Calendar No. 703

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2257

[Report No. 103–391]

A BILL

To amend the Public Works and Economic Develvelopment programs, and for other purposes. opment Act of 1965 to reauthorize economic deSEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 703

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2257

[Report No. 103–391]

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to

reauthorize economic development programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 30 (legislative day, JUNE 7), 1994

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. DURENBERGER, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. MATHEWS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs.

BOXER, Mr. DORGAN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. BOREN, Mr. REID, Mr. JOHNSTON, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. BUMPERS, Mr. HARKIN, Mr.

WOFFORD, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. FORD) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and

Public Works

SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Reported by Mr. BAUCUS, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the Public Works and Economic Development

Act of 1965 to reauthorize economic development programs, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 1994’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Direct and supplementary grants.

Sec. 3. Grants for public works facilities.

Sec. 4. Repeal of financial assistance for sewer facilities.

Sec. 5. Relationship of overall economic development plan to public works and

development facility loans.

Sec. 6. Elimination of overall economic development program.

Sec. 7. Redevelopment area loan program.

Sec. 8. Technical assistance, research, and information.

Sec. 9. Business outreach center demonstration project.

Sec. 10. Office of Strategic Economic Development Planning and Policy.

Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations for technical assistance, research, and

information.

Sec. 12. Redevelopment areas.

Sec. 13. Annual review.

Sec. 14. Economic development districts.

Sec. 15. Applications for assistance.

Sec. 16. Performance evaluations of grant recipients.

Sec. 17. Transfer of funds.

Sec. 18. Extension of benefits.

Sec. 19. Supervision of Regional Counsels.

Sec. 20. Purpose.

Sec. 21. Base closings and realignments.

Sec. 22. Outreach to communities adversely affected by closures and

realignments of military installations.

Sec. 23. Treatment of revolving loan funds.

Sec. 24. Sale of financial instruments in revolving loan funds.

Sec. 25. Special economic development and adjustment assistance.

Sec. 26. Compliance with Buy American Act.

6 SEC. 2. DIRECT AND SUPPLEMENTARY GRANTS.

7 (a) DIRECT GRANTS.—Section 101(a)(1) of the Pub8 lic Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42

9 U.S.C. 3131(a)(1)) is amended—

10 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),

11 by striking ‘‘acquisition, construction’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘acquisition, design, engineering, construction’’;
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1 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting

2 the following new subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(C) the area for which the project is to be

4 undertaken has an approved overall economic

5 development plan as provided in section 402

6 and such project is consistent with such plan;

7 and’’; and

8 (3) in subparagraph (D)—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘so designated under sec10 tion 401(a)(6),’’ and inserting ‘‘described in

11 section 401(a)(7),’’; and

12 (B) by striking ‘‘area.’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘area; and’’.

14 (b) CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY

15 GRANTS.—Section 101(c) of such Act is amended—

16 (1) in the second and third sentences, by strik17 ing ‘‘designated as such under section 401(a)(6) of

18 this Act.’’ and inserting ‘‘described in section

19 401(a)(7).’’; and

20 (2) in the last sentence—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘the area, the’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘the area and the’’; and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘, and the amount of such’’

24 and all that follows and inserting a period.
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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES.

2 Section 105 of the Public Works and Economic De3 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3135) is amended to

4 read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

7 this title $175,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995

8 through 1997. Such sums shall remain available until ex9 pended. Not less than 15 percent and not more than 35

10 percent of the amounts appropriated for any of fiscal years

11 1995 through 1997 under this section shall be expended

12 in redevelopment areas described in section 401(a)(7).’’.

13 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SEWER

14 FACILITIES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Public Works and

16 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3131–

17 3137) is amended—

18 (1) by repealing section 106;

19 (2) by redesignating section 107 as section 104;

20 and

21 (3) by moving such section 104 to appear after

22 section 103.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 211(b)(3)

24 of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (40

25 U.S.C. App. 211(b)(3)) is amended in the last sentence

26 by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and all that follows
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1 through ‘‘education-related’’ and inserting ‘‘An education2 related’’.

3 SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP OF OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOP4 MENT PLAN TO PUBLIC WORKS AND DEVEL5 OPMENT FACILITY LOANS.

6 Section 201(a) of the Public Works and Economic

7 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141(a)) is amended

8 by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following new

9 paragraph:

10 ‘‘(5) such area has an approved overall eco11 nomic development plan as provided in section 402

12 and the project for which financial assistance is

13 sought is consistent with such plan.’’.

14 SEC. 6. ELIMINATION OF OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOP15 MENT PROGRAM.

16 Section 202(b) of the Public Works and Economic

17 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3142(b)) is amend18 ed—

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Such finan20 cial assistance shall not be extended’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘The applicant for such financial assistance shall in22 clude, in the application of the applicant for such as23 sistance, an assurance that the assistance will not be

24 used’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘there shall

2 be submitted to and approval of the Secretary an

3 overall program for the economic development of the

4 area and’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicant shall submit

5 to the Secretary under section 402, and obtain ap6 proval of, an overall economic development plan and

7 there is’’.

8 SEC. 7. REDEVELOPMENT AREA LOAN PROGRAM.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a) of the Public

10 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42

11 U.S.C. 3144(a)) is amended by striking the last two sen12 tences.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to

15 amend the Public Works and Economic Development

16 Act of 1965 to extend the authorizations for title I

17 through IV through fiscal year 1971’’, approved

18 July 6, 1970 (42 U.S.C. 3162 note) is repealed.

19 (2) Section 6 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to

20 amend the Public Works and Economic Development

21 Act of 1965 to extend the authorizations for a one22 year period’’, approved June 18, 1973 (42 U.S.C.

23 3162 note) is amended—

24 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a)’’;

25 and
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1 (B) by striking subsection (b).

2 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, RESEARCH, AND INFOR3 MATION.

4 Section 301(a)(1) of the Public Works and Economic

5 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151(a)(1)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘areas which he has designated as

7 redevelopment areas under this Act,’’ and inserting ‘‘rede8 velopment areas,’’.

9 SEC. 9. BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER DEMONSTRATION

10 PROJECT.

11 Section 303 of the Public Works and Economic De12 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3152) is amended to

13 read as follows:

14 ‘‘SEC. 303. BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER DEMONSTRATION

15 PROJECT.

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

17 ‘isolated small business’ means a small business that is

18 unable to effectively access small business services pro19 vided by a Federal, State, or local government due to lin20 guistic, cultural, or geographic barriers, as determined by

21 the Secretary.

22 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—Using funds made

23 available under this title, the Secretary shall conduct a

24 demonstration project in each of fiscal years 1994 through

25 1996 for the purpose of demonstrating methods of assist-
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1 ing isolated small businesses to access small business serv2 ices provided by Federal, State, and local governments.

3 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.—In conducting

4 the demonstration project under this section, the Sec5 retary shall establish 3 business outreach centers. At least

6 1 of the centers shall be located in a rural area.

7 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF CENTERS.—Each business outreach

8 center established under this section shall—

9 ‘‘(1) provide a one-stop clearinghouse to assist

10 isolated small businesses in accessing small business

11 services provided by Federal, State, and local gov12 ernments; and

13 ‘‘(2) improve efficiency in the delivery of such

14 services.

15 ‘‘(e) SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED.—Each business

16 outreach center established under this section shall pro17 vide each of the following services:

18 ‘‘(1) Outreach to isolated small businesses.

19 ‘‘(2) Assessment of the need of isolated small

20 businesses for assistance services.

21 ‘‘(3) Referral of isolated small businesses to

22 small business assistance agencies.

23 ‘‘(4) Preparation of materials required by iso24 lated small businesses for participation in small

25 business assistance programs.
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1 ‘‘(5) Case management to ensure follow-up and

2 quality control of business services.

3 ‘‘(6) Coordination of networking among isolated

4 small businesses.

5 ‘‘(7) Quality control of small business assist6 ance services.’’.

7 SEC. 10. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

8 PLANNING AND POLICY.

9 Title III of the Public Works and Economic Develop10 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151–3153) is amended by

11 adding at the end the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 305. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DEVELOP13 MENT PLANNING AND POLICY.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish in the Economic Development Administration an Of16 fice of Strategic Economic Development Planning and Pol17 icy (referred to in this section as the ‘Office’).

18 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by a Di19 rector, who shall be appointed by the Secretary and who

20 shall report to the Assistant Secretary for Economic De21 velopment.

