59–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 110–86 

AMENDING THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974 

TO TREAT CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AS METROPOLITAN CITIES FOR PURPOSES OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM 

APRIL 16, 2007.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Financial 

Services, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1515] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1515) to amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to treat certain communities as metropolitan cities for purposes of the community development block grant program, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 2 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 2 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures ............. 3 

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Estimate ................................................................... 3 

Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 4 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 5 

Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 5 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 1515 amends the Housing and Community Development Act 

of 1974 to designate Alton and Granite City Illinois, as metropoliVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:26 Apr 17, 2007 Jkt 059006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR086.XXX HR086

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tan cities, thus restoring their eligibility as entitlement communities for Community Development Block Grant funds. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Community Development Block Grant program was established under Title I of the Housing and Community Development 

Act of 1974. Primarily designed to help families with low- or moderate-incomes, the program distributes grant funds through a formula which allocates 70 percent directly to metropolitan city and 

urban county entitlement communities and 30 percent to States to 

be used in non-entitlement areas. Metropolitan cities are defined as 

having a population of at least 50,000 or being a city which is the 

‘‘principal city’’ or such an area as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Urban counties are defined as a county within 

a metropolitan area authorized by the State to undertake community development activities that has a population of at least 

200,000. 

Both Alton and Granite City were previously eligible under the 

Office of Management and Budget’s ‘‘central city’’ definition. However, in 2003 the Office of Management and Budget adopted new 

standards for the definition of Metropolitan Statistical Areas to reflect the 2000 Census data. As result, the Office of Management 

and Budget created the designation of ‘‘principal cities’’ as communities with a minimum population of 50,000. Neither Alton nor 

Granite City meet this new population threshold. 

Other communities which otherwise would have lost their entitlement status based on the Office of Management and Budget’s 

new population threshold were grandfathered-in based on their 

classification as metropolitan cities for the previous two years. 

However, for the years preceding the Office of Management and 

Budget designation change, Alton and Granite City deferred their 

entitlement status to surrounding Madison County, the population 

of which had fallen below the threshold of 200,000. This deferment 

inadvertently caused both communities to lose their entitlement 

status which otherwise would have been preserved by the statute. 

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 1515 in the 110th Congress. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 

March 28, 2007, and ordered H.R. 1515 reported by a voice vote. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report legislation and amendments thereto. No record votes were 

taken with in conjunction with the consideration of this legislation. 

A motion by Mr. Frank to report the bill to the House with a favorable recommendation was agreed to by a voice vote. 


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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee has held hearings and made 

findings that are reflected in this report. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee establishes the following performance related goals and objectives for this legislation: 

H.R. 1515 designates Alton and Granite City Illinois, as metropolitan cities, thus restoring their eligibility as entitlement communities for Community Development Block Grant funds. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX

EXPENDITURES

In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement authority, tax expenditures or revenues contained in the cost estimate prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 

of the Congressional Budget Act. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by 

the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate provided by 

the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

APRIL 12, 2007. 

Hon. BARNEY FRANK, 

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1515, a bill to amend the 

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to treat certain 

communities as metropolitan cities for purposes of the community 

development block grant program. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel Hoople. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 


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H.R. 1515—A bill to amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to treat certain communities as metropolitan 

cities for purposes of the community development block grant 

program 

H.R. 1515 would define the cities of Alton and Granite City in 

Illinois as metropolitan cities for the purpose of allocating funds 

within the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. 

The CDBG program provides grants to over 1,100 states and local 

governments for various community development projects, including local housing, neighborhood revitalization, public services, and 

infrastructure needs. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1515 

would have no significant impact on the federal budget. 

H.R. 1515 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The bill 

would likely benefit the cities of Alton and Granite City, Illinois, 

by classifying them as metropolitan cities under the CDBG program. The change in classification would result in a reallocation of 

funds that all metropolitan cities receive from the program. The 

costs of any requirements tied to these grants would be incurred 

voluntarily. 

