108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3030

AN ACT

To amend the Community Service Block Grant Act

to provide for quality improvements.

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3030

AN ACT

To amend the Community Service Block Grant Act to

provide for quality improvements.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving the Commu3 nity Services Block Grant Act of 2004’’.

4 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT ACT AMEND5 MENTS.

6 (a) PURPOSES AND GOALS.—Section 672 of the Com7 munity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 note)

8 is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘SEC. 672 PURPOSES AND GOALS.

10 ‘‘The purpose of this subtitle is to reduce poverty—

11 ‘‘(1) by strengthening and coordinating local ef12 forts to expand opportunities for individuals and

13 families to become economically self-sufficient and to

14 improve and revitalize low-income communities in

15 urban and rural areas, by providing resources to

16 States for support of local eligible entities, including

17 community action agencies and other community18 based organizations—

19 ‘‘(A) to plan, coordinate, and mobilize a

20 broad range of Federal, State, local, and pri21 vate assistance or investment in such a manner

22 as to use these resources effectively to reduce

23 poverty and in initiatives that are responsive to

24 specific local needs and conditions;

25 ‘‘(B) to coordinate a range of services that

26 meet the needs of low-income families and indi-
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1 viduals, that support strong and healthy fami2 lies, and that assist them in developing the

3 skills needed to become self sustaining while en4 suring that these services are provided effec5 tively and efficiently; and

6 ‘‘(C) to design and implement comprehen7 sive approaches to assist eligible individuals in

8 gaining employment and achieving economic

9 self-sufficiency;

10 ‘‘(2) by improving and revitalizing the low-in11 come communities in urban and rural areas by pro12 viding resources to States for support of local eligi13 ble entities and their partners—

14 ‘‘(A) to broaden the resource base of initia15 tives and projects directed to the elimination of

16 poverty and the redevelopment of the low-in17 come community, including partnerships with

18 nongovernmental and governmental institutions

19 to develop the community assets and services

20 that reduce poverty, such as—

21 ‘‘(i) other private, religious, chari22 table, and community-based organizations;

23 ‘‘(ii) individual citizens, and business,

24 labor, and professional groups, that are

25 able to influence the quantity and quality
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1 of opportunities and services for the poor;

2 and

3 ‘‘(iii) local government leadership; and

4 ‘‘(B) to coordinate community-wide re5 sources and services that will have a significant,

6 measurable impact on the causes of poverty in

7 the community and that will help families and

8 individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency

9 and to test innovative, community-based ap10 proaches to attacking the causes and effects of

11 poverty and of community breakdown,

12 including—

13 ‘‘(i) innovative initiatives to prevent

14 and reverse loss of investment, jobs, public

15 services, and infrastructure in low- and

16 moderate-income communities; and

17 ‘‘(ii) innovative partnerships to lever18 age the assets and services that reduce

19 poverty, as provided in subparagraph (A);

20 and

21 ‘‘(3) by ensuring maximum participation of

22 residents of low-income communities and of mem23 bers of the groups served by grants made under this

24 subtitle in guiding the eligible entities and in their

25 programs funded under this subtitle, to ameliorate
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1 the particular problems and needs of low-income

2 residents and to develop the permanent social and

3 economic assets of the low-income community in

4 order to reduce the incidence of poverty.’’.

5 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 673(1)(A) of the Com6 munity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(1)(A))

7 is amended—

8 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

9 (2) in clause (ii) by striking the period at the

10 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(iii) that successfully develops and

13 meets the locally determined goals de14 scribed in section 678E(b)(1), as deter15 mined by the State, and meets State goals,

16 standards, and performance requirements

17 as provided for in section 678B(a).’’.

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

19 674 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42

20 U.S.C. 9903) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘1999 through 2003’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘2004 through 2009’’; and

24 (B) by striking ‘‘681’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘675C(b)(3), 681,’’;
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1 (2) in subsection (b)(2)—

2 (A) by striking ‘‘678F’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘678E to assist States, eligible entities, and

4 their partners in projects supported by this sub5 title’’;

6 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘mon7 itoring (to correct programmatic deficiencies of

8 eligible entities)’’ and inserting ‘‘monitoring (in9 cluding technical assistance and training to cor10 rect programmatic deficiencies of eligible enti11 ties)’’; and

12 (C) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT.—

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

15 be necessary for fiscal year 2004 to carry out section

16 675C(b)(3).’’.