22 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Director are as fol23 lows:

24 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH, EVALUATION, AND DEM25 ONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Director shall support
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1 research, evaluation, and demonstration projects to

2 study and assess best practices in economic develop3 ment and to examine trends and changes in eco4 nomic conditions that affect regional development.

5 The Director shall conduct a study of innovative eco6 nomic development financing tools that may be em7 ployed to further economic development of States,

8 regions, and localities.

9 ‘‘(2) POLICY DEVELOPMENT.—The Director

10 shall develop and submit to the Secretary rec11 ommendations on both short- and long-term policies

12 regarding economic development issues and pro13 grams, to help foster the diffusion of innovative, best

14 practices in economic development throughout the

15 Department of Commerce.

16 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR ECO17 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Fed19 eral Coordinating Council for Economic Develop20 ment (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Coun21 cil’).

22 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION OF THE COUNCIL.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be

24 composed of representatives from Federal agen25 cies, appointed by the heads of the agencies, in-
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1 volved in matters that affect regional economic

2 development. The Secretary shall determine the

3 Federal agencies that are involved in matters

4 that affect regional economic development.

5 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the

6 Council shall not affect the powers of the Coun7 cil, but shall be filled in the same manner as

8 the original appointment.

9 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Council shall assist the

10 Secretary in providing a unifying framework for eco11 nomic development efforts and shall develop a gov12 ernmentwide strategic plan for economic develop13 ment. The Council shall work to improve coordina14 tion of Federal economic development efforts to

15 eliminate duplication and to direct Federal resources

16 to improve economic conditions.

17 ‘‘(4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the

18 Council shall not receive compensation for service on

19 the Council but shall be allowed travel expenses, in20 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au21 thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter

22 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while

23 away from the homes or regular places of business

24 of the members in the performance of services for

25 the Council.
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1 ‘‘(5) FACILITIES, SUPPLIES, AND PERSON2 NEL.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of

4 the Council, the Secretary shall provide to the

5 Council any facilities, supplies, and personnel

6 necessary for the Council to carry out the re7 sponsibilities of the Council under this sub8 section.

9 ‘‘(B) DETAILS.—In the case of a detail of

10 a Federal Government employee under para11 graph (1), the employee may be detailed to the

12 Council without reimbursement. The detail shall

13 be without interruption or loss of civil service

14 status or privilege.

15 ‘‘(6) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold such

16 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take

17 such testimony, and receive such evidence as the

18 Council considers advisable to carry out this sub19 section.

20 ‘‘(7) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGEN21 CIES.—The Council may secure directly from any

22 Federal department or agency such information as

23 the Council considers necessary to carry out this

24 subsection. Upon request of the Council, the head of
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1 such department or agency shall furnish such infor2 mation to the Council.

3 ‘‘(8) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use

4 the United States mails in the same manner and

5 under the same conditions as other departments and

6 agencies of the Federal Government.

7 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.—The Council shall termi8 nate 1 year after the date of the establishment of

9 the Council.’’.

10 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR TECH11 NICAL ASSISTANCE, RESEARCH, AND INFOR12 MATION.

13 Title III of the Public Works and Economic Develop14 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151–3153) (as amended

15 by section 10) is further amended by adding at the end

16 the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

19 this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995

20 through 1997. Such sums shall remain available until ex21 pended.’’.

22 SEC. 12. REDEVELOPMENT AREAS.

23 Section 401 of the Public Works and Economic De24 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161) is amended to

25 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 401. AREA ELIGIBILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—An applicant seeking assist3 ance under this Act to undertake a project for an area

4 shall certify, as part of an application for such assistance,

5 that the area on the date of submission of such application

6 meets 1 or more of the following criteria:

7 ‘‘(1) The per capita income of the area is

8 80 percent or less of the per capita income of the

9 United States.

10 ‘‘(2) The average rate of unemployment in the

11 area (seasonally adjusted), as determined by the

12 Secretary of Labor for the most recent 24-month pe13 riod for which statistics are available, minus the na14 tional average rate of unemployment (seasonally ad15 justed), as so determined, is equal to or exceeds 1

16 percent.

17 ‘‘(3) The average rate of unemployment in the

18 area (seasonally adjusted), as determined by the

19 Secretary of Labor for the most recent 12-month pe20 riod for which statistics are available, minus the na21 tional average rate of unemployment (seasonally ad22 justed), as so determined, is equal to or exceeds 2

23 percent.

24 ‘‘(4) The area has experienced or is about to

25 experience a sudden economic dislocation resulting

26 in job loss that is significant both in terms of the
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1 number of jobs eliminated and the effect on the rate

2 of unemployment in the area (if information on such

3 rate is available), as such rate is determined by the

4 Secretary of Labor.

5 ‘‘(5) The population growth rate of the United

6 States, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce

7 for an appropriate period, minus the population

8 growth rate of the area, as so determined, is equal

9 to or exceeds 3 percent.

10 ‘‘(6) The area has experienced a decline in total

11 employment that is equal to or exceeds 2 percent

12 over the most recent 5-year period for which statis13 tics are available, as such employment is determined

14 by the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Com15 missioner of Labor Statistics.

16 ‘‘(7) The area is a community or neighborhood

17 (defined without regard to political or other subdivi18 sions or boundaries) that the Secretary determines

19 has 1 or more of the following conditions:

20 ‘‘(A) A large concentration of low-income

21 persons.

22 ‘‘(B) A rural area having substantial out23 migration or substantial economic deterioration

24 and unemployment.

25 ‘‘(C) Substantial unemployment.
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1 ‘‘(b) DOCUMENTATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) DATA AND STATISTICS.—A certification

3 made under subsection (a) shall be supported by

4 Federal data, if available, and in other cases by data

5 available through the appropriate State government.

6 The applicant shall use the most recent statistics

7 available to support the certification.

8 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE OF DATA.—The Secretary

9 shall accept the data unless the Secretary deter10 mines that the data are inaccurate.

11 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—With respect to a redevelop12 ment area described in subsection (a)(7)—

13 ‘‘(1) the project to be carried out in the area

14 shall not be subject to section 101(a)(1)(A);

15 ‘‘(2) the area shall not be subject to section

16 101(a)(1)(C); and

17 ‘‘(3) the area shall not be considered to be a re18 development area for purposes of section

19 403(a)(1)(B).

20 ‘‘(d) PRIOR DESIGNATION.—Any designation of a re21 development area for the purposes of this Act that was

22 made before the date of enactment of the Economic Devel23 opment Reauthorization Act of 1994 shall not be effective

24 after such date.
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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the term ‘re2 development area’ means an area that is the subject of

3 a certification that is—

4 ‘‘(1) described in subsection (a); and

5 ‘‘(2) submitted by an applicant as part of an

6 application for assistance—

7 ‘‘(A) that is described in subsection (a);

8 and

9 ‘‘(B) for which the applicant obtains the

10 approval of the Secretary.’’.

11 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REVIEW.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Public Works

13 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162)

14 is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘SEC. 402. OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND

16 INVESTMENT STRATEGY.

17 ‘‘(a) OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND

18 INVESTMENT STRATEGY.—The Secretary may provide as19 sistance under this Act to an applicant for a project to

20 be undertaken in an area only if the applicant has pre21 pared and submitted to the Secretary, and obtained ap22 proval of, an overall economic development plan or an in23 vestment strategy. Such an overall economic development

24 plan or investment strategy shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) identify the economic development prob2 lems to be addressed using such assistance;

3 ‘‘(2) identify past, present, and projected fur4 ther economic development investments in such area

5 and public and private participants and sources of

6 funding for such investments; and

7 ‘‘(3) set forth a strategy for addressing the eco8 nomic development problems identified pursuant to

9 paragraph (1) and describe how the strategy will

10 solve such problems.

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In submitting

12 an application for assistance under title I or II, an appli13 cant shall describe how the proposed project implements

14 the plan or strategy, provide estimates of costs and time15 tables for completion for the project, and provide a sum16 mary of public and private resources expected to be avail17 able for the project.

18 ‘‘(c) EXISTING PLANS AND INVESTMENT STRATE19 GIES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary

20 shall approve under subsection (a) overall economic devel21 opment plans, and overall economic development pro22 grams, that were approved by the Secretary under this

23 Act before the date of enactment of the Economic Devel24 opment Reauthorization Act of 1994 and that substan25 tially meet the requirements of this section.
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1 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the term

2 ‘economic development plan’ includes—

3 ‘‘(1) a plan or program described in subsection

4 (c) and submitted for approval under subsection (a);

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) an investment strategy submitted for ap7 proval under subsection (a) in lieu of such a plan.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) TRADE ACT OF 1974.—Section 273(c)(2) of

10 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2373(c)(2)) is

11 amended—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘overall economic develop13 ment program’’ and inserting ‘‘overall economic

14 development plan or investment strategy’’; and

15 (B) by striking ‘‘section 202(b)(10)’’ and

16 inserting ‘‘section 402’’.

