II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 142 

To expand certain empowerment zone provisions to communities receiving 

a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2017 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To expand certain empowerment zone provisions to communities receiving a Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

Notification Act notice, 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 ‘‘Community Economic 

5 Assistance Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE PROVISIONS 

2 TO CERTAIN COMMUNITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after sub5 chapter U the following new subchapter: 

6 ‘‘Subchapter U–1—Community Economic 

7 Assistance Zones 

‘‘Sec. 1397G. Designation of community economic assistance zones. 

‘‘Sec. 1397H. Incentives for community economic assistance zones. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1397G. DESIGNATION OF COMMUNITY ECONOMIC AS9 SISTANCE ZONES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, the 

11 term ‘community economic assistance zone’ means any 

12 area— 

13 ‘‘(1) which is nominated by the governor or 

14 governors of the State or States in which it is lo15 cated for designation as a community economic as16 sistance zone (hereafter in this section referred to as 

17 a ‘nominated area’, and 

18 ‘‘(2) which the Secretary designates as a com19 munity economic assistance zone, after consultation 

20 with— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Labor, and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of an area on an Indian 

23 reservation, the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION BASED ON LOSS OF EMPLOY2 MENT, ETC.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro4 vided in this section, a nominated area designated as 

5 a community economic assistance zone under this 

6 subsection shall be— 

7 ‘‘(A) a nominated area— 

8 ‘‘(i) where— 

9 ‘‘(I) a facility is located with re10 spect to which a notice was issued 

11 after December 31, 2014, under sec12 tion 3 of the Worker Adjustment and 

13 Retraining Notification Act (29 

14 U.S.C. 2102) with respect to 250 or 

15 more employees, or 

16 ‘‘(II) where 100 or more employ17 ees with respect to which such a no18 tice was issued reside, 

19 ‘‘(ii) where the number of employ20 ees— 

21 ‘‘(I) with respect to which the no22 tice was issued (in the case of an area 

23 described in clause (i)(I)), or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the number of employees 

2 who are described in clause (i)(II) (in 

3 any other case), 

4 is equal to or greater than 0.5 percent of 

5 the employed population of the metropoli6 tan statistical area (as determined by the 

7 Secretary), and 

8 ‘‘(iii) where a loss of employment sat9 isfying the requirements applicable to such 

10 notice under clauses (i) and (ii) actually 

11 occurs, 

12 ‘‘(B) a nominated area which the Sec13 retary, in consultation with the Secretaries of 

14 Labor and Commerce, determines has been or 

15 will be seriously impacted by changes in trade 

16 through loss of employment (directly or indi17 rectly), taking into account the number of indi18 viduals certified as eligible to apply for trade 

19 adjustment assistance under chapter 2 of title 

20 II of the Trade Act of 1974 or who are receiv21 ing benefits under such chapter, or 

22 ‘‘(C) a nominated area which satisfies not 

23 less than two of the conditions described in 

24 paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The conditions 

2 described in this subparagraph are the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The area is designated by the gov4 ernor of the State as an energy-transitioning 

5 community. 

6 ‘‘(B) The area, at the time of nomina7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(i) has a composite index value, as 

9 determined by the Appalachian Regional 

10 Commission, among the lowest 10 percent 

11 of counties in the State, 

12 ‘‘(ii) is a low-income community (as 

13 defined in section 45D(e)), or 

14 ‘‘(iii) has an unemployment rate 

15 which is 8 percent or greater, or which is 

16 6.5 percent or greater and is equal to or 

17 greater than 125 percent of the average 

18 unemployment rate of the State. 

19 ‘‘(C) Tax revenues collected in the area de20 creased, not due to any changes in tax law or 

21 policy, by at least— 

22 ‘‘(i) 7 percent as compared to the pre23 ceding year, or 

24 ‘‘(ii) an average of 10 percent over 

25 the preceding 3 years. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The number of business establish2 ments in the area decreased significantly during 

3 the preceding year or on average during the 

4 preceding 3 years, as determined by the Sec5 retary. 

6 ‘‘(E) The area is among the 10 percent of 

7 counties nationally which have experienced the 

8 largest increases in unemployment and the larg9 est decreases in manufacturing over the pre10 ceding 3 years, as determined by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(3) ENERGY-TRANSITIONING COMMUNITIES.— 

12 For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘energy14 transitioning communities’ means those nomi15 nated areas where the Secretary of Labor, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, de17 termines there is a high concentration of jobs in 

18 industries or at facilities directly affected by an 

19 energy source transition. 

