103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2099

AN ACT

To establish the Northern Great Plains Rural

Development Commission, and for other purposes.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2099

AN ACT

To establish the Northern Great Plains Rural Development

Commission, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 Rural Development Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the rural economy of the Northern Great

4 Plains is undergoing a substantial and potentially

5 threatening transformation;

6 (2) the rural Northern Great Plains suffers

7 from substantial measurable poverty, unemployment,

8 outmigration, underemployment, aging of the popu9 lation, and low per capita income;

10 (3) the Northern Great Plains is highly rural

11 and has a highly dispersed population, and contains

12 many Native American reservations;

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

14 Northern Great Plains in natural resources are

15 under stress;

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

17 and private effort is needed if the rural Northern

18 Great Plains is to share in the general prosperity of

19 the United States;

20 (6) the creation of jobs and expansion of exist21 ing businesses, including small businesses, offer the

22 greatest hope for rural economic growth and revital23 ization in the Northern Great Plains;

24 (7) the availability of capital, technology, mar25 ket information, infrastructure development, edu26 cational opportunities, health care, housing, rec-
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1 reational activities, and resource development are es2 sential to successful business development in the

3 rural Northern Great Plains;

4 (8) the transportation needs of the rural North5 ern Great Plains must be addressed through high6 way and bridge construction, air service availability,

7 and rail service and river transport development;

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

9 historical, and cultural ties of the rural Northern

10 Great Plains as well as common economic problems,

11 planning for this unique region is desirable and ur12 gently needed; and

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

14 tourism industry offers significant additional poten15 tial for supporting economic development and job

16 growth, fostered by the wise stewardship of natural

17 resources.

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

19 The purpose of this Act is to establish the Northern

20 Great Plains Rural Development Commission to study and

21 make recommendations regarding the economic needs and

22 economic development of the rural Northern Great Plains

23 by seeking and encouraging the participation of interested

24 citizens, public officials, groups, agencies, businesses, and
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1 other entities in developing a 10-year rural economic de2 velopment plan for the Northern Great Plains.

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

4 As used in this Act:

5 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘‘chairperson’’

6 means the chairperson of the Commission.

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

8 means the Northern Great Plains Rural Develop9 ment Commission.

10 (3) NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS.—The term

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

12 Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Min13 nesota.

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

15 in the Northern Great Plains.

16 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT.

17 There is established a Commission to be known as

18 the ‘‘Northern Great Plains Rural Development Commis19 sion’’.

20 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION.

21 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com22 posed of 10 members, of whom—

23 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Gov24 ernor of each State; and
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1 (2) 1 member shall be appointed from each of

2 the States by the Secretary of Agriculture.

3 (b) TERM.—Each member of the Commission shall

4 serve for such term as the official who appoints the mem5 ber determines is appropriate.

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

7 shall constitute a quorum, but the Commission may estab8 lish that a lesser number shall constitute a quorum for

9 the purpose of conducting hearings.

10 (d) MEETINGS.—

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

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

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

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

15 members of the Commission shall appoint a chair16 person from among the members appointed under

17 subsection (a)(1). The first meeting of the Commis18 sion shall be held not later than 45 days after the

19 date of enactment of this Act.

20 (2) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The Commission

21 shall conduct such additional meetings as the Com22 mission determines are appropriate.

23 (e) APPOINTMENTS.—Each appointment under this

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

25 of enactment of this Act.
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1 (f) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

2 not affect the powers of the Commission and shall be filled

3 in the same manner in which the original appointment was

4 made.

5 (g) HEADQUARTERS.—The Commission shall estab6 lish the location for the headquarters of the Commission.

7 SEC. 7. DUTIES.

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

9 the economic development, infrastructure, technology,

10 telecommunications, capital, employment, transportation,

11 business resource development, education, health care,

12 housing, and recreation needs of the Northern Great

13 Plains and develop a 10-year plan that makes rec14 ommendations and establishes priorities to address the

15 needs.