17 (2) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT

18 OF 1981.—Section 626(b)(1) of the Community Eco19 nomic Development Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.

20 9815(b)(1)) is amended—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘Publc’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘Public’’;

23 (B) by striking ‘‘overall economic develop24 ment program’’ and inserting ‘‘overall economic

25 development plan or investment strategy’’; and
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘section 202(b)(10)’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘section 402’’.

3 SEC. 14. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.

4 (a) RELATIONSHIP TO OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVEL5 OPMENT PLANS.—Section 403 of the Public Works and

6 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3171) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in subsections (a)(1)(C), (a)(1)(D),

9 (a)(2)(A), (a)(3)(A), (a)(4)(B), (e), and (i) by strik10 ing ‘‘overall economic development program’’ and in11 serting ‘‘overall economic development plan’’;

12 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(D), by striking ‘‘pro13 gram’’ the second place the term appears and insert14 ing ‘‘plan’’; and

15 (3) in subsections (b) and (b)(2)(B), by striking

16 ‘‘overall economic development programs’’ and in17 serting ‘‘overall economic development plans’’.

18 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO REDEVELOPMENT AREA.—

19 Section 403(a)(4) of such Act is amended by striking

20 ‘‘(designated under section 401)’’.

21 (c) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT DE22 FINED.—Section 403(d) of such Act is amended by adding

23 at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such term in24 cludes any economic development district designated by

25 the Secretary under this section before the date of enact-
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1 ment of the Economic Development Reauthorization Act

2 of 1994, unless the Secretary terminates the designa3 tion.’’.

4 (d) FUNDING.—Section 403 of such Act is amend5 ed—

6 (1) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the

7 following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(g) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under

9 other sections of this Act shall be available for purposes

10 of carrying out paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a).’’;

11 (2) by striking subsection (h); and

12 (3) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as

13 subsections (h) and (i), respectively.

14 SEC. 15. APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.

15 (a) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—Title VI of the Public

16 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42

17 U.S.C. 3201–3204) is amended by adding at the end the

18 following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 605. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 60 days after the

21 date of enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary

22 for Economic Development shall—

23 ‘‘(1) develop and publish in the Federal Reg24 ister guidelines that establish procedures to expedite
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1 the processing of applications for assistance under

2 this Act; and

3 ‘‘(2) transmit to the Committee on Public

4 Works and Transportation of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Environment and

6 Public Works of the Senate a report containing such

7 guidelines.

8 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Guidelines to be developed and

9 published under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, pro10 vide for—

11 ‘‘(1) increased reliance on self-certification by

12 applicants for such assistance to establish compli13 ance with other Federal laws;

14 ‘‘(2) greater use of uniform application forms

15 and procedures;

16 ‘‘(3) delegation of decisionmaking authority to

17 regional offices of the Economic Development Ad18 ministration; and

19 ‘‘(4) reduction in the time and number of re20 views conducted by offices of the Department of

21 Commerce other than the Economic Development

22 Administration.’’.

23 (b) UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM.—Title VI of such

24 Act (as amended by subsection (a)) is further amended

25 by adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 606. UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM.

2 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall, in co3 operation with the heads of appropriate Federal depart4 ments and agencies, develop a general, simplified applica5 tion form for grant assistance under this Act that may

6 be used by all Federal departments and agencies that pro7 vide grant assistance.

8 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the

9 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall

10 transmit to Congress a report on use of the form devel11 oped pursuant to subsection (a) by Federal departments

12 and agencies.’’.

13 SEC. 16. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF GRANT RECIPI14 ENTS.

15 Title VI of the Public Works and Economic Develop16 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3201–3204) (as amended

17 by subsections (a) and (b) of section 15) is further amend18 ed by adding at the end the following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 607. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF GRANT RE20 CIPIENTS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—At least once every 2 years, the

22 Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of each university

23 center receiving assistance under title III (referred to in

24 this section as a ‘university center’) and economic develop25 ment district receiving grant assistance under this Act to
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1 assess the performance and contribution toward job cre2 ation of the recipient.

3 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es5 tablish criteria for use in conducting evaluations

6 under subsection (a).

7 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR UNIVERSITY CENTERS.—

8 The criteria for evaluation of a university center

9 shall, at a minimum, provide for an assessment of

10 the contribution of the center to providing technical

11 assistance, conducting applied research, and dissemi12 nating results of the activities of the center.

13 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

14 DISTRICTS.—The criteria for evaluation of an eco15 nomic development district shall, at a minimum, pro16 vide for an assessment of management standards, fi17 nancial accountability, and program performance.

18 ‘‘(c) PEER REVIEW.—In conducting an evaluation of

19 a university center under subsection (a), the Secretary

20 shall provide for the participation in the evaluation of at

21 least 1 other university center on a cost-reimbursement

22 basis.’’.
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1 SEC. 17. TRANSFER OF FUNDS.

2 Section 708 of the Public Works and Economic De3 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3218) is amended by

4 adding at the end the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

6 Secretary may accept such transfers of funds from other

7 departments and agencies of the Federal Government as

8 the Secretary determines to be appropriate and use such

9 funds to carry out objectives of this Act, if the Secretary

10 uses the funds to carry out objectives for which (and in

11 accordance with the terms under which) the funds are spe12 cifically authorized and appropriated. Not more than 5

13 percent of such funds may be transferred to the account

14 relating to salaries and expenses of the Economic Develop15 ment Administration.’’.

16 SEC. 18. EXTENSION OF BENEFITS.

17 Section 715 of the Public Works and Economic De18 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3225) is amended by

19 striking ‘‘such areas as may be designated as ‘redevelop20 ment areas’ or ‘economic development centers’ under the

21 authority of section 401 or 403 of this Act:’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘redevelopment areas and such areas as may be des23 ignated as ‘economic development centers’ under section

24 403:’’.
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1 SEC. 19. SUPERVISION OF REGIONAL COUNSELS.

2 Title VII of the Public Works and Economic Develop3 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3211–3226) is amended by

4 adding at the end the following new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 717. SUPERVISION OF REGIONAL COUNSELS.

6 ‘‘The Secretary shall take such actions as may be

7 necessary to ensure that individuals serving as Regional

8 Counsels of the Economic Development Administration re9 port directly to their respective Regional Directors.’’.

10 SEC. 20. PURPOSE.

11 The first sentence of section 901 of the Public Works

12 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241)

13 is amended by striking ‘‘It is the purpose of this title’’

14 and inserting ‘‘The purposes of title I and of this title

15 are’’.

16 SEC. 21. BASE CLOSINGS AND REALIGNMENTS.

17 Section 903 of the Public Works and Economic De18 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3243) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following new subsection:

20 ‘‘(e)(1) In any case in which the Secretary determines

21 that a need exists for assistance under subsection (a) due

22 to the closure or realignment of a military installation, the

23 Secretary may make such assistance available to an eligi24 ble recipient for a project to be carried out on the military

25 installation or for a project to be carried out in a commu26 nity adversely affected by the closure or realignment.
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1 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

2 Secretary may provide to an eligible recipient any assist3 ance available under this title for a project to be carried

4 out on a military installation that is closed or scheduled

5 for closure or realignment, without requiring that the eli6 gible recipient have title to the property on which the in7 stallation is located, or a leasehold interest in the property,

8 for any specified term.’’.

9 SEC. 22. OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES ADVERSELY AF10 FECTED BY CLOSURES AND REALIGNMENTS

11 OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.

12 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop13 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) is amended—

14 (1) by redesignating section 905 as section 908;

15 and

16 (2) by inserting after section 904 the following

17 new section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 905. OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES ADVERSELY AF19 FECTED BY CLOSURES AND REALIGNMENTS

20 OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.

21 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REPRESENTA22 TIVES.—The Assistant Secretary for Economic Develop23 ment shall designate for each State in which communities

24 are adversely affected by closures and realignments of

25 military installations, an individual to serve as a rep-
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1 resentative of the Economic Development Administration.