20 ‘‘(B) ENERGY SOURCE TRANSITION.—For 

21 purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘energy 

22 source transition’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) a situation in which the occur24 rence of a shift from the use of a type of 

25 fossil fuel to use of other sources of energy 


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1 is followed by the closing of a facility, or 

2 layoff of employees at a facility, that 

3 mines, extracts, produces, processes, or 

4 utilizes fossil fuels to generate electricity, 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) another situation as determined 

7 by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation 

8 with the Secretary of Energy, which is in9 dicative of new demands or burdens on af10 fected employees or employees in affected 

11 industries due to a significant change in 

12 the source of energy used by the facility or 

13 industry involved. 

14 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—A nominated 

15 area shall be eligible for designation under this sub16 section only if it meets the requirements of section 

17 1392(a)(1) and subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of 

18 section 1392(a)(3). 

19 ‘‘(c) PERIOD FOR WHICH DESIGNATION IS IN EF20 FECT.—Any designation of an area as a community eco21 nomic assistance zone shall remain in effect during the 

22 period beginning on January 1, 2017, and ending on the 

23 date that is 5 years after the latest designation of such 

24 area as a community economic assistance zone. 


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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION RELATING TO STATE POPU2 LATION.—An area shall not be designated as a community 

3 economic assistance zone under subsection (b) if such des4 ignation would result in more than 10 percent of the popu5 lation of the State residing in such a zone (determined 

6 by aggregating all such zones within the State). 

7 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH TREATMENT OF RE8 NEWAL COMMUNITIES, EMPOWERMENT ZONES, AND EN9 TERPRISE COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of this title, the 

10 designation under any other provision of this title of any 

11 area as a renewal community, empowerment zone, or en12 terprise community shall cease to be in effect as of the 

13 date that the designation of any portion of such area as 

14 a community economic assistance zone takes effect. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1397H. INCENTIVES FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC AS16 SISTANCE ZONES. 

17 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYMENT CREDIT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1396 shall be ap19 plied— 

20 ‘‘(A) by treating any reference to an em21 powerment zone as a reference to a community 

22 economic assistance zone, 

23 ‘‘(B) by treating any reference to an em24 ployer as a reference to a qualified employer, 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) without respect to subsection 

2 (d)(1)(B) thereof. 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ZONE EMPLOYER.—For pur4 poses of paragraph (1), with respect to a taxable 

5 year, the term ‘qualified employer’ means any em6 ployer other than an excepted taxpayer described in 

7 subsection (g). 

8 ‘‘(b) INCREASE IN EXPENSING UNDER SECTION

9 179.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1397A shall be ap11 plied— 

12 ‘‘(A) by treating any reference to an em13 powerment zone as a reference to a community 

14 economic assistance zone, 

15 ‘‘(B) by treating any reference to an enter16 prise zone business as a reference to a commu17 nity economic assistance zone business, 

18 ‘‘(C) by treating any reference to qualified 

19 zone property as a reference to qualified com20 munity economic assistance zone property, and 

21 ‘‘(D) by substituting ‘20 percent of such 

22 limitation’ for ‘$35,000’ in subsection (a)(1)(A) 

23 thereof. 

24 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE

25 BUSINESS.—For purposes of this subsection, the 


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1 term ‘community economic assistance zone business’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) any business entity, and 

4 ‘‘(B) any proprietorship, 

5 other than an excepted taxpayer described in sub6 section (g), which would be a qualified business enti7 ty (as defined in section 1397C(b)) or a qualified 

8 proprietorship (as defined in section 1397C(c)) if 

9 section 1397C were applied by substituting ‘commu10 nity economic assistance zone’ for ‘empowerment 

11 zone’ each place it appears. 

