FORECLOSURE.

SEC. 14002. FORECLOSURE.(a) In General.—Section 331A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981a) is amended:(1) by inserting “(a)” after “Sec. 331A.”; and(2) by adding at the end the following:“(b) Moratorium.—“(1) In general.—Subject to the other provisions of this subsection, effective beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection, there shall be in effect a moratorium, with respect to farmer program loans made under subtitle A, B, or C, on all acceleration and foreclosure proceedings instituted by the Department of Agriculture against any farmer or rancher who—“(A) has pending against the Department a claim of program discrimination that is accepted by the Department as valid; or“(B) files a claim of program discrimination that is accepted by the Department as valid.“(2) Waiver of interest and offsets.—During the period of the moratorium, the Secretary shall waive the accrual of interest and offsets on all farmer program loans made under subtitle A, B, or C for which loan acceleration or foreclosure proceedings have been suspended under paragraph (1).“(3) Termination of moratorium.—The moratorium shall terminate with respect to a claim of discrimination by a farmer or rancher on the earlier of—“(A) the date the Secretary resolves the claim; or“(B) if the farmer or rancher appeals the decision of the Secretary on the claim to a court of competent jurisdiction, the date that the court renders a final decision on the claim.122 STAT. 1443“(4) Failure to prevail.—If a farmer or rancher does not prevail on a claim of discrimination described in paragraph (1), the farmer or rancher shall be liable for any interest and offsets that accrued during the period that loan acceleration or foreclosure proceedings have been suspended under paragraph (1).”.(b) Foreclosure Report.—(1) In general.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the “Inspector General”) shall determine whether decisions of the Department to implement foreclosure proceedings with respect to farmer program loans made under subtitle A, B, or C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922 et seq.) to socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers during the 5-year period preceding the date of the enactment of this Act were consistent and in conformity with the applicable laws (including regulations) governing loan foreclosures.(2) Report.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the determination of the Inspector General under paragraph (1).