2 Such individual may be the State Economic Development

3 Agency Representative or another qualified individual.

4 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Individuals appointed as

5 agency representatives under subsection (a) shall provide

6 outreach and technical assistance, to communities ad7 versely affected by closures and realignments of military

8 installations, on obtaining assistance from the Economic

9 Development Administration.’’.

10 SEC. 23. TREATMENT OF REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS.

11 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop12 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) (as amended

13 by section 22) is further amended by inserting after sec14 tion 905 the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 906. TREATMENT OF REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An amount made available

17 through a grant made under this title that is used by an

18 eligible recipient to establish a revolving loan fund shall

19 not be treated, except as provided by subsection (b), as

20 an amount derived from Federal funds for the purposes

21 of any Federal law after such amount is loaned from the

22 fund to a borrower and repaid to the fund.

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—An amount described in sub24 section (a) that is loaned from a revolving loan fund to

25 a borrower and repaid to the fund—
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1 ‘‘(1) may be used only for a project that is con2 sistent with the purposes of this title; and

3 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to the financial manage4 ment, accounting, reporting, and auditing standards

5 that were originally applicable to such amount on

6 the date on which the Secretary made the amount

7 available to the recipient through a grant described

8 in subsection (a).

9 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 30 days after

10 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall

11 issue regulations to carry out subsection (a).

12 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—Before issu13 ing any final guidelines or administrative manuals govern14 ing the operation of revolving loan funds established using

15 amounts from grants made under this title, the Secretary

16 shall provide reasonable opportunity for public review of

17 and comment on such guidelines and administrative

18 manuals.’’.

19 SEC. 24. SALE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN REVOLVING

20 LOAN FUNDS.

21 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop22 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) (as amended

23 by section 23) is further amended by inserting after sec24 tion 906 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 907. SALE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN REVOLV2 ING LOAN FUNDS.

3 ‘‘Any loan, loan guarantee, or other financial instru4 ment in the portfolio of a revolving loan fund described

5 in section 906 may be sold, at the discretion of the grant

6 recipient that established the fund, to a third party. The

7 proceeds of the sale—

8 ‘‘(1) shall be deposited in the fund and only

9 used for projects that are consistent with the pur10 poses of this title; and

11 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to the financial manage12 ment, accounting, reporting, and auditing standards

13 that were originally applicable to the financial in14 strument on the date on which the financial instru15 ment was entered into.’’.

16 SEC. 25. SPECIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADJUST17 MENT ASSISTANCE.

18 Section 908 of the Public Works and Economic De19 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3245) (as redesignated

20 by section 22(1)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘SEC. 908. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap23 propriated to carry out this title $124,800,000 for fiscal

24 year 1995 and $81,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1996

25 and 1997. Such sums shall remain available until ex26 pended.
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1 ‘‘(b) SET-ASIDE FOR ACTIVITIES RELATED TO CLO2 SURES AND REALIGNMENTS OF MILITARY INSTALLA3 TIONS.—Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to sub4 section (a) for fiscal year 1995, not less than $80,000,000

5 shall be available for purposes of assisting eligible recipi6 ents in carrying out activities related to closures and

7 realignments of military installations.

8 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—In addition to the ap9 propriations authorized by subsection (a), there are au10 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this title such

11 sums as may be necessary to provide assistance for activi12 ties related to closures and realignments of military instal13 lations and to provide assistance in the case of a natural

14 disaster for each of fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997.

15 Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’.

16 SEC. 26. COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.

17 None of the funds made available under this title, or

18 any amendment made by this title, may be expended to

19 acquire articles, materials, or supplies, or to procure serv20 ices, in violation of the applicable provisions of sections

21 2 through 4 of title III of the Act of March 3, 1933 (com22 monly known as the ‘‘Buy American Act’’) (41 U.S.C.

23 10a–10b–1).
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 1994’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Direct and supplementary grants.

Sec. 3. Grants for public works facilities.

Sec. 4. Repeal of financial assistance for sewer facilities.

Sec. 5. Relationship of overall economic development plan to public works and development facility loans.

Sec. 6. Elimination of overall economic development program.

Sec. 7. Redevelopment area loan program.

Sec. 8. Technical assistance, research, and information.

Sec. 9. Business outreach center demonstration project.

Sec. 10. Office of Strategic Economic Development Planning and Policy.

Sec. 11. Office of Economic Development Information.

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations for technical assistance, research, and

information.

Sec. 13. Redevelopment areas.

Sec. 14. Annual review.

Sec. 15. Economic development districts.

Sec. 16. Equity between rural and urban areas.

Sec. 17. Applications for assistance.

Sec. 18. Performance evaluations of grant recipients.

Sec. 19. Transfer of funds.

Sec. 20. Extension of benefits.

Sec. 21. Supervision of Regional Counsels.

Sec. 22. Purpose.

Sec. 23. Definition of eligible recipient.

Sec. 24. Base closings and realignments.

Sec. 25. Outreach to communities adversely affected by closures and realignments

of military installations.

Sec. 26. Treatment of revolving loan funds.

Sec. 27. Sale of financial instruments in revolving loan funds.

Sec. 28. Competitive communities pilot program.

Sec. 29. Special economic development and adjustment assistance.

Sec. 30. Compliance with Buy American Act.

Sec. 31. Regulatory relief.

6 SEC. 2. DIRECT AND SUPPLEMENTARY GRANTS.

7 (a) GRANTS.—Section 101(a) of the Public Works and

8 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3131(a)) is

9 amended—
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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

2 striking ‘‘representing any redevelopment area or

3 part thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘acting in cooperation

4 with an official of a local government’’; and

5 (2) in paragraph (1)—

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

7 (A), by striking ‘‘acquisition, construction’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘acquisition, design, engineering, con9 struction’’;

10 (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and in11 serting the following new subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(C) the area for which the project is to be

13 undertaken has an approved overall economic de14 velopment plan as provided in section 402 and

15 such project is consistent with such plan; and’’;

16 and

17 (C) in subparagraph (D)—

18 (i) by striking ‘‘so designated under

19 section 401(a)(6),’’ and inserting ‘‘described

20 in section 401(a)(7),’’; and

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘area.’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘area; and’’.

23 (b) CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY

24 GRANTS.—Section 101(c) of such Act is amended—
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1 (1) in the second and third sentences, by striking

2 ‘‘designated as such under section 401(a)(6) of this

3 Act.’’ and inserting ‘‘described in section 401(a)(7).’’;

4 and

5 (2) in the last sentence—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘the area, the’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘the area and the’’; and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘, and the amount of such’’

9 and all that follows and inserting a period.

10 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES.

11 Section 105 of the Public Works and Economic Devel12 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3135) is amended to read

13 as follows:

14 ‘‘SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

16 this title $195,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 through

17 1997. Such sums shall remain available until expended. Not

18 less than 15 percent and not more than 35 percent of the

19 amounts appropriated for any of fiscal years 1995 through

20 1997 under this section shall be expended in redevelopment

21 areas described in section 401(a)(7).’’.
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1 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SEWER FA2 CILITIES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Public Works and

4 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3131–3137)

5 is amended—

6 (1) by repealing section 106;

7 (2) by redesignating section 107 as section 104;

8 and

9 (3) by moving such section 104 to appear after

10 section 103.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 211(b)(3) of

12 the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (40

13 U.S.C. App. 211(b)(3)) is amended in the last sentence by

14 striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and all that follows through

15 ‘‘education-related’’ and inserting ‘‘An education-related’’.

16 SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP OF OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOP17 MENT PLAN TO PUBLIC WORKS AND DEVEL18 OPMENT FACILITY LOANS.

19 Section 201(a) of the Public Works and Economic De20 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141(a)) is amended—

21 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

22 striking ‘‘representing any redevelopment area there23 of’’ and inserting ‘‘acting in cooperation with an offi24 cial of a local government’’; and

25 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the

26 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(5) such area has an approved overall economic

2 development plan as provided in section 402 and the

3 project for which financial assistance is sought is con4 sistent with such plan.’’.

5 SEC. 6. ELIMINATION OF OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOP6 MENT PROGRAM.

7 Section 202(b) of the Public Works and Economic De8 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3142(b)) is amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Such finan10 cial assistance shall not be extended’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘The applicant for such financial assistance shall in12 clude, in the application of the applicant for such as13 sistance, an assurance that the assistance will not be

14 used’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘there shall be

16 submitted to and approval of the Secretary an overall

17 program for the economic development of the area

18 and’’ and inserting ‘‘the applicant shall submit to the

19 Secretary under section 402, and obtain approval of,

20 an overall economic development plan and there is’’.

21 SEC. 7. REDEVELOPMENT AREA LOAN PROGRAM.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a) of the Public Works

23 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.

24 3144(a)) is amended by striking the last two sentences.

