Ill STAT. 2096 PUBLIC LAW 105-86—NOV. 18, 1997 life of any such agreement may be extended to fully utilize amounts obligated. MUTUAL AND SELF-HELP HOUSING GRANTS For grants and contracts pursuant to section 523(b)(1)(A) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490c), $26,000,000, to remain available until expended (7 U.S.C. 2209b). RURAL COMMUNITY FIRE PROTECTION GRANTS For grants pursuant to section 7 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-313), $2,000,000 to fund up to 50 percent of the cost of organizing, training, and equipping rural volunteer fire departments. RURAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANTS (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS) For grants and contracts for housing for domestic farm labor, very low-income housing repair, supervisory and technical assistance, compensation for construction defects, and rural housing preservation made by the Rural Housing Service as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1474, 1479(c), 1486, 1490c, 1490e, and 1490m, $45,720,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That any obligated and unobligated balances available from prior years in "Rural Housing for Domestic Farm Labor", "Supervisory and Technical Assistance Grants", "Very Low-Income Housing Repair Grants", "Compensation for Construction Defects", and "Rural Housing Preservation Grants" shall be transferred to and merged with this account: Provided further. That of the total amount appropriated, $1,200,000 shall be for empowerment zones and enterprise communities, as authorized by Public Law 103-66: Provided further, That if such funds are not obligated for empowerment zones and enterprise communities by June 30, 1998, they shall remain available for other authorized purposes under this head. SALARIES AND EXPENSES For necessary expenses of the Rural Housing Service, including administering the programs authorized by the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, title V of the Housing Act of 1949, and cooperative agreements, $58,804,000: Provided, That this appropriation shall be available for employment pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed $520,000 may be used for employ- ment under 5 U.S.C. 3109. RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOAN FUND PROGRAM ACCOUNT (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS) For the cost of direct loans, $16,888,000, as authorized by the Rural Development Loan Fund (42 U.S.C. 9812(a)): Provided, That such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
�
