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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4388

To establish the Northern Great Plains Rural Development Commission,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1994

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. PETERSON

of Minnesota, Mr. MINGE, and Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To establish the Northern Great Plains Rural Development

Commission, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Great Plains

5 Rural Development Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the rural economy of the Northern Great

9 Plains is undergoing a substantial and potentially

10 threatening transformation;
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1 (2) the rural Northern Great Plains suffers

2 from substantial measurable poverty, unemployment,

3 outmigration, underemployment, aging of the popu4 lation, and low per capita income;

5 (3) the Northern great plains is highly rural

6 and has a highly dispersed population, and contains

7 many Native American reservations;

8 (4) many of the basic industries of the rural

9 Northern Great Plains in natural resources are

10 under stress;

11 (5) a concerted Federal, State, and local public

12 and private effort is needed if the rural Northern

13 Great Plains is to share in the general prosperity of

14 the United States;

15 (6) the creation of jobs and expansion of exist16 ing businesses, including small businesses, offer the

17 greatest hope for rural economic growth and revital18 ization in the Northern Great Plains;

19 (7) the availability of capital, technology, mar20 ket information, infrastructure development, edu21 cational opportunities, health care, housing, rec22 reational activities, and resource development are es23 sential to successful business development in the

24 rural Northern Great Plains;
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1 (8) the transportation needs of the rural North2 ern Great Plains must be addressed through high3 way and bridge construction, air service availability,

4 and rail service and river transport development;

5 (9) because of the social, geographic, weather,

6 historical, and cultural ties of the rural Northern

7 Great Plains as well as common economic problems,

8 planning for this unique region is desirable and ur9 gently needed; and

10 (10) in the rural Northern Great Plains, the

11 tourism industry offers significant additional poten12 tial for supporting economic development and job

13 growth, fostered by the wise stewardship of natural

14 resources.

15 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

16 The purpose of this Act is to establish the Northern

17 Great Plains Development Commission to study and make

18 recommendations regarding the economic needs and eco19 nomic development of the rural Northern Great Plains by

20 seeking and encouraging the participation of interested

21 citizens, public officials, groups, agencies, businesses, and

22 other entities in developing a 10-year rural economic de23 velopment plan for the Northern Great Plains.

24 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

25 As used in this Act:
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1 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘‘chairperson’’

2 means the chairperson of the Commission.

3 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

4 means the Northern Great Plains Rural Develop5 ment Commission.

6 (3) NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS.—The term

7 ‘‘Northern Great Plains’’ means the States of North

8 Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Min9 nesota.

10 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State

11 in the Northern Great Plains.

12 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT.

13 There is established a Commission to be known as

14 the ‘‘Northern Great Plains Rural Development Commis15 sion’’.

16 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION.

17 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com18 posed of 10 members, of whom—

19 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Gov20 ernor of each State; and

21 (2) 1 member shall be appointed from each of

22 the States by the United States Secretary of Agri23 culture.
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1 (b) TERM.—Each member of the Commission shall

2 serve for such term as the official who appoints the mem3 ber determines is appropriate.

4 (c) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commission

5 shall constitute a quorum, but the Commission may estab6 lish that a lesser number shall constitute a quorum for

7 the purpose of conducting hearings.

8 (d) MEETINGS.—

9 (1) FIRST MEETINGS.—Five or more members

10 appointed under subsection (a)(1) shall determine

11 the date, time, and place of the first meeting, and

12 shall call the first meeting. At the first meeting, the

13 members of the Commission shall appoint a chair14 person from among the members appointed under

15 subsection (a)(1). The first meeting of the Commis16 sion shall be held not later than 45 days after the

17 date of enactment of this Act.

18 (2) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The Commission

19 shall conduct such additional meetings as the com20 mission determines are appropriate.

21 (e) APPOINTMENTS.—Each appointment under this

22 Act shall be made not later than 30 days after the date

23 of enactment of this Act.

24 (f) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

25 not affect the powers of the Commission and shall be filled
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1 in the same manner in which the original appointment was

2 made.

3 (g) HEADQUARTERS.—The Commission shall estab4 lish the location for the headquarters of the Commission.

5 SEC. 7. DUTIES.

6 (a) PLAN.—The Commission shall identify and study

7 the economic development, infrastructure, technology,

8 telecommunications, capital, employment, transportation,

9 business resource development, education, health care,

10 housing, and recreation needs of the Northern Great

11 Plains and develop a 10-year plan that makes rec12 ommendations and establishes priorities to address the

13 needs.

