obligation guarantees

obligation guarantees Sec. 215. (a) Section 511 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831) is amended by striking out subsection (c) thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following new subsection: “(c) Full Faith and Credit.—All guarantees entered into by the Secretary under this section shall constitute general obligations of the United States of America backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”. (b) Section 511(h) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831(h)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1) thereof, by inserting “(A)” immediately after “secured”, and by inserting immediately before the semi-colon the following “, or (B) in the case of the rehabilitation or improvement of leased equipment, by the lease”; and (2) by amending paragraph (5) thereof to read as follows— “(5) ) the prospective earning power of the applicant, or the value or prospective earning power of any equipment or facilities to be improved, rehabilitated, or acquired (or any combination of the foregoing), together with any other security offered by the applicant, is sufficient to provide the United States with reasonable security and protection, except, that if the value or prospective earning power of such equipment or facilities is equal to or 90 STAT. 2626greater than the amount of the obligation to be guaranteed, the Secretary may not, on the basis of the lack of prospective earning power of the applicant, find that the United States will not be provided with the reasonable security and protection referred to in this paragraph; and”. (c) Section 511 (j) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831 (j)) is amended to read as follows: “(j) Conditions of Guarantees.—(1) The Secretary shall, before making, approving, or extending any guarantee or commitment to guarantee any obligation under this section, require the obligor to agree to such terms and conditions as are sufficient, in the judgment of the Secretary, to assure that, as long as any principal or interest is due and payable on such obligation, such obligor— “(A) will not make any discretionary dividend payments, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection; and “(B) will not use any funds or assets from railroad operations for nonrail purposes, if such payments or use will impair the ability of such obligor to provide rail services in an efficient and economic manner or will adversely effect the ability of such obligor to perform any obligation guaranteed by the Secretary. “(2) An obligor shall not lie restricted with respect, to making dividend payments from its net income for any fiscal year, if such payments do not-exceed— “(A) when compared to the net income of such obligor for such fiscal year, the ratio which aggiegate dividends paid by such obligor, during the 5 fiscal years prior to the granting of the earliest loan guarantee then outstanding under this section, bote to aggregate net income of such obligor for such period; or “(B) 50 per centum of the total additions to the retained income of such obligor (computed on a cumulative basis and giving cognizance to dividends paid) during the period commencing with the fiscal year prior to the granting of the earliest loan guarantee then outstanding under this section, whichever is greater. “(3) The restrictions set forth in paragraphs (1) of this subsection shall not apply with respect to an obligation guaranteed under this section if, in the event of a default by the obligor, the Secretary would be subrogated to the rights of the lender under section 77 (j) of the Bankruptcy Act.”. (d) Section 511 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831) is amended by striking out sub-section (g) thereof and redesignating subsections (h) through (n) thereof as subsections (g) through (m), respectively.