaries of the reservation or approved consolidation area may be taken in trust if the purchaser was the owner of trust or restricted interests in the land before the purchase, otherwise title shall be taken in the name of the purchaser without any restric- tion on alienation, control, or use. Title to any personal property purchased with loans guaran- teed or insured hereunder shall be taken in the name of the purchaser. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 215, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 81.) § 1496. Powers of Secretary; finality of financial transactions and property acquisitions, man- agement, and dispositions The financial transactions of the Secretary in- cident to or arising out of the guarantee or in- surance of loans and surety bonds, and the ac- quisition, management, and disposition of prop- erty, real, personal, or mixed, incident to such activities, shall be final and conclusive upon all officers of the Government. With respect to mat- ters arising out of the guaranty or insurance program authorized by this subchapter, and not- withstanding the provisions of any other laws, the Secretary may— (a) sue and be sued in his official capacity in any court of competent jurisdiction; (b) subject to the specific limitations in this subchapter, consent to the modification, with respect to the rate of interest, time of pay- ment on principal or interest or any portion thereof, security, or any other provisions of any note, contract, mortgage, or other instru- ment securing a loan or surety bond which has been guaranteed or insured hereunder; (c) subject to the specific limitations in this subchapter, pay, or compromise, any claim on, or arising because of any loan or surety bond guaranty or insurance; (d) subject to the specific limitations in this subchapter, pay, compromise, waive, or re- lease any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including, but not limited to, any equity or right of redemption; (e) purchase at any sale, public or private, upon such terms and for such prices as he de- termines to be reasonable, and take title to property, real, personal, or mixed; and simi- larly sell, at public or private sale, exchange, assign, convey, or otherwise dispose of such property; and (f) complete, administer, operate, obtain, and pay for insurance on, and maintain, ren- ovate, repair, modernize, lease, or otherwise deal with any property acquired or held pursu- ant to the guaranty or insurance program au- thorized by this subchapter. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 216, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 81; Pub. L. 100–442, § 5(c), Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1764.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–442 inserted ‘‘and surety bonds’’ after ‘‘of loans’’ in introductory text, ‘‘or surety’’ after ‘‘a loan’’ in par. (b), and ‘‘or surety’’ after ‘‘any loan’’ in par. (c). § 1497. Indian Loan Guaranty and Insurance Fund (a) Establishment of revolving fund There is hereby created an Indian Loan Guar- anty and Insurance Fund (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘fund’’) which shall be available to the Secretary as a revolving fund without fiscal year limitation for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter. (b) Aggregate loans or surety bonds limitation The Secretary may use the fund for the pur- pose of fulfilling the obligations with respect to loans or surety bonds guaranteed or insured under this subchapter, but the aggregate of such loans or surety bonds which are insured or guar- anteed by the Secretary shall be limited to $1,500,000,000. (c) Assets, liabilities, and obligations of fund; loan and surety bond servicing and pur- chasing agreements: terms and conditions All funds, claims, notes, mortgages, contracts, and property acquired by the Secretary under this section, and all collections and proceeds therefrom, shall constitute assets of the fund; and all liabilities and obligations of such assets shall be liabilities and obligations of the fund. The Secretary is authorized to make agreements with respect to servicing loans or surety bonds held, guaranteed, or insured by him under this subchapter and purchasing such guaranteed or insured loans or surety bonds on such terms and conditions as he may prescribe. (d) Utilization of fund for diverse payments The Secretary may also utilize the fund to pay taxes, insurance, prior liens, expenses necessary Page 236 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 1497a to make fiscal adjustments in connection with the application and transmittal of collections, and other expenses and advances to protect the Secretary for loans or surety bonds which are guaranteed or insured under this subchapter or held by the Secretary, to acquire such security property at foreclosure sale or otherwise, and to pay administrative expenses. (e) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 1985 such sums as may be necessary to fulfill obliga- tions with respect to losses on loans or surety bonds guaranteed or insured under this sub- chapter. All collections and all moneys appro- priated pursuant to the authority of this sub- section shall remain available until expended. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 217, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 82; Pub. L. 98–449, § 7, Oct. 4, 1984, 98 Stat. 1725; Pub. L. 100–442, §§ 3, 4(a), (b), 5(d), Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1763, 1764; Pub. L. 105–362, title VIII, § 801(b), Nov. 10, 1998, 112 Stat. 3287; Pub. L. 109–221, title IV, § 401(d), May 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 343.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2006—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–221 substituted ‘‘$1,500,000,000’’ for ‘‘$500,000,000’’. 1998—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105–362 struck out subsec. (f) which read as follows: ‘‘If the Secretary determines that the amount in the fund is not sufficient to main- tain an adequate level of reserves necessary to meet the responsibilities of the fund in connection with losses on loans or surety bonds guaranteed or insured under this subchapter, the Secretary shall promptly submit a report notifying Congress of the deficiencies in the fund.’’ 1988—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–442, §§ 3, 5(d), inserted ‘‘or surety bonds’’ after ‘‘loans’’ in two places and sub- stituted ‘‘$500,000,000’’ for ‘‘$200,000,000’’. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 100–442, § 5(d), inserted ‘‘or surety bonds’’ after ‘‘loans’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–442, §§ 4(a), 5(d), inserted ‘‘or surety bonds’’ after ‘‘loans’’ and substituted ‘‘All col- lections and all moneys appropriated pursuant to the authority of this subsection shall remain available’’ for ‘‘All collections shall remain’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–442, § 4(b), added subsec. (f). 1984—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98–449 added subsec. (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries LIMITATION ON NEW CREDIT AUTHORITY Pub. L. 100–442, § 4(c), Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1763, pro- vided that: ‘‘Any new credit authority (as defined in section 3 of the Congressional Budget and Impound- ment Control Act of 1974 [2 U.S.C. 622]) which is pro- vided by amendments made by this Act [enacting sec- tions 1497a, 1499, and 1544 of this title and amending this section and sections 1452, 1484, 1485, 1496, and 1498 of this title] shall be effective only to such extent and in such amounts as may be approved in advance in ap- propriation Acts.’’ § 1497a. Supplemental surety bond guarantee (a) Amount; eligibility The Secretary is authorized to provide a sup- plemental surety bond guarantee, not to exceed 20 percent of any loss, for any Indian individual or economic enterprise eligible for a surety guarantee under section 694b of title 15, so that the aggregate of the two guarantees is 100 per- cent. (b) Conditions The Secretary may provide a supplemental guarantee under this section only if the Sec- retary determines that— (1) the Indian individual or economic enter- prise has secured or will likely secure a surety bond guarantee under section 694b of title 15; (2) the supplemental guarantee is necessary for the Indian individual or economic enter- prise to secure a surety bond; (3) no more than 25 percent of the surety’s business is comprised of bonds guaranteed pur- suant to this section; and (4) the surety will provide appropriate tech- nical assistance and advice to, and monitor the performance of, the Indian individual or economic enterprise for the prevention or mitigation of a loss. (c) Fees and charges The rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary to carry out this section shall include the setting of reasonable fees to be paid by the Indian individual or economic enterprise and reasonable premium charges to be paid by sure- ties. In setting fees and charges, the Secretary may take into consideration the cost to the sur- ety of providing the services required by para- graph (4) of subsection (b). The receipts from the fees and charges shall be deposited in the Fund established by section 1497(a) of this title. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 218, as added Pub. L. 100–442, § 5(a), Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1764.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 218 of Pub. L. 93–262 was renumbered section 219 by Pub. L. 100–442 and is classified to section 1498 of this title. § 1498. Rules and regulations The Secretary shall promulgate rules and reg- ulations to carry out the provisions of this sub- chapter. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 219, formerly § 218, Apr. 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 82; renumbered § 219, Pub. L. 100–442, § 5(a), Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1764.) § 1499. Limitation on guarantee of debt issues; approval of bond issue sale (a) The Secretary may guarantee not to ex- ceed 90 percent of the unpaid principal and in- terest due on an issue of bonds, debentures, or similar obligations issued by an organization satisfactory to the Secretary. Such an issue shall be deemed a loan for purposes of sections 1482, 1483, 1484, 1485, 1486, 1489, 1490, 1491, 1493, 1494, 1495, 1496, and 1497 of this title. (b) The method by which an issue of bonds guaranteed under this section may be sold shall be subject to approval by the Secretary. (Pub. L. 93–262, title II, § 220, as added Pub. L. 100–442, § 6, Sept. 22, 1988, 102 Stat. 1764.)