14 (b) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—In developing the plan,

15 the Commission shall, with respect to the Northern Great

16 Plains—

17 (1) sponsor and conduct investigations, research

18 studies, and field hearings;

19 (2) review and evaluate available research, stud20 ies, and information on conditions in the areas re21 ferred to in subsection (a);

22 (3) study the economy, identifying strengths,

23 weaknesses, participation levels, opportunities, and

24 methods of addressing outmigration;
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1 (4) develop a profile of, and a description of re2 sources devoted to, economic development (including

3 tourism), human resources (including demographics,

4 outmigration, poverty, Native Americans, education,

5 and training), infrastructure (including air, water,

6 highway, rail, and telecommunications), and natural

7 resources;

8 (5) study and evaluate the economic develop9 ment resources, coordination, collaboration, and

10 ‘‘best practices’’ of the Federal, State, and local gov11 ernments, nonprofit organizations, universities, busi12 nesses, agricultural and natural resources groups,

13 foundations, cooperatives, and other organizations;

14 (6) identify methods of facilitating the employ15 ment and business startups of unemployed, under16 employed, and low-income individuals and house17 holds;

18 (7) identify effective methods for promoting de19 velopment on Native American reservations;

20 (8) study the availability of methods of deliver21 ing public, private, and nonprofit capital and tech22 nical assistance for business startups and expan23 sions, including farming and ranching;

24 (9) evaluate the availability of, need for, and

25 strategies for providing and maintaining, the infra-
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1 structure, including air, water, highway, rail, and

2 telecommunications;

3 (10) study the structure and potential develop4 ment of major industries, including agriculture, tim5 ber, mining, tourism, and manufacturing (including

6 the use of advanced technologies and processes and

7 adding value to raw materials and component parts);

8 (11) study the competence and availability of

9 the labor force, including the health, educational,

10 training, housing, and economic needs of the labor

11 force;

12 (12) develop an inventory of water, mineral, en13 ergy, timber, agricultural, fishery, wildlife, and other

14 natural resources;

15 (13) assess the comparative cost of doing busi16 ness;

17 (14) assess the international trading levels,

18 markets, and practices, and potential opportunities;

19 (15) assess the interconnection between metro20 politan and rural areas and identify methods

21 through which the areas can collaborate;

22 (16) assess methods by which small commu23 nities and regions are collaborating or can collabo24 rate in economic development initiatives;

25 (17) evaluate—
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1 (A) the distribution and impact of Federal

2 spending, including grant-in-aid programs, re3 search, and Federal procurement, and compare

4 the level of spending in these categories with

5 spending in other regions of the country; and

6 (B) the extent to which reliance on Fed7 eral, State, and local government outlays for

8 poverty programs can be reduced by outlays

9 targeted for economic development;

10 (18) identify Federal, State, and local govern11 ment programs, policies, and regulations that en12 hance or obstruct the development of businesses and

13 well-paying jobs with long-term potential and that

14 effectively use the skills, education, and training of

15 the labor force;

16 (19) evaluate the potential for States to jointly

17 finance projects and activities of regional benefit;

18 and

19 (20) analyze such other issues as the Commis20 sion determines are relevant to future economic de21 velopment.

22 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—In developing the

23 plan, the Commission shall—

24 (1) provide a forum for the consideration of the

25 problems of the rural Northern Great Plains and
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1 proposed solutions, and establish and utilize citizens

2 groups, special advisory councils, public hearings,

3 and conferences;

4 (2) seek and encourage the participation of in5 terested citizens, public officials, groups, agencies,

6 economic development organizations, natural re7 source organizations, and other organizations;

8 (3) make the Commission accessible to the indi9 viduals, groups, agencies, and organizations referred

10 to in paragraph (2) by holding at least 1 well pub11 licized public hearing in each State; and

12 (4) consult with—

13 (A) Federal, State, and local government

14 agencies, including the Departments of Agri15 culture, Commerce, Education, Labor, Health

16 and Human Services, Housing and Urban De17 velopment, and Transportation, and the Small

18 Business Administration, bank regulatory agen19 cies, and rural development councils;

20 (B) banks, insurance companies, venture

21 capital companies, and other for-profit financial

22 institutions;

23 (C) nonprofit and community-based devel24 opment organizations, revolving loan funds, and

25 other organizations;
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1 (D) industry and sectoral organizations;

2 (E) foundations and universities; and

3 (F) other organizations involved in eco4 nomic development activities.

5 SEC. 8. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

6 (a) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY GOVERNORS.—Each

7 member of the Commission appointed by a Governor of

8 a State may be compensated by the State that the member

9 represents.