12 ‘‘(c) NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN ON ROLLOVER OF

13 COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE INVEST14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any sale of 

16 a qualified community economic assistance zone 

17 asset held by the taxpayer for more than 1 year and 

18 with respect to which such taxpayer elects the appli19 cation of this subsection, gain from such sale shall 

20 be recognized only to the extent that the amount re21 alized on such sale exceeds— 

22 ‘‘(A) the cost of any qualified community 

23 economic assistance zone asset (with respect to 

24 the same zone as the asset sold) purchased by 


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1 the taxpayer during the 60-day period begin2 ning on the date of such sale, reduced by 

3 ‘‘(B) any portion of such cost previously 

4 taken into account under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For 

6 purposes of this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(A) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY ECONOMIC

8 ASSISTANCE ZONE ASSET.—The term ‘qualified 

9 community economic assistance zone asset’ 

10 means any property which would be a qualified 

11 community asset (as defined in section 

12 1400F(b)) if in section 1400F(b)— 

13 ‘‘(i) ‘after December 31, 2016’ were 

14 substituted for ‘after December 31, 2001, 

15 and before January 1, 2010’ each place it 

16 appears, 

17 ‘‘(ii) ‘after December 31, 2016’ were 

18 substituted for ‘before January 1, 2010’ in 

19 paragraph (4)(B)(i) thereof, 

20 ‘‘(iii) references to community eco21 nomic assistance zone businesses (as de22 fined in subsection (b)(2) of this section) 

23 were substituted for references to renewal 

24 community businesses, and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) references to community eco2 nomic assistance zones were substituted 

3 for references to renewal communities. 

4 ‘‘(B) OTHER RULES.—The rules of para5 graphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of section 

6 1397B(b) shall apply— 

7 ‘‘(i) by treating any reference to an 

8 enterprise zone business as a reference to 

9 a community economic assistance zone 

10 business (as defined in subsection (b)(2)), 

11 ‘‘(ii) by treating any reference to a 

12 qualified empowerment zone asset as a ref13 erence to a qualified community economic 

14 assistance zone asset, and 

15 ‘‘(iii) by treating any reference to sub16 section (a) of section 1397B as a reference 

17 to paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTED TAXPAYERS.—Paragraph (1) 

19 shall not apply in the case of an excepted taxpayer 

20 described in subsection (g). 

21 ‘‘(d) 3-YEAR CARRYBACK OF NET OPERATING

22 LOSSES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a portion of any net op24 erating loss of a taxpayer for any taxable year is a 

25 qualified community economic assistance zone loss, 


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1 section 172(b)(1) shall be applied with respect to 

2 such portion— 

3 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘3 taxable years’ for 

4 ‘2 taxable years’ in subparagraph (A)(i), and 

5 ‘‘(B) by not taking such portion into ac6 count in determining any eligible loss of the 

7 taxpayer under subparagraph (E) thereof for 

8 the taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY ECONOMIC AS10 SISTANCE ZONE LOSS.—For purposes of paragraph 

11 (1), the term ‘qualified community economic assist12 ance zone loss’ means the portion of the net oper13 ating loss (as defined in section 172(c)) for the tax14 able year which is attributable to deductions arising 

15 from— 

16 ‘‘(A) losses in a community economic as17 sistance zone, 

18 ‘‘(B) expenses paid or incurred within a 

19 community economic assistance zone, and 

20 ‘‘(C) expenses paid or incurred with re21 spect to property placed in service in a commu22 nity economic assistance zone, 

23 during either the taxable year in which the designa24 tion of such zone goes into effect under section 


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1 1397G or the immediately succeeding taxable year, 

2 whichever is elected by the taxpayer. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTED TAXPAYERS.—Paragraph (1) 

4 shall not apply in the case of an excepted taxpayer 

5 described in subsection (g). 

6 ‘‘(e) CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF COMMUNITY ECO7 NOMIC SUPPORT BONDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a taxpayer 

9 holding a community economic support bond, such 

10 bond shall be treated in the same manner as a Gulf 

11 tax credit bond under section 1400N(l), applied— 

12 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘community economic 

13 support bond’ for ‘Gulf tax credit bond’ each 

14 place it appears in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and 

15 (7) thereof, and 

16 ‘‘(B) without regard to paragraphs (4) and 

17 (5) thereof. 

18 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC SUPPORT BOND.— 

19 For purposes of this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘community 

21 economic support bond’ means any bond issued 

22 as part of an issue if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the bond is issued by a State in 

24 which a community economic assistance 


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1 area (as defined in section 45D(f)(3)(B)) 

2 is located, 

3 ‘‘(ii) 95 percent or more of the pro4 ceeds of such issue are to be used in ac5 cordance with the priorities outlined in the 

6 community economic development plan ap7 proved under section 6 of the Community 

8 Economic Assistance Act of 2017 to imple9 ment the strategies and objectives under 

10 such plan described in section 6(3) of such 

11 Act, 

12 ‘‘(iii) the Governor of such State des13 ignates such bond for purposes of this sub14 section, 

15 ‘‘(iv) the bond is a general obligation 

16 of such State and is in registered form 

17 (within the meaning of section 149(a)), 

18 ‘‘(v) the maturity of such bond does 

19 not exceed 15 years, and 

20 ‘‘(vi) the bond is issued after the des21 ignation of such zone goes into effect 

22 under section 1397G, and before such des23 ignation ends under section 1397G(c). 