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to

2 amend the Public Works and Economic Development

3 Act of 1965 to extend the authorizations for title I

4 through IV through fiscal year 1971’’, approved July

5 6, 1970 (42 U.S.C. 3162 note) is repealed.

6 (2) Section 6 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to

7 amend the Public Works and Economic Development

8 Act of 1965 to extend the authorizations for a one9 year period’’, approved June 18, 1973 (42 U.S.C.

10 3162 note) is amended—

11 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a)’’; and

12 (B) by striking subsection (b).

13 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, RESEARCH, AND INFOR14 MATION.

15 Section 301(a)(1) of the Public Works and Economic

16 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151(a)(1)) is amend17 ed by striking ‘‘areas which he has designated as redevelop18 ment areas under this Act,’’ and inserting ‘‘redevelopment

19 areas,’’.

20 SEC. 9. BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER DEMONSTRATION

21 PROJECT.

22 Section 303 of the Public Works and Economic Devel23 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3152) is amended to read

24 as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 303. BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECT.

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

4 ‘isolated small business’ means a small business that is un5 able to effectively access small business services provided by

6 a Federal, State, or local government due to linguistic, cul7 tural, or geographic barriers, as determined by the Sec8 retary.

9 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—Using funds made

10 available under this title, the Secretary shall conduct a

11 demonstration project in each of fiscal years 1995 through

12 1997 for the purpose of demonstrating methods of assisting

13 isolated small businesses to access small business services

14 provided by Federal, State, and local governments.

15 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.—In conducting

16 the demonstration project under this section, the Secretary

17 shall establish 3 business outreach centers. At least 1 of the

18 centers shall be located in a rural area.

19 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF CENTERS.—Each business outreach

20 center established under this section shall—

21 ‘‘(1) provide a one-stop clearinghouse to assist

22 isolated small businesses in accessing small business

23 services provided by Federal, State, and local govern24 ments; and

25 ‘‘(2) improve efficiency in the delivery of such

26 services.
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1 ‘‘(e) SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED.—Each business out2 reach center established under this section shall provide

3 each of the following services:

4 ‘‘(1) Outreach to isolated small businesses.

5 ‘‘(2) Assessment of the need of isolated small

6 businesses for assistance services.

7 ‘‘(3) Referral of isolated small businesses to small

8 business assistance agencies.

9 ‘‘(4) Preparation of materials required by iso10 lated small businesses for participation in small busi11 ness assistance programs.

12 ‘‘(5) Case management to ensure follow-up and

13 quality control of business services.

14 ‘‘(6) Coordination of networking among isolated

15 small businesses.

16 ‘‘(7) Quality control of small business assistance

17 services.’’.

18 SEC. 10. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

19 PLANNING AND POLICY.

20 Title III of the Public Works and Economic Develop21 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151–3153) is amended by

22 adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 305. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DEVELOP2 MENT PLANNING AND POLICY.

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish

4 in the Economic Development Administration an Office of

5 Strategic Economic Development Planning and Policy (re6 ferred to in this section as the ‘Office’).

7 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by a Di8 rector, who shall be appointed by the Secretary and who

9 shall report to the Assistant Secretary for Economic Devel10 opment.

11 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Director are as fol12 lows:

13 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH, EVALUATION, AND DEMONSTRA14 TION PROJECTS.—The Director shall support research,

15 evaluation, and demonstration projects to study and

16 assess best practices in economic development and to

17 examine trends and changes in economic conditions

18 that affect regional development. The Director shall

19 conduct a study of innovative economic development

20 financing tools, including loan guarantees, rural de21 velopment investment zones, and other measures, that

22 may be employed to further economic development of

23 States, regions, and localities.

24 ‘‘(2) POLICY DEVELOPMENT.—The Director shall

25 develop and submit to the Secretary recommendations

26 on both short- and long-term policies regarding eco-
41

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1 nomic development issues and programs, to help foster

2 the diffusion of innovative, best practices in economic

3 development throughout the Department of Commerce.

4 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION AND COORDINATION.—The

5 Director shall establish procedures to ensure that the

6 Economic Development Administration assumes a

7 central role in developing and promoting means of

8 greater coordination among States, regions, and local

9 communities in the design and implementation of

10 Federal economic development programs, and to foster

11 coordination among Federal economic development

12 programs, to reduce duplication and fragmentation of

13 Federal economic development efforts.

14 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR ECO15 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Fed17 eral Coordinating Council for Economic Development

18 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Council’).

19 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION OF THE COUNCIL.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be

21 composed of representatives from Federal agen22 cies, appointed by the heads of the agencies, in23 volved in matters that affect regional economic

24 development. The Secretary shall determine the
42

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1 Federal agencies that are involved in matters

2 that affect regional economic development.

3 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the

4 Council shall not affect the powers of the Coun5 cil, but shall be filled in the same manner as the

6 original appointment.

7 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Council shall assist the Sec8 retary in providing a unifying framework for eco9 nomic development efforts and shall develop a govern10 mentwide strategic plan for economic development.

11 The Council shall work to improve coordination of

12 Federal economic development efforts to eliminate du13 plication and to direct Federal resources to improve

14 economic conditions.

15 ‘‘(4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the

16 Council shall not receive compensation for service on

17 the Council but shall be allowed travel expenses, in18 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au19 thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I

20 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while

21 away from the homes or regular places of business of

22 the members in the performance of services for the

23 Council.

24 ‘‘(5) FACILITIES, SUPPLIES, AND PERSONNEL.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the

2 Council, the Secretary shall provide to the Coun3 cil any facilities, supplies, and personnel nec4 essary for the Council to carry out the respon5 sibilities of the Council under this subsection.

6 ‘‘(B) DETAILS.—In the case of a detail of a

7 Federal Government employee under paragraph

8 (1), the employee may be detailed to the Council

9 without reimbursement. The detail shall be with10 out interruption or loss of civil service status or

11 privilege.

12 ‘‘(6) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold such

13 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take

14 such testimony, and receive such evidence as the

15 Council considers advisable to carry out this sub16 section.

17 ‘‘(7) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

18 The Council may secure directly from any Federal de19 partment or agency such information as the Council

20 considers necessary to carry out this subsection. Upon

21 request of the Council, the head of such department or

22 agency shall furnish such information to the Council.

23 ‘‘(8) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use

24 the United States mails in the same manner and
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1 under the same conditions as other departments and

2 agencies of the Federal Government.

3 ‘‘(9) TERMINATION.—The Council shall termi4 nate 1 year after the date of the establishment of the

5 Council.’’.

6 SEC. 11. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INFORMA7 TION.

8 Title III of the Public Works and Economic Develop9 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151–3153) (as amended by

10 section 10) is further amended by adding at the end the

11 following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 306. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INFORMA13 TION.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish

15 an Office of Economic Development Information (referred

16 to in this section as the ‘Office’) within the Office of Strate17 gic Economic Development Planning and Policy.

18 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office shall—

19 ‘‘(1) serve as a central information clearinghouse

20 on matters relating to economic development, eco21 nomic adjustment, disaster recovery, industrial reten22 tion, and defense reinvestment programs and activi23 ties of the Federal and State governments, including

24 political subdivisions of the States; and
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1 ‘‘(2) help potential and actual applicants for

2 economic development, economic adjustment, disaster

3 recovery, industrial retention, and defense reinvest4 ment assistance under Federal, State, and local laws

5 in locating and applying for such assistance, includ6 ing financial and technical assistance.

7 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION DATA BASES.—

8 ‘‘(1) USES.—The Office shall develop informa9 tion data bases for use by Federal departments and

10 agencies, State and local governmental agencies, pub11 lic and private entities, and individuals to assist such

12 agencies, entities, and individuals in the process of

13 identifying and applying for assistance and resources

14 under economic development, economic

15 adjustment, disaster recovery, industrial retention,

16 and defense reinvestment programs and activities of

17 the Federal, State, and local governments.

18 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC KINDS OF INFORMATION RE19 QUIRED TO BE INCLUDED.—The data bases shall in20 clude each of the following kinds of information:

21 ‘‘(A) A comprehensive compilation of all

22 relevant information concerning available eco23 nomic development, economic adjustment, disas24 ter recovery, industrial retention, and defense re25 investment programs of the Federal Government,
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1 including key contact personnel, descriptions of

2 the application process, eligibility requirements

3 and criteria, selection and followup procedures,

4 and other such relevant information.

5 ‘‘(B) A compilation of major State and

6 local governmental economic development, eco7 nomic adjustment, disaster recovery, industrial

8 retention, and defense reinvestment assistance

9 programs, including lists of appropriate offices,

10 officers, and contact personnel connected with, or

11 involved in, such programs.

