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S 2718

Relates to adding two trustees to the power authority to represent Niagara county and St. Lawrence county

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Rob Ortt

Expands the CDFI Fund's powers to buy CDFI loans, provide guarantees and liquidity tools, boosting access to capital for underserved borrowers and affordable housing.

REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Bill Summary · S 2718

Summary — S. 2718 (Introduced Sept. 4, 2025)

Note up front: the materials provided contain conflicting metadata. The bill title and some procedural entries refer to a Massachusetts Senate document about adding trustees to a power authority and environment-related committee orders; the detailed bill text and “Introduced in Senate” version content instead contain amendments to the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (federal law, 12 U.S.C. §§ 4702–4712). This summary focuses on the substantive federal statutory amendments included in the version content (the CDFI/Fund changes). If you need the trustee/NY-county or Massachusetts items, please confirm which document to summarize.

Main purpose

Amend the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to broaden the permitted uses of the Fund managed by the Secretary of the Treasury (commonly associated with the CDFI Fund) so the Fund can purchase loans and loan participations from community development financial institutions (CDFIs), provide guarantees and other credit enhancements, and otherwise improve CDFI liquidity; to change eligibility and prioritization rules for assistance recipients; to increase certain monetary limits; to clarify fund flows and reporting; and to authorize Treasury rulemaking and enhanced reporting to Congress.

Key provisions and changes

  • Expands permitted Fund activities (amending 12 U.S.C. § 4712):
    • Explicitly authorizes purchases of loans originated by CDFIs, loan participations or interests therein.
    • Authorizes guarantees, loan loss reserves, and other credit enhancements to promote liquidity.
    • Adds a general “otherwise enhancing liquidity” clause.
  • Treats funds provided under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as Federal Government funds for purposes of this subsection (notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(9)).
  • Changes eligibility and selection rules:
    • Selection of assistance recipients is at the Fund’s discretion consistent with Fund criteria.
    • Eligible organizations must primarily promote community development but need not themselves be CDFIs.
    • Prioritization criteria: demonstrated experience with loan purchase/participation structures; capacity to increase originations or expand products (including leveraging private capital); and support for geographically broad CDFIs or those serving unmet capital needs.
  • Increases a monetary threshold: replaces “$5,000,000” with “$20,000,000” in subsection (c) and removes the referenced “during any 3‑year period” restriction (text implies a higher single‑transaction or program cap).
  • Adds express authority for the Secretary to promulgate regulations to implement the section.
  • Amends 12 U.S.C. § 4703a (section 104A): requires that funds received by the Secretary from purchases under this section (including interest/dividends and sale proceeds) be deposited into the Fund and used to (1) provide assistance under section 113 and (2) provide assistance under section 108 — with a waiver of subsection (e) of section 108.
  • Reporting requirement: Treasury must report to Congress not later than 1 year after the first assistance under the amended section 113 and annually thereafter through 2028. Reports must include totals for (i) loans/loan participations purchased from CDFIs, (ii) loans supporting affordable housing construction, and (iii) guarantees/loan loss reserves/other credit enhancements provided; plus analysis of effects on CDFI competitiveness and liquidity.

Who is affected

  • Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): increased liquidity options; potential market for selling loans or getting credit-support.
  • Other community development organizations: may be eligible for Fund assistance even if not certified CDFIs.
  • Low-income and underserved borrowers and affordable housing projects: potential increased access to capital if CDFIs expand lending.
  • Treasury Department: new regulatory and reporting responsibilities.
  • Congress: receives mandated reporting and oversight information.

Procedural status & timeline (from provided record)

  • Introduced in the U.S. Senate: Sept. 4, 2025; referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  • Committee and subsequent entries in the supplied record show various referrals and committee reports (dates in Nov. 2025 and Jan. 2026), but the procedural record provided is inconsistent and mixes entries that appear to relate to Massachusetts Senate documents. Verify the official congressional record for current status.

Potential impact — brief

  • Short term: provides the Fund with new tools (loan purchases and credit enhancements) to directly support CDFI liquidity; may accelerate capital flow into community lenders and affordable housing financing.
  • Medium term: by allowing non‑CDFI community development organizations to participate and by increasing monetary limits, the program could attract private leverage and scale up CDFI lending capacity.
  • Oversight: required Treasury reporting through 2028 and new regulatory authority give Congress and Treasury mechanisms to monitor effects on CDFI competitiveness and liquidity.

Notes and recommendation

  • The supplied packet mixes different bills, titles, and state vs. federal materials. Before acting on or citing S. 2718, consult the official congressional bill text (Congress.gov or the Senate clerk) to confirm the final text and current procedural status.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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