Act) and chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, amounts made available to the Secretary in this or any prior Act under the headings Project-Based Rental Assistance or Housing Certificate Fund for performance-based contract administrators to carry out section 8 of the Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f ), as implemented by the Secretary in chapter VIII of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, may be awarded through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) not subject to procurement laws or regulations: Provided, That such awards shall be deemed for all purposes to be cooperative agreements: Provided further, That for purposes of such NOFO, eligible applicants are public housing agencies as defined by section 3(b)(6)(A) of the Act and nonprofits of such agencies when operating outside of the State or territory in which such agency is established, notwithstanding any provisions of such section 8(b) to the contrary: Provided further, That the Secretary shall award one cooperative agreement for each State or territory, except that the Secretary may award more than one agreement for a State or territory if the population of such State or territory exceeds 35,000,000: Provided further, That any cooperative agreements issued by the Secretary shall, at minimum, assign the rights and responsibilities as provided in section 8 of the Act: Provided further, That the Secretary shall assign such rights and responsibilities to the furthest extent possible to ensure effective and efficient program oversight and monitoring: Provided further, That when selecting a performance-based contract administrator, the Secretary shall provide a preference to applicants that have demonstrated experience with properties receiving project-based assistance, experience in multifamily housing preservation, addressing the concerns of low-income tenants, making assistance payments to owners, and performing the other functions assigned to a public housing agency under section 8(b) of the Act: Provided further, That if no qualified applicant applies under