12 ‘‘(C) A compilation of relevant and avail13 able economic data and trends, including infor14 mation about the national, regional, and local

15 impacts of trade agreements, defense spending

16 and downsizing, technological change, and other

17 sources of substantial economic dislocation.

18 ‘‘(D) A compilation of case studies and best

19 practices in economic development, adjustment,

20 and reinvestment.

21 ‘‘(E) A compilation of technology utiliza22 tion programs, assistance, and resources.

23 ‘‘(F) A compilation of published works

24 (books, reports, articles, videos, and tapes), and

25 selected texts of such works, related to all facets
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1 of economic development, economic adjustment,

2 and defense reinvestment.

3 ‘‘(G) A compilation of information on case

4 studies on early warning and intervention ef5 forts.

6 ‘‘(3) POINTS OF PUBLIC ACCESS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall estab8 lish several means to ensure easy access by the

9 public and others to such data bases, and to en10 sure that the data bases be as accessible, user11 friendly, culturally neutral, and affordable as

12 possible.

13 ‘‘(B) MEANS OF ACCESS.—Access to the

14 data services of the Office shall include each of

15 the following means:

16 ‘‘(i) A toll-free nationwide telephone

17 number to provide direct phone access to the

18 public.

19 ‘‘(ii) On-line electronic access through

20 existing computer network services and pub21 licly available computer data base access fa22 cilities, such as at repository libraries and

23 by direct call-in via modem.

24 ‘‘(iii) Printed manuals and orientation

25 materials.
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1 ‘‘(iv) Periodic orientation workshops

2 available to the public.

3 ‘‘(v) On-call information specialists to

4 address special problems requiring person5 to-person assistance.

6 ‘‘(d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary

7 shall enter into such agreements and understandings as

8 may be necessary with other Federal departments and agen9 cies to coordinate the accomplishment of the objectives of

10 this section.’’.

11 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR TECH12 NICAL ASSISTANCE, RESEARCH, AND INFOR13 MATION.

14 Title III of the Public Works and Economic Develop15 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3151–3153) (as amended by

16 section 11) is further amended by adding at the end the

17 following new section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 307. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

20 this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 through

21 1997. Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’.

22 SEC. 13. REDEVELOPMENT AREAS.

23 Section 401 of the Public Works and Economic Devel24 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161) is amended to read

25 as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 401. AREA ELIGIBILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—An applicant seeking assist3 ance under title I or II to undertake a project for an area

4 shall certify, as part of an application for such assistance,

5 that the area on the date of submission of such application

6 meets 1 or more of the following criteria:

7 ‘‘(1) The per capita income of the area is

8 80 percent or less of the per capita income of the

9 United States.

10 ‘‘(2) The average rate of unemployment in the

11 area (seasonally adjusted), as determined by the Sec12 retary of Labor for the most recent 24-month period

13 for which statistics are available, minus the national

14 average rate of unemployment (seasonally adjusted),

15 as so determined, is equal to or exceeds 1 percent.

16 ‘‘(3) The average rate of unemployment in the

17 area (seasonally adjusted), as determined by the Sec18 retary of Labor for the most recent 12-month period

19 for which statistics are available, minus the national

20 average rate of unemployment (seasonally adjusted),

21 as so determined, is equal to or exceeds 2 percent.

22 ‘‘(4) The area has experienced or is about to ex23 perience a sudden economic dislocation resulting in

24 job loss that is significant both in terms of the num25 ber of jobs eliminated and the effect on the rate of un26 employment in the area (if information on such rate
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1 is available), as such rate is determined by the Sec2 retary of Labor.

3 ‘‘(5) The population growth rate of the United

4 States, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce

5 for an appropriate period, minus the population

6 growth rate of the area, as so determined, is equal to

7 or exceeds 3 percent.

8 ‘‘(6) The area has experienced a decline in total

9 employment that is equal to or exceeds 2 percent over

10 the most recent 5-year period for which statistics are

11 available, as such employment is determined by the

12 Secretary of Labor, acting through the Commissioner

13 of Labor Statistics.

14 ‘‘(7) The area is a community or neighborhood

15 (defined without regard to political or other subdivi16 sions or boundaries) that the Secretary determines

17 has 1 or more of the following conditions:

18 ‘‘(A) A large concentration of low-income

19 persons.

20 ‘‘(B) A rural or urban area having substan21 tial outmigration or substantial economic dete22 rioration and unemployment.

23 ‘‘(C) Substantial unemployment.

24 ‘‘(b) DOCUMENTATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DATA AND STATISTICS.—A certification

2 made under subsection (a) shall be supported by Fed3 eral data, if available, and in other cases by data

4 available through the appropriate State government.

5 The applicant shall use the most recent statistics

6 available to support the certification.

7 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE OF DATA.—The Secretary

8 shall accept the data unless the Secretary determines

9 that the data are inaccurate.

10 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—With respect to a redevelopment

11 area described in subsection (a)(7)—

12 ‘‘(1) the project to be carried out in the area

13 shall not be subject to section 101(a)(1)(A);

14 ‘‘(2) the area shall not be subject to section

15 101(a)(1)(C); and

16 ‘‘(3) the area shall not be considered to be a rede17 velopment area for purposes of section 403(a)(1)(B).

18 ‘‘(d) PRIOR DESIGNATION.—Any designation of a re19 development area for the purposes of this Act that was made

20 before the date of enactment of the Economic Development

21 Reauthorization Act of 1994 shall not be effective after such

22 date.

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the term ‘rede24 velopment area’ means an area that is the subject of a cer25 tification that is—
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1 ‘‘(1) described in subsection (a); and

2 ‘‘(2) submitted by an applicant as part of an

3 application for assistance—

4 ‘‘(A) that is described in subsection (a); and

5 ‘‘(B) for which the applicant obtains the

6 approval of the Secretary.’’.

7 SEC. 14. ANNUAL REVIEW.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Public Works

9 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162)

10 is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 402. OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND

12 INVESTMENT STRATEGY.

13 ‘‘(a) OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND

14 INVESTMENT STRATEGY.—The Secretary may provide as15 sistance under title I or II to an applicant for a project

16 to be undertaken in an area only if the applicant has pre17 pared and submitted to the Secretary, and obtained ap18 proval of, an overall economic development plan or an in19 vestment strategy. Such an overall economic development

20 plan or investment strategy shall—

21 ‘‘(1) identify the economic development problems

22 to be addressed using such assistance;

23 ‘‘(2) identify past, present, and projected further

24 economic development investments in such area and
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1 public and private participants and sources of fund2 ing for such investments; and

3 ‘‘(3) set forth a strategy for addressing the eco4 nomic development problems identified pursuant to

5 paragraph (1) and describe how the strategy will

6 solve such problems.

7 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In submitting an

8 application for assistance under title I or II, an applicant

9 shall describe how the proposed project implements the plan

10 or strategy, provide estimates of costs and timetables for

11 completion for the project, and provide a summary of public

12 and private resources expected to be available for the

13 project.

14 ‘‘(c) EXISTING PLANS AND INVESTMENT STRATE15 GIES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary

16 shall approve under subsection (a) overall economic develop17 ment plans, and overall economic development programs,

18 that were approved by the Secretary under this Act before

19 the date of enactment of the Economic Development Reau20 thorization Act of 1994 and that substantially meet the re21 quirements of this section.

22 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—As used in this Act, the term ‘eco23 nomic development plan’ includes—
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1 ‘‘(1) a plan or program described in subsection

2 (c) and submitted for approval under subsection (a);

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) an investment strategy submitted for ap5 proval under subsection (a) in lieu of such a plan.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) TRADE ACT OF 1974.—Section 273(c)(2) of

8 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2373(c)(2)) is

9 amended—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘overall economic develop11 ment program’’ and inserting ‘‘overall economic

12 development plan or investment strategy’’; and

13 (B) by striking ‘‘section 202(b)(10)’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘section 402’’.

15 (2) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT

16 OF 1981.—Section 626(b)(1) of the Community Eco17 nomic Development Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.

18 9815(b)(1)) is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Publc’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘Public’’;

21 (B) by striking ‘‘overall economic develop22 ment program’’ and inserting ‘‘overall economic

23 development plan or investment strategy’’; and

24 (C) by striking ‘‘section 202(b)(10)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘section 402’’.
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1 SEC. 15. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.