10 (b) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE SECRETARY.—

11 Each member appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture,

12 who is not otherwise employed by the United States Gov13 ernment, shall receive compensation at a rate determined

14 by the Secretary, not to exceed the daily equivalent of the

15 lowest annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS–15

16 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5,

17 United States Code, including travel-time, for each day

18 the member is engaged in the actual performance of the

19 duties of the Commission. A member of the Commission

20 appointed by the Secretary who is an officer or employee

21 of the United States Government shall serve without addi22 tional compensation.

23 (c) TRAVEL AND OTHER EXPENSES.—Each member

24 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ25 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized
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1 for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter

2 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the

3 home or regular place of business of the member in the

4 performance of services for the Commission. Each member

5 of the Commission shall also be reimbursed by the United

6 States Government for other necessary expenses incurred

7 by the member in the performance of the duties of the

8 member.

9 SEC. 9. POWERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

10 (a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

11 may obtain the services of experts and consultants in ac12 cordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

13 (b) FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.—

14 The Commission may enter into agreements with the Ad15 ministrator of General Services for the procurement of

16 necessary financial and administrative services, for which

17 payment shall be made by reimbursement from funds of

18 the Commission in such amounts as are agreed on by the

19 chairperson and the Administrator of General Services.

20 (c) CONTRACTS.—Subject to subsection (d), the Com21 mission may enter into contracts with Federal and State

22 agencies and private firms, institutions, and agencies for

23 the conduct of research and surveys, the preparation of

24 reports, and other activities necessary to carry out the du25 ties of the Commission.
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1 (d) SUPPLIES, SERVICES, PROPERTY, AND CON2 TRACTS.—The Commission may procure supplies, serv3 ices, and property, and make contracts in any fiscal year,

4 only to such extent and in such amounts as are provided

5 in appropriation Acts.

6 (e) HEARINGS.—The Commission or, on the author7 ization of the Commission, a member of the Commission

8 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such

9 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, and request

10 the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the

11 production of such books, records, memoranda, papers,

12 and documents as the Commission or the member consid13 ers appropriate.

14 (f) INFORMATION.—The Commission may acquire di15 rectly from any executive department, bureau, agency,

16 board, commission, office, independent establishment, or

17 instrumentality, information, suggestions, estimates, and

18 statistics for the purpose of this Act. Each department,

19 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, establishment,

20 or instrumentality shall provide, to the extent permitted

21 by law, the information, suggestions, estimates, and statis22 tics directly to the Commission, upon request by the chair23 person.

24 (g) PERSONNEL.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Without regard to the provi2 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap3 pointments in the competitive service, and without

4 regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

5 53 of such title relating to classification and General

6 Schedule pay rates, the chairperson of the Commis7 sion may appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa8 tion of an Executive Director and such additional

9 personnel as the chairperson determines are nec10 essary to enable the Commission to carry out the du11 ties of the Commission.

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—The rate of compensation

13 of the Executive Director may not exceed a rate

14 equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of

15 basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Sched16 ule under section 5316 of such title. The rate of

17 compensation of all other personnel may not exceed

18 a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the lowest an19 nual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS–15 of

20 the General Schedule under section 5332 of such

21 title.

22 (h) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon re23 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency

24 may make any of the facilities and services of the agency

25 available to the Commission or detail any of the personnel
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1 of the agency to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis,

2 to assist the Commission in carrying out the duties of the

3 Commission under this Act. If the head of an agency de4 termines that the agency cannot make the facilities, serv5 ices, or personnel available to the Commission, the head

6 shall notify the chairperson in writing.

7 (i) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

8 the United States mails in the same manner and under

9 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

10 the United States.

11 SEC. 10. REPORTS.

12 (a) INTERIM REPORT.—Before the end of the 270-

13 day period beginning on the date of the first meeting of

14 the Commission under section 6(d)(1), the Commission

15 shall submit a report to the Secretary of Agriculture, the

16 President pro tempore of the Senate, the Committee on

17 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, the

18 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Committee

19 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, the Presi20 dent, and the Governor of each State, describing the find21 ings and activities of the Commission and the further ac22 tivities necessary to carry out the duties of the Commis23 sion.

24 (b) FINAL REPORT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 18-

2 month period beginning on the date of the first

3 meeting of the Commission under section 6(d)(1),

4 the Commission shall submit to the Secretary of Ag5 riculture, the President pro tempore of the Senate,

6 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For7 estry of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of

8 Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture of

9 the House of Representatives, the President, and the

10 Governor of each State, a report describing the find11 ings and activities of the Commission and rec12 ommendations in accordance with paragraph (2) re13 garding specific actions that are necessary to pro14 mote the economic development of the rural North15 ern Great Plains while preserving, to the maximum

16 extent possible, the natural beauty and habitat of

17 the Northern Great Plains.