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

17 the Commission shall, with respect to the Northern Great

18 Plains—

19 (1) sponsor and conduct investigations, research

20 studies, and field hearings;

21 (2) review and evaluate available research, stud22 ies, and information on conditions in the areas re23 ferred to in subsection (a);
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1 (3) study the economy, identifying strengths,

2 weaknesses, participation levels, opportunities, and

3 methods of addressing outmigration;

4 (4) develop a profile of, and a description of re5 sources devoted to, economic development (including

6 tourism), human resources (including demographics,

7 outmigration, poverty, Native Americans, education,

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

9 highway, rail, and telecommunications), and natural

10 resources;

11 (5) study and evaluate the economic develop12 ment resources, coordination, collaboration, and

13 ‘‘best practices’’ of the Federal, State, and local gov14 ernments, nonprofit organizations, universities, busi15 nesses, agricultural and natural resources groups,

16 foundations, cooperatives, and other organizations;

17 (6) identify methods of facilitating the employ18 ment and business startups of unemployed, under19 employed, and low-income individuals and house20 holds;

21 (7) identify effective methods for promoting de22 velopment on Native American reservations;

23 (8) study the availability of methods of deliver24 ing public, private, and nonprofit capital and tech-
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1 nical assistance for business startups and expan2 sions, including farming and ranching;

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

4 strategies for providing and maintaining, the infra5 structure, including air, water, highway, rail, and

6 telecommunications;

7 (10) study the structure and potential develop8 ment of major industries, including agriculture, tim9 ber, mining, tourism, and manufacturing (including

10 the use of advanced technologies and processes and

11 adding value to raw materials and component parts);

12 (11) study the competence and availability of

13 the labor force, including the health, educational,

14 training, housing, and economic needs of the labor

15 force;

16 (12) develop an inventory of water, mineral, en17 ergy, timber, agricultural, fishery, wildlife, and other

18 natural resources;

19 (13) assess the comparative cost of doing busi20 ness;

21 (14) assess the international trading levels,

22 markets, and practices, and potential opportunities;

23 (15) assess the interconnection between metro24 politan and rural areas and identify methods

25 through which the areas can collaborate;
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1 (16) assess methods by which small commu2 nities and regions are collaborating or can collabo3 rate in economic development initiatives;

4 (17) evaluate—

5 (A) the distribution and impact of Federal

6 spending, including grant-in-aid programs, re7 search, and Federal procurement, and compare

8 the level of spending in these categories with

9 spending in other regions of the country; and

10 (B) the extent to which reliance on Fed11 eral, State, and local government outlays for

12 poverty programs can be reduced by outlays

13 targeted for economic development;

14 (18) identify Federal, State, and local govern15 ment programs, policies, and regulations that en16 hance or obstruct the development of businesses and

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

18 effectively use the skills, education, and training of

19 the labor force;

20 (19) evaluate the potential for States to jointly

21 finance projects and activities of regional benefit;

22 and

23 (20) analyze such other issues as the Commis24 sion determines are relevant to future economic de25 velopment.
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1 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—In developing the

2 plan, the Commission shall—

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

4 problems of the rural Northern Great Plains and

5 proposed solutions, and establish and utilize citizens

6 groups, special advisory councils, public hearings,

7 and conferences;

8 (2) seek and encourage the participation of in9 terested citizens, public officials, groups, agencies,

10 economic development organizations, natural re11 source organizations, and other organizations;

12 (3) make the Commission accessible to the indi13 viduals, groups, agencies, and organizations referred

14 to in paragraph (2) by holding at least 1 well pub15 licized public hearing in each State; and

16 (4) consult with—

17 (A) Federal, State, and local government

18 agencies, including the Departments of Agri19 culture, Commerce, Education, Labor, Health

20 and Human Services, Housing and Urban De21 velopment, and Transportation, and the Small

22 Business Administration, bank regulatory agen23 cies, and rural development councils;
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1 (B) banks, insurance companies, venture

2 capital companies, and other for-profit financial

3 institutions;

4 (C) nonprofit and community-based devel5 opment organizations, revolving loan funds, and

6 other organizations;

7 (D) industry and sectoral organizations;

8 (E) foundations and universities; and

9 (F) other organizations involved in eco10 nomic development activities.

11 SEC. 8. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

12 (a) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY GOVERNORS.—Each

13 member of the Commission appointed by a Governor of

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

15 represents.

16 (b) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE SECRETARY.—

17 Each member appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture,

18 who is not otherwise employed by the United States Gov19 ernment, shall receive compensation at a rate determined

20 by the Secretary of not to exceed the daily equivalent of

21 the lowest annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS–

22 15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title

23 5, United States Code, including traveltime, for each day

24 the member is engaged in the actual performance of the

25 duties of the Commission. A member of the Commission
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1 appointed by the Secretary who is an officer or employee

2 of the United States Government shall serve without addi3 tional compensation.

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

5 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ6 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized

7 for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter

8 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the

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

10 performance of services for the Commission. Each member

11 of the Commission shall also be reimbursed by the United

12 States Government for other necessary expenses incurred

13 by the member in the performance of the duties of the

14 member.