17 (d) USES OF FUNDS.—Section 675C of the Commu18 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9907) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(A) by striking ‘‘Begin21 ning on October 1, 2000, a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (b)—

23 (A) in paragraph (1)(F) by striking

24 ‘‘neighborhood-based’’ and inserting ‘‘commu25 nity-based’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE RELATING TO UNEMPLOY3 MENT.—With the amount appropriated under sec4 tion 674(c), the Secretary shall make grants to

5 States to provide financial and employment support

6 to individuals who cannot find employment, who

7 have exhausted their State unemployment benefits,

8 and who, after the week of December 20, 2003, can

9 no longer receive Federal extended temporary unem10 ployment compensation. The eligibility criteria and

11 benefit amounts under this paragraph for such indi12 viduals shall be the same as for such individuals

13 prior to December 20, 2003, under the Federal ex14 tended temporary unemployment compensation pro15 gram.’’; and

16 (3) in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ‘‘para17 graphs (1) and (2) of’’ after ‘‘under’’.

18 (e) APPLICATION AND PLAN.—Section 676 of the

19 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9908)

20 is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (b)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Beginning with fiscal year

23 2000, to’’ and inserting ‘‘To’’;

24 (B) in paragraph (1)—

25 (i) in subparagraph (B)—
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1 (I) by striking ‘‘youth develop2 ment programs that support’’ and in3 serting ‘‘youth development programs,

4 which may include mentoring pro5 grams, that support’’; and

6 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

7 (ii) in subparagraph (C) by adding

8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(D) initiatives to improve economic condi12 tions and mobilize new resources in rural areas

13 to eliminate obstacles to the self-sufficiency of

14 families and individuals in rural communities;’’;

15 (C) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘commu16 nity and neighborhood-based’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘community-based’’;

18 (D) in paragraph (3)—

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A) by striking ‘‘information pro21 vided by eligible entities in the State, con22 taining’’ and inserting ‘‘an assurance that

23 the State will provide information, includ24 ing’’; and
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1 (ii) in subparagraph (D) by striking

2 ‘‘community and neighborhood-based’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘community-based’’;

4 (E) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and

5 community organizations’’ and inserting ‘‘and

6 community-based organizations’’;

7 (F) in paragraph (10) by striking ‘‘com8 munity organization’’ and inserting ‘‘commu9 nity-based organization’’;

10 (G) in paragraph (12) by striking ‘‘and’’ at

11 the end;

12 (H) by redesignating paragraph (13) as

13 paragraph (15); and

14 (I) by inserting after paragraph (12) the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(13) an assurance that the State will take

17 swift action to improve performance or, when appro18 priate, to terminate the funding under this subtitle

19 of low-performing eligible entities that do not meet

20 the applicable locally determined goals described in

21 section 678E(b)(1) or do not meet the State goals,

22 standards, and requirements as provided for in sec23 tion 678B(a);

24 ‘‘(14) an assurance that the State will provide

25 a justification to the Secretary if it continues to
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1 fund persistently low-performing eligible entities;

2 and’’;

3 (2) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ‘‘plan, or’’

4 and all that follows through the period at the end,

5 and inserting ‘‘plan, to meet a State requirement, as

6 described in section 678C(a), or to meet the locally

7 determined goals as described in section

8 678E(b)(1).’’; and

9 (3) by striking subsection (f).

10 (f) TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND OTHER

11 ACTIVITIES.—Section 678A(a)(1)(A) of the Community

12 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9913(a)(1)(A)) is

13 amended—

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘dissemination regarding best

15 practices,’’ after ‘‘technical assistance,’’; and

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘(including to assist in the de17 velopment of reporting systems and electronic data

18 systems)’’ after ‘‘collection activities’’.

19 (g) MONITORING OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Section

20 678B of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42

21 U.S.C. 9914) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a)—

23 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)

24 by inserting ‘‘and the locally determined per-
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1 formance goals described in section

2 678E(b)(1)’’ after ‘‘a State’’; and

3 (B) in paragraph (3)—

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘appropriate’’ before

5 ‘‘goals’’; and

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘established by the

7 State’’; and

8 (2) in the last sentence of subsection (c) by

9 striking ‘‘Chairperson of the Committee on Edu10 cation’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Human Re11 sources of the Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘appropriate

12 congressional committees’’.

13 (h) CORRECTIVE ACTION; TERMINATION AND RE14 DUCTION OF FUNDING.—Section 678C(a) of the Commu15 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9915(a)) is

16 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by strik17 ing ‘‘established by the State’’.