Under current law, about 70 percent of the funds appropriated 

to the CDBG program (about $2.6 billion in 2007) are allocated to 

central cities of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, cities with populations of at least 50,000, and urban counties with a population of 

at least 200,000 (excluding the population of metropolitan cities located within the county). In the CDBG program, such areas are 

known as entitlement communities and receive a portion of appropriated funds based on population, housing stock, and the extent 

of poverty. 

The remaining 30 percent of funds appropriated to the CDBG 

program are allocated to local governments that do not qualify as 

entitlement communities based on state-determined criteria. In 

2007, the states will receive about $1.1 billion for this purpose, $33 

million of which is allocated to Illinois. 

H.R. 1515 would reclassify Alton and Granite City as entitlement 

communities within the CDBG program. CBO expects this reclassification could cause the funding those cities receive to change by 

up to several hundred thousand dollars in any year, depending how 

Illinois decides to allocate its CDBG funding. As such, CBO estimates that implementing this bill would have no significant cost to 

the federal government over the next five years. Any additional 

costs to the program resulting from this legislation would be subject to the availability of appropriations. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 


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ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds that the Constitutional 

Authority of Congress to enact this legislation is provided by Article 1, section 8, clause 1 (relating to the general welfare of the 

United States) and clause 3 (relating to the power to regulate interstate commerce). 

APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 1515 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Metropolitan Cities 

Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

to designate Alton and Granite City, Illinois as metropolitan cities 

for the purposes of the Community Development Block Grant program. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

SECTION 102 OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY 

DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974 

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 102. (a) As used in this title— (1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(4) The term ‘‘metropolitan city’’ means (A) a city within a 

metropolitan area which is the central city of such area, as defined and used by the Office of Management and Budget, or (B) 

any other city, within a metropolitan area, which has a population of fifty thousand or more. Any city that was classified 

as a metropolitan city for at least 2 years pursuant to the first 

sentence of this paragraph shall remain classified as a metroVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:26 Apr 17, 2007 Jkt 059006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR086.XXX HR086

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politan city. Any unit of general local government that becomes 

eligible to be classified as a metropolitan city, and was not 

classified as a metropolitan city in the immediately preceding 

fiscal year, may, upon submission of written notification to the 

Secretary, defer its classification as a metropolitan city for all 

purposes under this title, if it elects to have its population included in an urban county under subsection (d). Notwithstanding the second sentence of this paragraph, a city may 

elect not to retain its classification as a metropolitan city. Any 

city classified as a metropolitan city pursuant to this paragraph, and that no longer qualifies as a metropolitan city in a 

fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 1989, shall retain its 

classification as a metropolitan city for such fiscal year and the 

succeeding fiscal year, except that in such succeeding fiscal 

year (A) the amount of the grant to such city shall be 50 percent of the amount calculated under section 106(b); and (B) the 

remaining 50 percent shall be added to the amount allocated 

under section 106(d) to the State in which the city is located 

and the city shall be eligible in such succeeding fiscal year to 

receive a distribution from the State allocation under section 

106(d) as increased by this sentence. Any unit of general local 

government that was classified as a metropolitan city in any 

fiscal year, may, upon submission of written notification to the 

Secretary, relinquish such classification for all purposes under 

this title if it elects to have its population included with the 

population of a county for purposes of qualifying for assistance 

(for such following fiscal year) under section 106 as an urban 

county under paragraph (6)(D). Any metropolitan city that 

elects to relinquish its classification under the preceding sentence and whose port authority shipped at least 35,000,000 

tons of cargo in 1988, of which iron ore made up at least half, 

shall not receive, in any fiscal year, a total amount of assistance under section 106 from the urban county recipient that is 

less than the city would have received if it had not relinquished the classification under the preceding sentence. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, with respect to any fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this sentence, the cities of Alton and Granite City, Illinois, shall be considered metropolitan cities for purposes of this 

title. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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