An Act to amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended, to establish a Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund to provide adequate funds for rural electric and telephone systems through insured and guaranteed loans at interest rates which will allow them to achieve the objectives of the Act, and for other purposes.
Public Law 93-32 · S. 394 · 93rd Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Richard Nixon (R) on May 11, 1973 · Agriculture and Food
Sponsor: Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-MN)
Cosponsors (54): Sen. James Allen, Sen. George Aiken,
Passage votesYeaNay
- HouseRecorded vote: 363 yea, 25 nay363–25
- SenateRecorded vote: 93 yea, 3 nay93–3
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Establishes in the Treasury of the United States the Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund.
Sets forth the purposes for which the assets of the fund are to be made available.
Authorizes the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration to make and issue interim notes to the Secretary of the Treasury for the purpose of obtaining funds necessary for discharging obligations of the fund and for making loans, advances, and authorized expenditures out of the fund.
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase for resale obligations insured through the fund when offered by the Administrator.
Authorizes the Administrator to make insured loans to the full extent of the assets available in the fund subject only to limitations as to amounts authorized for loans and advances as may be from time to time imposed by the Congress.
States that insured loans shall bear interest at a special rate of two percent, per annum or a standard rate of five percent per annum. Establishes requirements for eligibility for the special rate.
Allows the Administrator to provide financial assistance to borrowers for the purposes provided in the Rural Electrification Act by guaranteeing loans, in the full amount thereof, made by the Rural Telephone Bank, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, and any other legally organized lending agency, or by accommodating as subordinating liens or mortgages in the fund held by the Administrator as owner or as trustee or custodian for purchases of notes from the fund, or by any combination of such guarantee, accommodation, or subordination.
Who voted for it
Every senator of the 93rd Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 95 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.
95 yea3 nay2 present or did not vote
Democrats who voted yea(56)
- Sen. James AbourezkD-SD
- Sen. Harold HughesD-IA
- Sen. Mike MansfieldD-MT
- Sen. William ProxmireD-WI
- Sen. Gaylord NelsonD-WI
- Sen. George McGovernD-SD
- Sen. Dick ClarkD-IA
- Sen. Lee MetcalfD-MT
- Sen. Frank ChurchD-ID
- Sen. William HathawayD-ME
- Sen. Philip HartD-MI
Sen. Ted KennedyD-MA- Sen. Rupert HartkeD-IN
- Sen. James FulbrightD-AR
Sen. Joseph BidenD-DE- Sen. Floyd HaskellD-CO
- Sen. Walter MondaleD-MN
- Sen. Thomas EagletonD-MO
- Sen. Quentin BurdickD-ND
- Sen. Birch BayhD-IN
- Sen. Stuart SymingtonD-MO
- Sen. Adlai StevensonD-IL
- Sen. Edmund MuskieD-ME
- Sen. Dee HuddlestonD-KY
- Sen. Alan CranstonD-CA
- Sen. Harrison WilliamsD-NJ
- Sen. Frank MossD-UT
- Sen. Hubert HumphreyD-MN
- Sen. Claiborne PellD-RI
- Sen. Mike GravelD-AK
- Sen. Warren MagnusonD-WA
- Sen. Lawton ChilesD-FL
Sen. Robert ByrdD-WV- Sen. Joseph MontoyaD-NM
- Sen. John TunneyD-CA
- Sen. John PastoreD-RI
- Sen. Alan BibleD-NV
- Sen. Jennings RandolphD-WV
- Sen. Thomas McIntyreD-NH
Sen. Daniel InouyeD-HI- Sen. Fritz HollingsD-SC
- Sen. Howard CannonD-NV
- Sen. Scoop JacksonD-WA
- Sen. Russell LongD-LA
- Sen. Lloyd BentsenD-TX
- Sen. John JohnstonD-LA
- Sen. Gale McGeeD-WY
- Sen. Samuel NunnD-GA
- Sen. Herman TalmadgeD-GA
- Sen. Samuel ErvinD-NC
- Sen. John SparkmanD-AL
- Sen. John McClellanD-AR
- Sen. John StennisD-MS
- Sen. James AllenD-AL
- Sen. James EastlandD-MS
- Sen. Harry ByrdD-VA
Republicans who voted yea(38)
- Sen. Richard SchweikerR-PA
- Sen. Edward BrookeR-MA
- Sen. Jacob JavitsR-NY
- Sen. Charles MathiasR-MD
- Sen. Mark HatfieldR-OR
- Sen. Robert StaffordR-VT
- Sen. James PearsonR-KS
- Sen. Charles PercyR-IL
- Sen. Robert PackwoodR-OR
- Sen. Milton YoungR-ND
- Sen. George AikenR-VT
Sen. Ted StevensR-AK- Sen. Marlow CookR-KY
- Sen. John BeallR-MD
- Sen. Hugh ScottR-PA
Sen. Pete DomeniciR-NM- Sen. Hiram FongR-HI
- Sen. Robert DoleR-KS
- Sen. Edward GurneyR-FL
- Sen. Howard BakerR-TN
- Sen. Robert TaftR-OH
- Sen. William RothR-DE
- Sen. William SaxbeR-OH
- Sen. Peter DominickR-CO
- Sen. Henry BellmonR-OK
- Sen. Robert GriffinR-MI
- Sen. James McClureR-ID
- Sen. Strom ThurmondR-SC
- Sen. Norris CottonR-NH
- Sen. Dewey BartlettR-OK
- Sen. Roman HruskaR-NE
- Sen. William ScottR-VA
- Sen. John TowerR-TX
- Sen. Carl CurtisR-NE
- Sen. Clifford HansenR-WY
- Sen. Wallace BennettR-UT
- Sen. Paul FanninR-AZ
- Sen. Jesse HelmsR-NC
Data notes
The Senate’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 118 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. 1 yea vote was cast by members of neither major party and is highlighted on the compass but not listed. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.
- May 11, 1973Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 93-32.
- PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- May 10, 1973Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to conference report, roll call #134 (363-25).House roll call 134
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report agreed to in House: House agreed to conference report, roll call #134 (363-25).House roll call 134
- May 9, 1973Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to conference report, roll call #124 (93-3).Senate roll call 124
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report agreed to in Senate: Senate agreed to conference report, roll call #124 (93-3).Senate roll call 124
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 93-169.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference report filed: Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 93-169.
- Apr 6, 1973Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference scheduled in Senate.
- Apr 4, 1973Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference scheduled in House.
- FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 5683.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Agriculture Committee
- Feb 22, 1973CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
- Feb 21, 1973FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, roll call #23 (69-20).Senate roll call 23
- Feb 15, 1973CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Jan 16, 1973CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.