18 (i) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING REQUIRE19 MENTS.—Section 678E of the Community Services Block

20 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9917) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)—

22 (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘By

23 October 1, 2001, each’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’;

24 and

25 (B) in paragraph (2)—
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1 (i) in the 1st sentence by inserting

2 ‘‘including any activities under section

3 678C’’ before the period at the end;

4 (ii) by striking the 2d sentence;

5 (iii) in the 3d sentence by striking

6 ‘‘also’’; and

7 (iv) in the 3d sentence by inserting

8 ‘‘information on the timeliness of the dis9 tribution of block grant funds to eligible

10 entities as provided in section 675C(a),’’

11 after ‘‘including’’;

12 (2) in subsection (b)—

13 (A) in paragraph (2) in the matter pre14 ceding subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘beginning

15 after September 30, 1999’’;

16 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘Com17 mittee on Education’’ and all that follows

18 through ‘‘Human Resources of the Senate’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘appropriate congressional commit20 tees’’;

21 (C) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION OF REPORTING REQUIRE23 MENTS.—To the maximum extent possible, the Sec24 retary shall coordinate reporting requirements for all

25 programs of the Department of Health and Human
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1 Services managed by eligible entities so as to consoli2 date and reduce the number of reports required

3 about individuals, families, and uses of grant

4 funds.’’; and

5 (D) by redesignating such subsection as

6 subsection (c); and

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(b) LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING RE10 QUIREMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) LOCALLY DETERMINED GOALS.—In order

12 to be designated as an eligible entity and to receive

13 a grant under this subtitle, an eligible entity shall

14 establish locally determined goals for reducing pov15 erty in the community, including goals for—

16 ‘‘(A) leveraging and mobilizing community

17 resources;

18 ‘‘(B) fostering coordination of Federal,

19 State, local, private, and other assistance; and

20 ‘‘(C) promoting community involvement.

21 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION THAT GOALS WERE

22 MET.—In order for an eligible entity to receive a

23 second or subsequent grant made under this subtitle

24 after the effective date of this paragraph, such entity
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1 shall demonstrate to the State that it has met the

2 goals described in paragraph (1).’’.

3 (j) TREATMENT OF BENEFICIARIES.—Section 679 of

4 the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.

5 9920) is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF BENEFICIARIES.—In providing

7 assistance under a program described in subsection (a),

8 a religious organization shall not discriminate against a

9 beneficiary, or a potential beneficiary, of such assistance

10 on the basis of religion or of a religious belief.’’.

11 (k) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—

12 Section 680 of the Community Services Block Grant Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 9921) is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)—

15 (A) in paragraph (2)—

16 (i) in subparagraph (A) by inserting

17 ‘‘(including financial assistance for con18 struction or substantial rehabilitation of

19 buildings and facilities, and for loans or in20 vestments in private business enterprises

21 owned by community development corpora22 tions)’’ after ‘‘assistance’’;

23 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs

24 (B), (C), (D), and (E) as subparagraphs

25 (D), (E), (F), and (G), respectively; and
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1 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph

2 (A) the following:

3 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL INTEREST.—The Secretary

4 shall establish procedures that permit funds

5 provided under a grant made under this para6 graph, or intangible assets acquired with such

7 funds, to become the sole property of the grant8 ee before the expiration of the 12-year period

9 beginning after the fiscal year for which such

10 grant is made if such grantee agrees to use

11 such funds or such property for purposes and

12 uses consistent with the purposes and uses for

13 which such grant is made.

14 ‘‘(C) REPLACEMENT ACTIVITIES.—The

15 Secretary shall establish procedures to allow a

16 grant made under this paragraph to be used by

17 a grantee to carry out activities substantially

18 similar to the activities for which such grant is

19 made if, due to no fault of such grantee, such

20 grantee cannot carry out the activities for which

21 such grant is made. Such procedures shall re22 quire that the substantially similar activities

23 serve the same impact area and have the same

24 goals, objectives, and outcomes as the activities

25 for which such grant is made.’’;
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1 (B) in paragraph (3)(B) by inserting

2 ‘‘water and wastewater’’ after ‘‘community’’;

3 and

4 (C) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘neigh5 borhood-based’’ and inserting ‘‘community6 based’’; and

7 (2) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Chairperson

8 of the Committee on Education’’ and all that follows

9 through ‘‘Human Resources of the Senate’’ and in10 serting ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’.

11 (l) COMMUNITY FOOD AND NUTRITION PRO12 GRAMS.—Section 681 of the Community Services Block

13 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9922) is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (c) in the matter preceding

15 paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘Committee on Edu16 cation’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Human Re17 sources of the Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘appropriate

18 congressional committees’’; and

19 (2) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘1999 through

20 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2004 through 2009’’.

21 (m) NATIONAL OR REGIONAL PROGRAMS DESIGNED

22 TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR LOW-IN23 COME YOUTH.—Section 682 of the Community Services

24 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9923) is amended—

25 (1) in subsection (b)(5)—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(which may be accom2 plished through mentoring)’’ after ‘‘youth’’; and

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘to improve academic

4 achievement’’ after ‘‘study practices’’; and

5 (2) in subsection (g) by striking ‘‘1999 through

6 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2004 through 2009’’.

7 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

9 take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year beginning

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives February 4,

2004.

Attest:

Clerk.