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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 42USC1480]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
       CHAPTER 8A--SLUM CLEARANCE, URBAN RENEWAL, AND FARM HOUSING
 
                      SUBCHAPTER III--FARM HOUSING
 
Sec. 1480. Administrative powers of Secretary

    In carrying out the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary 
shall have the power to--

                  (a) Service and supply contracts

        make contracts for services and supplies without regard to the 
    provisions of section 5 of title 41, when the aggregate amount 
    involved is less than $300;

        (b) Subordination, subrogation, and other agreements

        enter into subordination, subrogation, or other agreements 
    satisfactory to the Secretary;

              (c) Compromise of claims and obligations

        compromise, adjust, reduce, or charge-off claims, and adjust, 
    modify, subordinate, or release the terms of security instruments, 
    leases, contracts, and agreements entered into or administered by 
    the Secretary under this subchapter, as circumstances may require, 
    including the release of borrowers or others obligated on a debt 
    from personal liability with or without payment of any consideration 
    at the time of the compromise, adjustment, reduction, or charge-off 
    of any claim;

              (d) Collection of claims and obligations

        collect all claims and obligations arising out of or under any 
    mortgage, lease, contract, or agreement entered into pursuant to 
    this subchapter and, if in his judgment necessary and advisable, to 
    pursue the same to final collection in any court having 
    jurisdiction: Provided, That the prosecution and defense of all 
    litigation under this subchapter shall be conducted under the 
    supervision of the Attorney General and the legal representation 
    shall be by the United States attorneys for the districts, 
    respectively, in which such litigation may arise and by such other 
    attorney or attorneys as may, under law, be designated by the 
    Attorney General; except that--
            (1) prosecution and defense of any litigation under section 
        1472 of this title shall be conducted, at the discretion of the 
        Secretary, by--
                (A) the United States attorneys for the districts in 
            which the litigation arises and any other attorney that the 
            Attorney General may designate under law, under the 
            supervision of the Attorney General;
                (B) the General Counsel of the Department of 
            Agriculture; or
                (C) any other attorney with whom the Secretary enters 
            into a contract after a determination by the Secretary 
            that--
                    (i) the attorney will provide competent and cost-
                effective representation for the Farmers Home 
                Administration; and
                    (ii) representation by the attorney will either (I) 
                accelerate the process by which a family or person 
                eligible for assistance under section 1472 of this title 
                will be able to purchase and occupy the housing 
                involved; or (II) preserve the quality of the housing 
                involved; and

            (2) the Secretary shall annually submit to the Congress a 
        report describing activities carried out under paragraph (1)(C), 
        including the cost of entering into contracts with such 
        attorneys and the savings resulting from expedited foreclosure 
        proceedings;

    (e) Purchase of pledged or mortgaged property at foreclosure 
             or other sales; operation, sale or disposition of 
                                said property

        bid for and purchase at any foreclosure or other sale or 
    otherwise to acquire the property pledged or mortgaged to secure a 
    loan or other indebtedness owing under this subchapter, to accept 
    title to any property so purchased or acquired, to operate or lease 
    such property for such period as may be necessary or advisable, to 
    protect the interest of the United States therein, to repair and 
    rehabilitate such property, and to sell or otherwise dispose of the 
    property so purchased or acquired by such terms and for such 
    considerations as the Secretary shall determine to be reasonable and 
    to make loans as provided herein to provide adequate farm dwellings 
    and buildings for the purchasers of such property; except that the 
    Secretary may not sell or otherwise dispose of such property unless 
    (1) the Secretary assures that such property will meet decent, safe, 
    and sanitary standards, including cost-effective energy conservation 
    standards prescribed under section 1479(a) of this title, (2) the 
    recipient of the property is obligated, as a condition of the sale 
    or other disposition of the property, to meet such standards with 
    respect to the property before such property is occupied, or (3) 
    such recipient is precluded, as a condition of the sale or other 
    disposition of the property, from using the property for residential 
    purposes and the authority of the Secretary under this paragraph 
    includes the authority to transfer section 1472 inventory properties 
    for use as rental or cooperative units under section 1485 of this 
    title with mortgages containing repayment terms with up to fifty 
    years, or for use as rental units under section 1484 of this title 
    with mortgages containing repayment terms with up to 33 years, to 
    private nonprofit organizations, public bodies, or for-profit 
    entities, which have good records of providing low income housing 
    under section 1485 of this title; such a transfer may be made even 
    where rental assistance may be required so long as the authority to 
    provide such assistance is available after taking into account the 
    requirements of section 1490a(d)(1) of this title; where the 
    Secretary determines the transfer will contribute to the provision 
    of housing for very low-income persons and families, the transfer 
    may be made at the lesser of the appraised value or the Farmers Home 
    Administration's investment;

          (f) Processing of applications received prior to 
                determination of nonrural status; assistance

        continue processing as expeditiously as possible applications on 
    hand received prior to the time an area has been determined by the 
    Secretary not to be ``rural'' or a ``rural area'', as those terms 
    are defined in section 1490 of this title, and make loans or grants 
    to such applicants who are found to be eligible on the same basis as 
    though the area were still rural;

     (g) Rules and regulations for written notice of denial or 
                           reduction of assistance

        issue rules and regulations which assure that applicants denied 
    assistance under this subchapter or persons or organizations whose 
    assistance under this subchapter is being substantially reduced or 
    terminated are given written notice of the reasons for denial, 
    reduction or termination and are provided at least an opportunity to 
    appeal an adverse decision and to present additional information 
    relevant to that decision to a person, other than the person making 
    the original determination, who has authority to reverse the 
    decision, except that rules issued under this subsection may not 
    exclude from their coverage decisions made by the Secretary that are 
    not based on objective standards contained in published regulations;