2 (a) RELATIONSHIP TO OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOP3 MENT PLANS.—Section 403 of the Public Works and Eco4 nomic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3171) is amend5 ed—

6 (1) in subsections (a)(1)(C), (a)(1)(D), (a)(2)(A),

7 (a)(3)(A), (a)(4)(B), (e), and (i) by striking ‘‘overall

8 economic development program’’ and inserting ‘‘over9 all economic development plan’’;

10 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(D), by striking ‘‘pro11 gram’’ the second place the term appears and insert12 ing ‘‘plan’’; and

13 (3) in subsections (b) and (b)(2)(B), by striking

14 ‘‘overall economic development programs’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘overall economic development plans’’.

16 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO REDEVELOPMENT AREA.—Sec17 tion 403(a)(4) of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘(des18 ignated under section 401)’’.

19 (c) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT DEFINED.—

20 Section 403(d) of such Act is amended by adding at the

21 end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such term includes any

22 economic development district designated by the Secretary

23 under this section before the date of enactment of the Eco24 nomic Development Reauthorization Act of 1994, unless the

25 Secretary terminates the designation.’’.

26 (d) FUNDING.—Section 403 of such Act is amended—
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1 (1) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the

2 following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(g) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under

4 other sections of this Act shall be available for purposes of

5 carrying out paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a).’’;

6 (2) by striking subsection (h); and

7 (3) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as

8 subsections (h) and (i), respectively.

9 SEC. 16. EQUITY BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS.

10 Title IV of the Public Works and Economic Develop11 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.) is amended by

12 adding at the end the following new part:

13 ‘‘PART E—EQUITY BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN

14 AREAS

15 ‘‘SEC. 406. ALLOCATIONS BASED ON THE LEVEL OF ECO16 NOMIC DISTRESS OF AN AREA.

17 ‘‘Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment

18 of the Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 1994,

19 the Secretary shall issue and implement regulations con20 taining criteria and procedures to prioritize allocations of

21 Federal assistance made under this Act, so that, notwith22 standing any other provision of this Act, the level of eco23 nomic distress of an area, not a preference for a geographic

24 area or a specific type of economic distress, is the primary

25 factor considered by the Secretary in determining whether
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1 the area receives an allocation of Federal assistance under

2 this Act.’’.

3 SEC. 17. APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.

4 (a) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—Title VI of the Public

5 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.

6 3201–3204) is amended by adding at the end the following

7 new section:

8 ‘‘SEC. 605. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS.

9 ‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 60 days after the

10 date of enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary

11 for Economic Development shall—

12 ‘‘(1) develop and publish in the Federal Register

13 guidelines that establish procedures to expedite the

14 processing of applications for assistance under this

15 Act; and

16 ‘‘(2) transmit to the Committee on Public Works

17 and Transportation of the House of Representatives

18 and the Committee on Environment and Public

19 Works of the Senate a report containing such guide20 lines.

21 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Guidelines to be developed and pub22 lished under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, provide

23 for—
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1 ‘‘(1) increased reliance on self-certification by

2 applicants for such assistance to establish compliance

3 with other Federal laws;

4 ‘‘(2) greater use of uniform application forms

5 and procedures;

6 ‘‘(3) delegation of decisionmaking authority to

7 regional offices of the Economic Development Admin8 istration; and

9 ‘‘(4) reduction in the time and number of re10 views conducted by offices of the Department of

11 Commerce other than the Economic Development Ad12 ministration.’’.

13 (b) UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM.—Title VI of such

14 Act (as amended by subsection (a)) is further amended by

15 adding at the end the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 606. UNIFORM APPLICATION FORM.

17 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall, in coopera18 tion with the heads of appropriate Federal departments and

19 agencies, develop a general, simplified application form for

20 grant assistance under this Act that may be used by all

21 Federal departments and agencies that provide grant

22 assistance.

23 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

24 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall transmit
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1 to Congress a report on use of the form developed pursuant

2 to subsection (a) by Federal departments and agencies.’’.

3 SEC. 18. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF GRANT RECIPI4 ENTS.

5 Title VI of the Public Works and Economic Develop6 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3201–3204) (as amended by

7 subsections (a) and (b) of section 17) is further amended

8 by adding at the end the following new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 607. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF GRANT RECIPI10 ENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—At least once every 2 years, the

12 Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of each university

13 center receiving assistance under title III (referred to in this

14 section as a ‘university center’) and economic development

15 district receiving grant assistance under this Act to assess

16 the performance and contribution toward job creation of the

17 recipient.

18 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish criteria for use in conducting evaluations

21 under subsection (a).

22 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR UNIVERSITY CENTERS.—The

23 criteria for evaluation of a university center shall, at

24 a minimum, provide for an assessment of the con25 tribution of the center to providing technical assist-
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1 ance, conducting applied research, and disseminating

2 results of the activities of the center.

3 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

4 DISTRICTS.—The criteria for evaluation of an eco5 nomic development district shall, at a minimum, pro6 vide for an assessment of management standards, fi7 nancial accountability, and program performance.

8 ‘‘(c) PEER REVIEW.—In conducting an evaluation of

9 a university center under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

10 provide for the participation in the evaluation of at least

11 1 other university center on a cost-reimbursement basis.’’.

12 SEC. 19. TRANSFER OF FUNDS.

13 Section 708 of the Public Works and Economic Devel14 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3218) is amended by adding

15 at the end the following new subsection:

16 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

17 Secretary may accept such transfers of funds from other de18 partments and agencies of the Federal Government as the

19 Secretary determines to be appropriate and use such funds

20 to carry out objectives of this Act, if the Secretary uses the

21 funds to carry out objectives for which (and in accordance

22 with the terms under which) the funds are specifically au23 thorized and appropriated. Not more than 5 percent of such

24 funds may be transferred to the account relating to salaries
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1 and expenses of the Economic Development Administra2 tion.’’.

3 SEC. 20. EXTENSION OF BENEFITS.

4 Section 715 of the Public Works and Economic Devel5 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3225) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘such areas as may be designated as ‘redevelopment

7 areas’ or ‘economic development centers’ under the author8 ity of section 401 or 403 of this Act:’’ and inserting ‘‘rede9 velopment areas and such areas as may be designated as

10 ‘economic development centers’ under section 403:’’.

11 SEC. 21. SUPERVISION OF REGIONAL COUNSELS.

12 Title VII of the Public Works and Economic Develop13 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3211–3226) is amended by

14 adding at the end the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 717. SUPERVISION OF REGIONAL COUNSELS.

16 ‘‘The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec17 essary to ensure that individuals serving as Regional Coun18 sels of the Economic Development Administration report

19 directly to their respective Regional Directors, except that

20 the General Counsel shall have authority to make deter21 minations relating to the technical legal ability of the indi22 viduals.’’.

23 SEC. 22. PURPOSE.

24 The first sentence of section 901 of the Public Works

25 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241)
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1 is amended by striking ‘‘It is the purpose of this title’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘The purposes of title I and of this title are’’.

3 SEC. 23. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.

4 Section 902 of the Public Works and Economic Devel5 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3242) is amended to read

6 as follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 902. DEFINITION.

8 ‘‘As used in this title, the term ‘eligible recipient’

9 means a redevelopment area, an economic development dis10 trict, an Indian tribe, a State, a city or other political sub11 division of a State, a consortium of such political subdivi12 sions, a public or private nonprofit organization, or a pub13 lic or private nonprofit association.’’.

14 SEC. 24. BASE CLOSINGS AND REALIGNMENTS.

15 Section 903 of the Public Works and Economic Devel16 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3243) is amended—

17 (1) in the matter following subparagraph (B) of

18 subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘unemployment com19 pensation (in accordance with subsection (d) of this

20 section), rent supplements, mortgage payment assist21 ance, research,’’ and inserting ‘‘administrative ex22 penses, industrial retention,’’; and

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section:
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1 ‘‘(e)(1) In any case in which the Secretary determines

2 that a need exists for assistance under subsection (a) due

3 to the closure or realignment of a military installation, or

4 for an industrial, a community, or a workforce adjustment

5 due to a reduction in amounts made available under or ter6 mination of a defense contract, the Secretary may make

7 such assistance available to an eligible recipient for a

8 project to be carried out on the military installation, for

9 a project to be carried out in a community adversely af10 fected by the closure or realignment, or for defense conver11 sion activities.

12 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

13 Secretary may provide to an eligible recipient any assist14 ance available under this title for a project to be carried

15 out on a military installation that is closed or scheduled

16 for closure or realignment, or for defense conversion activi17 ties, without requiring that the eligible recipient have title

18 to the property on which the installation is located or the

19 activities will be carried out, or a leasehold interest in the

20 property, for any specified term.’’.