24 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE LIMIT ON BOND DES25 IGNATIONS.—The maximum aggregate face 


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1 amount of bonds which may be designated 

2 under this subsection by the Governor of a 

3 State shall not exceed $100,000,000 per com4 munity economic assistance area located in the 

5 State. 

6 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO ARBI7 TRAGE.—A bond which is part of an issue shall 

8 not be treated as a community economic sup9 port bond unless, with respect to the issue of 

10 which the bond is a part, the issuer satisfies the 

11 arbitrage requirements of section 148 with re12 spect to proceeds of the issue and any loans 

13 made with such proceeds. 

14 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTED TAXPAYERS.—Paragraph (1) 

15 shall not apply in the case of an excepted taxpayer 

16 described in subsection (g). 

17 ‘‘(f) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE

18 ZONE PROPERTY.—For purposes of this section, the term 

19 ‘qualified community economic assistance zone property’ 

20 means any property which would be qualified zone prop21 erty for purposes of section 1397D if such section were 

22 applied by substituting ‘community economic assistance 

23 zone’ for ‘empowerment zone’ each place it appears. 


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1 ‘‘(g) TAXPAYERS EXCEPTED.—With respect to any 

2 community economic assistance zone, an excepted tax3 payer described in this subsection is— 

4 ‘‘(1) an entity that operates a facility in such 

5 zone with respect to which a notice under section 3 

6 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifica7 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) was issued, if such notice 

8 caused the region to be designated as such a zone, 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(2) any entity that would be treated as a sin11 gle employer with such an entity under the rules of 

12 subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) 

13 or (o) of section 414.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub15 chapters for chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

17 subchapter U the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER U–1—COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONES’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 December 31, 2016. 


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1 SEC. 3. 15-YEAR DEPRECIATION FOR CERTAIN REBUILT 

2 AND RETROFITTED COMMUNITY ECONOMIC 

3 ASSISTANCE ZONE PROPERTY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (E) of section 

5 168(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (viii), 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

9 (ix) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

11 clause: 

12 ‘‘(x) any qualified rebuilt or retro13 fitted community economic assistance zone 

14 property.’’. 

15 (b) QUALIFIED REBUILT OR RETROFITTED COMMU16 NITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE PROPERTY.—Sub17 section (e) of section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code 

18 of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 

19 new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED REBUILT OR RETROFITTED

21 COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE PROP22 ERTY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

24 rebuilt or retrofitted community economic as25 sistance zone property’ means property placed 

26 in service in a community economic assistance 


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1 zone by a qualified taxpayer during the period 

2 the designation of such zone is in effect under 

3 section 1397G which relates to the rebuilding or 

4 retrofitting of— 

5 ‘‘(i) any qualified community eco6 nomic assistance zone property (as defined 

7 in section 1397H(f)), and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any residential real property lo9 cated in a community economic assistance 

10 zone which is acquired by the taxpayer by 

11 purchase (as defined in section 179(d)(2)) 

12 during such period, 

13 if such property was unoccupied and had been 

14 deemed condemned, neglected, or derelict as of 

15 the time of acquisition by the taxpayer. 

16 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur17 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘qualified tax18 payer’ means a taxpayer other than an excepted 

19 taxpayer (within the meaning of section 

20 1397H(g)).’’. 

21 SEC. 4. INCREASE IN START-UP EXPENDITURES FOR COM22 MUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE BUSI23 NESSES. 

24 Paragraph (3) of section 195(b) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR COMMUNITY ECO2 NOMIC ASSISTANCE ZONE BUSINESSES.—In the case 

3 of any start-up expenditures made within a commu4 nity economic assistance zone during the period the 

5 designation of such zone is in effect under section 

6 1397G— 

7 ‘‘(A) such expenditures shall be treated 

8 separately from other start-up expenditures of 

9 the taxpayer for the taxable year, and 

10 ‘‘(B) in determining the deduction under 

11 paragraph (1) with respect to such expenditures 

12 within such zone, paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be 

13 applied— 

14 ‘‘(i) by substituting ‘$30,000’ for 

15 ‘$5,000’, and 

16 ‘‘(ii) by substituting ‘$120,000’ for 

17 ‘$50,000’.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. INCREASE IN NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT DESIGNA19 TION FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSIST20 ANCE ZONES. 