    (h) Assistance in connection with transfers and assumptions 
                       of property for nonrural areas

        notwithstanding that an area ceases, or has ceased, to be 
    ``rural'', in a ``rural area'', or an eligible area, make assistance 
    under this subchapter available for subsequent loans to permit 
    necessary dwelling repairs and rehabilitation and in connection with 
    transfers and assumptions of property securing any loan made, 
    insured, or held by the Secretary or in connection with any property 
    held by the Secretary under this subchapter on the same basis as 
    though the area were still rural;

                   (i) Utilization of indebtedness

        utilize with respect to the indebtedness arising from loans and 
    payments made under this subchapter, all the powers and authorities 
    given to him under sections 1150 to 1150b of title 12;

                  (j) Fee inspectors and appraisers

        utilize the services of fee inspectors and fee appraisers to 
    expedite the processing of applications for loans and grants under 
    this subchapter, which services shall be utilized in any case in 
    which a county or district office is unable to expeditiously process 
    such loan and grant applications, and to include the cost of such 
    services in the amount of such loans and grants; and

                      (k) Rules and regulations

        make such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry 
    out the purposes of this subchapter.

(July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title V, Sec. 510, 63 Stat. 437; Pub. L. 94-
375, Sec. 25(c), Aug. 3, 1976, 90 Stat. 1078; Pub. L. 95-557, title V, 
Sec. 503, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2112; Pub. L. 96-153, title V, 
Sec. 507, Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1136; Pub. L. 96-399, title V, 
Secs. 508, 510, Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1670, 1671; Pub. L. 98-181, title 
V, Sec. 507, Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1243; Pub. L. 98-479, title I, 
Sec. 105(c), Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2227; Pub. L. 100-242, title III, 
Sec. 313, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1897; Pub. L. 100-628, title X, 
Sec. 1045, Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3273; Pub. L. 101-625, title VII, 
Secs. 710, 711, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4291.)


                               Amendments

    1990--Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 101-625, Sec. 710, inserted ``, or for 
use as rental units under section 1484 of this title with mortgages 
containing repayment terms with up to 33 years,'' after ``fifty years'' 
and substituted ``, public bodies, or for-profit entities, which have 
good records of providing low income housing under section 1485 of this 
title'' for ``or public bodies''.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 101-625, Sec. 711, inserted before semicolon at 
end ``, except that rules issued under this subsection may not exclude 
from their coverage decisions made by the Secretary that are not based 
on objective standards contained in published regulations''.
    1988--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-242 amended subsec. (c) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ``compromise claims and 
obligations arising out of sections 1472 to 1475 of this title and 
adjust and modify the terms of mortgages, leases, contracts, and 
agreements entered into as circumstances may require, including the 
release from personal liability, without payments of further 
consideration, of--
        ``(1) borrowers who have transferred their farms to other 
    approved applicants for loans who have agreed to assume the 
    outstanding indebtedness to the Secretary under this subchapter; and
        ``(2) borrowers who have transferred their farms to other 
    approved applicants for loans who have agreed to assume that portion 
    of the outstanding indebtedness to the Secretary under this 
    subchapter which is equal to the earning capacity value of the farm 
    at the time of the transfer, and borrowers whose farms have been 
    acquired by the Secretary, in cases where the Secretary determines 
    that the original borrowers have cooperated in good faith with the 
    Secretary, have farmed in a workmanlike manner, used due diligence 
    to maintain the security against loss, and otherwise fulfilled the 
    covenants incident to their loans, to the best of their 
    abilities;''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-628 inserted before semicolon at end ``; 
except that--'' and added pars. (1) and (2).
    1984--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-479 substituted ``; such'' and ``; 
where'' for ``. Such'' and ``. Where'', respectively.
    1983--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-181, Sec. 507(a), inserted provisions 
relating to the authority of the Secretary to transfer section 1472 
inventory property to private nonprofit organizations or public bodies.
    Subsecs. (j), (k). Pub. L. 98-181, Sec. 507(b), added subsec. (j) 
and redesignated former subsec. (j) as (k).
    1980--Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 96-399, Sec. 508, inserted provisions 
respecting cost-effective energy conservation standards prescribed under 
section 1479(a) of this title.
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 96-399, Sec. 510, inserted provisions 
respecting subsequent loans to permit necessary dwelling repairs and 
rehabilitation.
    1979--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96-153 substituted ``United States 
therein, to repair and rehabilitate such property, and to sell'' for 
``United States therein and to sell'', and inserted provision that the 
Secretary may not sell or otherwise dispose of such property unless the 
conditions in cls. (1) to (3) are satisfied.
    1978--Subsecs. (g) to (j). Pub. L. 95-557 added subsec. (g) and 
redesignated former subsecs. (g), (h), and (i) as (h), (i), and (j), 
respectively.
    1976--Subsecs. (f) to (i). Pub. L. 94-375 added subsecs. (f) and (g) 
and redesignated former subsecs. (f) and (g) as (h) and (i), 
respectively.


                  Termination of Reporting Requirements

    For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of reporting provisions in 
subsec. (d)(2) of this section, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104-66, as 
amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and 
Finance, and the last item on page 47 of House Document No. 103-7.


                Study of Problems Caused by Remote Claims

    Section 509 of Pub. L. 95-557 directed Secretary of Agriculture to 
make a detailed study of problems associated with obtaining title 
insurance by persons in rural areas with respect to real property 
encumbered by remote claims and make a final report to Congress with 
respect to such study not later than one year after Oct. 31, 1978.