21 SEC. 25. OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES ADVERSELY AF22 FECTED BY CLOSURES AND REALIGNMENTS

23 OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.

24 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop25 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating section 905 as section 909;

2 and

3 (2) by inserting after section 904 the following

4 new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 905. OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES ADVERSELY AF6 FECTED BY CLOSURES AND REALIGNMENTS

7 OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.

8 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.—

9 The Assistant Secretary for Economic Development shall

10 designate for each State in which communities are ad11 versely affected by closures and realignments of military in12 stallations, an individual to serve as a representative of the

13 Economic Development Administration. Such individual

14 may be the State Economic Development Agency Represent15 ative or another qualified individual.

16 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Individuals appointed as

17 agency representatives under subsection (a) shall provide

18 outreach and technical assistance, to communities adversely

19 affected by closures and realignments of military installa20 tions, on obtaining assistance from the Economic Develop21 ment Administration.’’.

22 SEC. 26. TREATMENT OF REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS.

23 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop24 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) (as amended by
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1 section 25) is further amended by inserting after section

2 905 the following new section:

3 ‘‘SEC. 906. TREATMENT OF REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An amount made available

5 through a grant made under this title that is used by an

6 eligible recipient to establish a revolving loan fund shall

7 not be treated, except as provided by subsection (b), as an

8 amount derived from Federal funds for the purposes of any

9 Federal law after such amount is loaned from the fund to

10 a borrower and repaid to the fund.

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—An amount described in sub12 section (a) that is loaned from a revolving loan fund to

13 a borrower and repaid to the fund—

14 ‘‘(1) may be used only for a project that is con15 sistent with the purposes of this title; and

16 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to the financial manage17 ment, accounting, reporting, and auditing require18 ments that were originally applicable to such amount

19 on the date on which the Secretary made the amount

20 available to the recipient through a grant described in

21 subsection (a).

22 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 30 days after the

23 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue

24 regulations to carry out subsection (a).
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1 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—Before issuing

2 any final guidelines or administrative manuals governing

3 the operation of revolving loan funds established using

4 amounts from grants made under this title, the Secretary

5 shall provide reasonable opportunity for public review of

6 and comment on such guidelines and administrative manu7 als.’’.

8 SEC. 27. SALE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN REVOLVING

9 LOAN FUNDS.

10 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop11 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) (as amended by

12 section 26) is further amended by inserting after section

13 906 the following new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 907. SALE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN REVOLV15 ING LOAN FUNDS.

16 ‘‘Any loan, loan guarantee, or other financial instru17 ment in the portfolio of a revolving loan fund described in

18 section 906 may be sold, at the discretion of the grant recip19 ient that established the fund, to a third party. The proceeds

20 of the sale—

21 ‘‘(1) shall be deposited in the fund and only used

22 for projects that are consistent with the purposes of

23 this title; and

24 ‘‘(2) shall be subject to the financial manage25 ment, accounting, reporting, and auditing require-
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1 ments that were originally applicable to the financial

2 instrument on the date on which the financial instru3 ment was entered into.’’.

4 SEC. 28. COMPETITIVE COMMUNITIES PILOT PROGRAM.

5 Title IX of the Public Works and Economic Develop6 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3241–3245) (as amended by

7 section 27) is further amended by inserting after section

8 907 the following new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 908. COMPETITIVE COMMUNITIES PILOT PROGRAM.

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

11 ‘eligible intermediary recipient’ means—

12 ‘‘(1) a redevelopment area or an economic devel13 opment district established under title IV;

14 ‘‘(2) an Indian tribe;

15 ‘‘(3) a public-private entity sponsored by a State

16 or other political subdivision of a State, or by a com17 munity division of a State;

18 ‘‘(4) a community development corporation;

19 ‘‘(5) a public or private not-for-profit corpora20 tion; and

21 ‘‘(6) a consortium of recipients described in any

22 of paragraphs (1) through (5);

23 that demonstrates the financial expertise, ability, and legal

24 authority to provide the investment for a transaction, as
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1 well as the ability to develop and implement an overall eco2 nomic development plan as provided in section 402.

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary may establish a com4 petitive communities pilot program and, in carrying out

5 the program, may make grants, loans, or loan guarantees

6 directly to or for the benefit of any eligible recipients (in7 cluding eligible intermediary recipients) for the purpose of

8 investing in identified business transactions that will create

9 opportunities for long-term employment in economically

10 distressed communities.

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive financial

12 assistance under this section, a person or an entity shall

13 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in

14 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec15 retary may require.

16 ‘‘(d) PANEL OF EXPERTS.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish a panel of experts to review applications submitted to

18 the Secretary under subsection (c). The panel shall consist

19 of 7 members as follows:

20 ‘‘(1) The Secretary (or the designee of the Sec21 retary).

22 ‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary for Economic De23 velopment.

24 ‘‘(3) 1 Regional Director of the Economic Devel25 opment Administration, appointed by the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(4) 1 State Economic Development Representa2 tive, appointed by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(5) 3 private citizens with economic develop4 ment and business expertise, appointed by the Sec5 retary.

6 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—The Secretary shall

7 select recipients to receive financial assistance under this

8 section, based on the quality of the applications submitted

9 and the extent to which the applications describe activities

10 to encompass investment initiatives that promote public

11 and private sector partnerships to advance the competitive12 ness of the economy of local communities through the cre13 ation of long-term sustainable employment opportunities.

14 ‘‘(f) DEADLINES.—

15 ‘‘(1) ACTION ON APPLICATIONS.—In the case of

16 each application submitted under subsection (c) that

17 is received by a deadline established and published in

18 the Federal Register, the Secretary shall approve or

19 disapprove the application on or before the 60th day

20 after the deadline.

21 ‘‘(2) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Any agreement relat22 ing to an amount of financial assistance under this

23 section that is entered into by the Secretary and an

24 eligible recipient under the program shall require that

25 the eligible recipient provide assistance to businesses
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1 using the amount on or before the 90th day after the

2 date of receipt of such amount or shall return any re3 maining portion of such amount to the Secretary for

4 subsequent awards under the program.’’.

5 SEC. 29. SPECIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADJUST6 MENT ASSISTANCE.

7 Section 909 of the Public Works and Economic Devel8 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3245) (as redesignated by

9 section 25(1)) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 909. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out this title $50,000,000 for each of fiscal

13 years 1995 through 1997. Such sums shall remain available

14 until expended.

15 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—In addition to the ap16 propriations authorized by subsection (a), there are author17 ized to be appropriated to carry out this title $120,000,000

18 for fiscal year 1995, and such sums as may be necessary

19 for each of fiscal years 1996 and 1997, to provide assistance

20 for activities related to closures and realignments of mili21 tary installations and for defense conversion activities and

22 to provide assistance in the case of a natural disaster. Such

23 sums shall remain available until expended.

24 ‘‘(c) SET-ASIDE FOR COMPETITIVE COMMUNITIES

25 PILOT PROGRAM.—Of the amounts appropriated under
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1 subsections (a) and (b), not more than $40,000,000 shall

2 be available for fiscal year 1995 to carry out section 908,

3 of which not more than $15,000,000 shall be available from

4 amounts appropriated under subsection (a) and not more

5 than $25,000,000 shall be available from amounts appro6 priated under subsection (b).’’.

7 SEC. 30. COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.

8 None of the funds made available under this title, or

9 any amendment made by this title, may be expended to ac10 quire articles, materials, or supplies, or to procure services,

11 in violation of the applicable provisions of sections 2

12 through 4 of title III of the Act of March 3, 1933 (commonly

13 known as the ‘‘Buy American Act’’) (41 U.S.C. 10a–

14 10b–1).

15 SEC. 31. REGULATORY RELIEF.

16 The Assistant Secretary for Economic Development,

17 acting on a petition from an entity impacted adversely by

18 a Federal regulation on a matter of economic development

19 described in the Public Works and Economic Development

20 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.), shall notify the officer

21 who is the head of the department or agency that issued

22 and administers the regulation and suggest that the officer

23 waive regulations that interfere with economic development.

24 Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt the

25 authority of the head of a department or agency to waive
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1 regulations. Nothing in this section shall be construed to

2 affect the ability of the Assistant Secretary for Economic

3 Development to carry out the duties of the Assistant Sec4 retary, as otherwise provided by law.

S 2257 RS——2

S 2257 RS——3

S 2257 RS——4

S 2257 RS——5

S 2257 RS——6