18 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—

19 (A) REGIONAL COLLABORATION.—The

20 Commission shall, with respect to the Northern

21 Great Plains—

22 (i) determine the most effective and

23 appropriate method for ensuring continued

24 collaboration within the region on economic

25 development matters, considering regional
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1 compacts, cooperatives, foundations, devel2 opment corporations, and other agreements

3 and organizations;

4 (ii) identify the organizational struc5 ture, method of financing, functions, and

6 participating organizations, of the collabo7 ration referred to in clause (i);

8 (iii) identify methods of effective

9 multi-community, substate, and small re10 gion development; and

11 (iv) assess the interconnection be12 tween metropolitan and rural areas and

13 identify methods of collaboration between

14 the areas.

15 (B) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.—The Com16 mission shall, with respect to the rural North17 ern Great Plains—

18 (i) recommend methods of diversifying

19 the rural economy, including the develop20 ment and financing of value-added and

21 new-use agricultural products;

22 (ii) develop methods to promote and

23 finance beginning owner-occupied farming

24 and ranching operations;
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1 (iii) recommend methods of promoting

2 entrepreneurial development, including

3 business startups and expansions;

4 (iv) recommend methods in which the

5 public, private, and nonprofit sectors can

6 help increase international trading levels

7 and penetrate new markets in agricultural,

8 manufactured, and service products;

9 (v) evaluate the potential utility of

10 business and manufacturing networks in

11 target sectors;

12 (vi) assess the competitiveness of

13 manufacturers and the use of modern tech14 nology, process, and information by the

15 manufacturers, and methods of assisting

16 manufacturers lacking the technology,

17 processes, or information;

18 (vii) recommend methods in which

19 capital and technical assistance can be pro20 vided on a regional or sectoral basis to

21 business startups and expansions by pub22 lic, private, and nonprofit organizations;

23 and

24 (viii) recommend ways in which Fed25 eral and State resource conservation pro-
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1 grams can be used to encourage tourism in

2 the region.

3 (C) CAPITAL.—The Commission shall, with

4 respect to the rural Northern Great Plains—

5 (i) determine if there are capital needs

6 in the economy, and in what part of the

7 economy the needs are located, and rec8 ommend how governmental, nonprofit, co9 operative, community-based, microlending,

10 banking, venture, seed, and nonbanking fi11 nancing sources can assist in meeting the

12 needs;

13 (ii) identify such strategies in organi14 zation, regulations, policy, marketing, and

15 coordination as are needed to implement a

16 plan to meet the needs referred to in

17 clause (i); and

18 (iii) recommend methods of utilizing

19 secondary financial markets to increase the

20 capital available for business development.

21 (D) INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Commission

22 shall, with respect to the rural Northern Great

23 Plains—

24 (i) prepare a plan to preserve, finance,

25 and operate effective freight railroad serv-
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1 ice in coordination with States, the Federal

2 Railroad Administration, the Interstate

3 Commerce Commission, rail operators,

4 shippers, and the financial community;

5 (ii) prepare an assessment and agree6 ment on the capital needs, coordination,

7 and financing of telecommunications infra8 structure, in cooperation with the Depart9 ment of Agriculture, the National Tele10 communications and Information Adminis11 tration of the Department of Commerce,

12 the Federal Communications Commission,

13 the public utilities commission of each

14 State, telephone companies and coopera15 tives, representative users, and such other

16 entities as the Commission determines are

17 appropriate; and

18 (iii) recommend strategies for ad19 dressing air, water, and highway needs.

20 (E) HUMAN RESOURCES.—The Commis21 sion shall, with respect to the rural Northern

22 Great Plains—

23 (i) identify methods of facilitating the

24 employment and business startups of indi25 viduals who are not effectively participat-
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1 ing in the labor force, including unem2 ployed, underemployed, and low-income in3 dividuals and households;

4 (ii) identify methods of coordinating

5 on a regional or sectoral basis education

6 and training programs that are tied to eco7 nomic development initiatives, especially

8 programs that address the outmigration of

9 youth; and

10 (iii) study the competence and avail11 ability of the labor force and the effects of

12 the health, educational, training, housing,

13 and economic needs of the labor force, and

14 identify regional strategies addressing the

15 needs.

16 (F) GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, POLICIES,

17 AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall

18 submit to the appropriate government, non19 profit, and private sector organizations rec20 ommendations for modifications or additions to

21 the programs, policies, and regulations referred

22 to in section 7(b)(18) to promote the rural de23 velopment of the Northern Great Plains.

24 SEC. 11. TERMINATION.

25 The Commission shall terminate on the earlier of—
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1 (1) 120 days after the date of submission of the

2 final report under section 10; and

3 (2) 2 years after the date of enactment of this

4 Act.

5 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

7 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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