21 Subsection (f) of section 45D of the Internal Revenue 

22 Code of 1986 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The limitation’’ in paragraph 

24 (2) and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 

25 (3), the limitation’’, 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4), 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION FOR CAL6 ENDAR YEARS AFTER 2016.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any cal8 endar year described in paragraph (1)(G) be9 ginning after December 31, 2016, the limitation 

10 under paragraph (1) shall be increased by 

11 $500,000,000, and such increase shall be allo12 cated as provided in paragraph (2) among 

13 qualified community development entities lo14 cated in community economic assistance areas. 

15 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE

16 AREA.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

17 term ‘community economic assistance area’ 

18 means an area which— 

19 ‘‘(i) is a community economic assist20 ance zone, and 

21 ‘‘(ii) has a community economic devel22 opment plan approved under section 6 of 

23 the Community Economic Assistance Act 

24 of 2017. 


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1 ‘‘(C) USE OF INCREASE.—Any amount of 

2 such increase which is so allocated to such an 

3 entity shall be used only in accordance with the 

4 priorities outlined in such community economic 

5 development plan to implement the strategies 

6 and objectives under such plan described in sec7 tion 6(3) of Community Economic Assistance 

8 Act of 2017.’’, 

9 (4) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ in paragraph 

10 (4), as so redesignated, and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

11 (2) or (3)’’, and 

12 (5) by striking the second sentence of para13 graph (4), as so redesignated, and inserting the fol14 lowing: ‘‘Any carryover under the preceding sentence 

15 of an amount allocated under paragraph (3) shall be 

16 allocated first among qualified community develop17 ment entities located in community economic assist18 ance areas, and may then be allocated among any 

19 qualified community development entities selected by 

20 the Secretary under paragraph (2). No amount may 

21 be carried under the preceding sentences to any cal22 endar year after 2024.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. APPROVAL OF COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOP2 MENT PLANS. 

3 A community economic development plan for a region 

4 shall be considered approved under this section if each of 

5 the following criteria are satisfied: 

6 (1) The plan is submitted to the Secretary of 

7 the Treasury in such form, and containing such in8 formation, as the Secretary may require. 

9 (2) The plan contains a certification that the 

10 plan was developed and approved through a process 

11 that included participation from the following: 

12 (A) State, Indian tribal, and local govern13 ments and agencies or instrumentalities of 

14 State, Indian tribal, and local governments. 

15 (B) State planning boards, workforce in16 vestment boards, chambers of commerce, and 

17 economic development organizations, if relevant. 

18 (C) Local businesses. 

19 (D) Labor and health organizations. 

20 (E) Public school systems and institutions 

21 of higher education (as defined in section 101 

22 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1001)). 

24 (F) Religious and other community-based 

25 groups in the region, including those that proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jan 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S142.IS S142

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1 vide assistance to the workers of the region and 

2 the families of the workers. 

3 (G) Other public community institutions, 

4 such as library and park systems. 

5 (H) Members of the public, including un6 employed or soon to be unemployed workers. 

7 (3) The Secretary determines that the plan— 

8 (A) ascertains the severity of an antici9 pated or existing economic dislocation of the re10 gion, including consideration of measures of un11 employment rates and employment opportuni12 ties; 

13 (B) assesses the capacity of the region to 

14 respond to such economic dislocation and the 

15 needs of the region, as the region undertakes 

16 economic advancement or adjustment, including 

17 with respect to— 

18 (i) the diversity of industries in the 

19 region; 

20 (ii) the skills of the labor force in the 

21 region; 

22 (iii) the condition of the labor market 

23 of the region; 

24 (iv) the availability of financial re25 sources in the region; 


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1 (v) the quality and availability of edu2 cational facilities, including 2-year institu3 tions of higher education and vocational in4 stitutions, that serve the region; and 

5 (vi) the infrastructure of the region; 

6 (C) includes a plan to use a local workforce 

7 and, when necessary, to train a local workforce; 

8 (D) addresses the need of the region to at9 tract investment, create jobs, increase wages, 

10 improve educational opportunities, and expand 

11 the availability of broadband Internet access; 

