118 STAT. 1266 PUBLIC LAW 108–324—OCT. 13, 2004 greater than such guarantees as shall be required by the project owners. (c) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS.—(1) The amount of loans and other debt obligations guaranteed under this section for a qualified infrastructure project shall not exceed 80 percent of the total capital costs of the project, including interest during construction. (2) The principal amount of loans and other debt obligations guaranteed under this section shall not exceed, in the aggregate, $18,000,000,000, which amount shall be indexed for United States dollar inflation from the date of enactment of this Act, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. (d) LOAN TERMS AND FEES.—(1) The Secretary may issue Fed eral guarantee instruments under this section that take into account repayment profiles and grace periods justified by project cash flows and project specific considerations. The term of any loan guaranteed under this section shall not exceed 30 years. (2) An eligible lender may assess and collect from the borrower such other fees and costs associated with the application and origi nation of the loan or other debt obligation as are reasonable and customary for a project finance transaction in the oil and gas sector. (e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue regulations to carry out this section. (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to cover the cost of loan guarantees under this section, as defined by section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)). Such sums shall remain available until expended. (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.—The term ‘‘Consumer Price Index’’ means the Consumer Price Index for all urban con sumers, United States city average, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or if such index shall cease to be published, any successor index or reasonable substitute thereof. (2) ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The term ‘‘eligible lender’’ means any non Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined by section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), known as Rule 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Commission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933), including— (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 4974(c)) that is a qualified institutional buyer; and (B) a governmental plan (as defined in section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 414(d)) that is a qualified institutional buyer. (3) FEDERAL GUARANTEE INSTRUMENT.—The term ‘‘Federal guarantee instrument’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the Secretary to pledge the full faith and credit of the United States to pay all of the principal and interest on any loan or other debt obligation entered into by a holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity. (4) QUALIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘quali fied infrastructure project’’ means an Alaskan natural gas transportation project consisting of the design, engineering, finance, construction, and completion of pipelines and related transportation and production systems (including gas treatment
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