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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 237 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 237

     To amend title 49, United States Code, to exempt airports in 
  economically depressed communities from matching grant obligations 
                 under the airport improvement program.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

Mr. Thompson of California (for himself and Mr. DeFazio) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To amend title 49, United States Code, to exempt airports in 
  economically depressed communities from matching grant obligations 
                 under the airport improvement program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. INCREASED UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SHARE OF AIRPORT 
              IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT COSTS.

    Section 47109 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``subsection (b)'' and 
        inserting ``subsections (b) and (e)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Special Rule for Economically Depressed Communities.--
            ``(1) In general.--The United States Government's share of 
        allowable project costs is 100 percent for a project at an 
        airport that is receiving subsidized air service under 
        subchapter II of chapter 417 and that is located in a community 
        that, at the time a project grant application is submitted 
        under section 47105, is an economically depressed community.
            ``(2) Economically depressed community defined.--In this 
        section, the term `economically depressed community' means a 
        unit of local government that the Secretary of Transportation 
        determines has--
                    ``(A) an unemployment rate that is, for the most 
                recent 24-month period for which data are available, at 
                least 1 percent greater than the national average 
                unemployment rate;
                    ``(B) per capita income that is, for the most 
                recent period for which data are available, 80 percent 
                or less of the national average per capita income; or
                    ``(C) a special need arising from actual or 
                threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment 
                problems resulting from severe short-term or long-term 
                changes in economic conditions, such as--
                            ``(i) substantial outmigration or 
                        population loss;
                            ``(ii) underemployment;
                            ``(iii) military base closures or 
                        realignments, defense contractor reductions-in-
                        force, or Department of Energy defense-related 
                        funding reductions;
                            ``(iv) natural or other major disasters or 
                        emergencies;
                            ``(v) extraordinary depletion of natural 
                        resources;
                            ``(vi) closure or restructuring of 
                        industrial firms essential to area economies; 
                        and
                            ``(vii) destructive impacts of foreign 
                        trade.''.
                                 <all>
```