12 (E) leverages the region’s economic 

13 strengths and outlines targeted investments to 

14 develop competitive advantages to execute the 

15 objectives outlined, including a plan to utilize a 

16 local workforce and recently dislocated workers 

17 and, when necessary, train a local workforce; 

18 (F) is the result of collaboration across a 

19 wide range of stakeholders; 

20 (G) outlines a strategy which connects the 

21 region to drivers of regional economic growth; 

22 (H) proposes a strategy for focusing on in23 creased access to high quality, affordable, stable 

24 housing and improved public safety; and 


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1 (I) discusses the anticipated benefits exe2 cution of the plan will deliver for community in3 tegration, safety, employment outcomes, and 

4 home weatherization and energy efficiency, and 

5 the expected contribution of the project to the 

6 inclusion of individuals with disabilities. 

7 SEC. 7. GRANTS TO CARRY OUT ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED 

8 FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY ECO9 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

11 may award a grant to an eligible entity involved in the 

12 development of a community economic development plan 

13 described in section 6 to carry out such assessments and 

14 other activities as may be required for the plan to meet 

15 the requirements of section 6(3). 

16 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this sec17 tion, an eligible entity is a local or Indian tribal govern18 ment or an agency or instrumentality of such a govern19 ment. 

20 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary may not award 

21 a grant under this section in excess of $1,000,000. 

22 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 

24 grant under this section shall provide non-Federal 


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1 matching funds equal to not less than 20 percent of 

2 the amount of the grant. 

3 (2) IN-KIND SUPPORT.—Matching funds may 

4 include in-kind support. 

5 SEC. 8. FEDERAL ECONOMIC SUPPORT TEAM. 

6 (a) DEPLOYMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

7 Commerce shall deploy a targeted investment generating 

8 economic recovery team to a region to provide support and 

9 assistance to such region if— 

10 (1) the Governor of the State requests such de11 ployment; and 

12 (2) the Secretary of Commerce determines that 

13 the region is experiencing an actual or threatened 

14 abrupt rise of unemployment or economic hardship 

15 due to the closing or curtailment of a major source 

16 of employment, significant industry transition, or 

17 other mitigating economic factors, including inter18 national trade. 

19 (b) SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.— 

20 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY

21 AND EMPLOYMENT PLAN.—In providing support and 

22 assistance to a region under subsection (a), a tar23 geted investment generating economic recovery team 

24 shall work in coordination with a State or regional 

25 economic development and workforce agency and the 


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1 Rapid Response team of the Department of Labor to 

2 assist in the development of an economic recovery 

3 and employment plan for the region, including by 

4 identifying grants, sources of State and Federal 

5 funding, and unemployment insurance resources (in6 cluding short-time compensation) which may be ben7 eficially utilized in the region. 

8 (2) CASES OF FACILITIES SHUTDOWN.—In ad9 dition to the support and assistance provided under 

10 paragraph (1), in a case in which the actual or 

11 threatened abrupt rise of unemployment or economic 

12 hardship in the region involves the shutdown of a fa13 cility of a business unit, the team shall work in co14 ordination with the Administrator of the Small Busi15 ness Administration to assess the feasibility and ad16 visability of an employee purchase of such business 

17 unit. 

18 (3) COORDINATION.—In addition to the support 

19 and assistance provided by a team under paragraph 

20 (1) to a region, the team, in coordination with the 

21 Secretary of Labor, shall— 

22 (A) coordinate the activities of all Federal 

23 agencies relating to the provision of assistance 

24 to the region in response to the actual or 

25 threatened abrupt rise of unemployment or ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jan 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S142.IS S142

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1 nomic hardship referred to in subsection (a)(2); 

2 and 

3 (B) act as a liaison between the region and 

4 all Federal agencies providing assistance in re5 sponse to such actual or threatened abrupt rise 

6 of unemployment or economic hardship, includ7 ing, as the case may be, the following: 

8 (i) The Department of Agriculture. 

9 (ii) The Department of Commerce. 

10 (iii) The Department of Defense. 

11 (iv) The Department of Education. 

12 (v) The Department of Energy. 

13 (vi) The Department of Health and 

14 Human Services. 

15 (vii) The Department of Housing and 

16 Urban Development. 

17 (viii) The Department of Labor. 

18 (ix) The Department of Transpor19 tation. 

20 (x) The Department of the Treasury. 

21 (xi) The National Economic Council. 

22 (xii) The Small Business Administra23 tion. 


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1 (xiii) The Department of Veterans Af2 fairs. 

Æ 


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