15 SEC. 9. POWERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

16 (a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

17 may obtain the services of experts and consultants in ac18 cordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

19 (b) FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.—

20 The Commission may enter into agreements with the Ad21 ministrator of General Services for the procurement of

22 necessary financial and administrative services, for which

23 payment shall be made by reimbursement from funds of

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

25 chairperson and the Administrator of General Services.
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1 (c) CONTRACTS.—Subject to subsection (d), the Com2 mission may enter into contracts with Federal and State

3 agencies and private firms, institutions, and agencies for

4 the conduct of research and surveys, the preparation of

5 reports, and other activities necessary to carry out the du6 ties of the Commission.

7 (d) SUPPLIES, SERVICES, PROPERTY, AND CON8 TRACTS.—The Commission may procure supplies, serv9 ices, and property, and make contracts in any fiscal year,

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

11 in appropriation Acts.

12 (e) HEARINGS.—The Commission or, on the author13 ization of the Commission, a member of the Commission

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

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

16 the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the

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

18 and documents as the Commission or the member consid19 ers appropriate.

20 (f) INFORMATION.—The Commission may acquire di21 rectly from any executive department, bureau, agency,

22 board, commission, office, independent establishment, or

23 instrumentality, information, suggestions, estimates, and

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

25 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, establishment,
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1 or instrumentality shall provide, to the extent permitted

2 by law, the information, suggestions, estimates, and statis3 tics directly to the Commission, upon request by the chair4 person.

5 (g) PERSONNEL.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Without regard to the provi7 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap8 pointments in the competitive service, and without

9 regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

10 53 of such title relating to classification and General

11 Schedule pay rates, the chairperson of the Commis12 sion may appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa13 tion of an Executive Director and such additional

14 personnel as the chairperson determines are nec15 essary to enable the Commission to carry out the du16 ties of the Commission.

17 (2) COMPENSATION.—The rate of compensation

18 of the Executive Director may not exceed a rate

19 equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of

20 basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Sched21 ule under section 5316 of such title. The rate of

22 compensation of all other personnel may not exceed

23 a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the lowest an24 nual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS–15 of
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1 the General Schedule under section 5332 of such

2 title.

3 (h) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon re4 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency

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

6 available to the Commission or detail any of the personnel

7 of the agency to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis,

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

9 Commission under this Act. If the head of an agency de10 termines that the agency cannot make the facilities, serv11 ices, or personnel available to the Commission, the head

12 shall notify the chairperson in writing.

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

14 the United States mails in the same manner and under

15 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

16 the United States.

17 SEC. 10. REPORTS.

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

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

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

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

22 President pro tempore of the Senate, the Committee on

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

24 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Committee

25 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, the Presi-
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1 dent, and the Governor of each State, describing the find2 ings and activities of the Commission and the further ac3 tivities necessary to carry out the duties of the Commis4 sion.

5 (b) FINAL REPORT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 18-

7 month period beginning on the date of the first

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

9 the Commission shall submit to the Secretary of Ag10 riculture, the President pro tempore of the Senate,

11 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For12 estry of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of

13 Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture of

14 the House of Representatives, the President, and the

15 Governor of each State, a report describing the find16 ings and activities of the Commission and rec17 ommendations in accordance with paragraph (2) re18 garding specific actions that are necessary to pro19 mote the economic development of the rural North20 ern Great Plains while preserving, to the maximum

21 extent possible, the natural beauty and habitat of

22 the Northern Great Plains.

23 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—
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1 (A) REGIONAL COLLABORATION.—The

2 Commission shall, with respect to the Northern

3 Great Plains—

4 (i) determine the most effective and

5 appropriate method for ensuring continued

6 collaboration within the region on economic

7 development matters, considering regional

8 compacts, cooperatives, foundations, devel9 opment corporations, and other agreements

10 and organizations;

11 (ii) identify the organizational struc12 ture, method of financing, functions, and

13 participating organizations, of the collabo14 ration referred to in clause (i);

15 (iii) identify methods of effective

16 multi-community, substate, and small re17 gion development; and

18 (iv) assess the interconnection be19 tween metropolitan and rural areas and

20 identify methods of collaboration between

21 the areas.

22 (B) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.—The Com23 mission shall, with respect to the rural North24 ern Great Plains—
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1 (i) recommend methods of diversifying

2 the rural economy, including the develop3 ment and financing of value-added and

4 new-use agricultural products;

5 (ii) develop methods to promote and

6 finance beginning owner-occupied farming

7 and ranching operations;

8 (iii) recommend methods of promoting

9 entrepreneurial development, including

10 business startups and expansions;

11 (iv) recommend methods in which the

12 public, private, and nonprofit sectors can

13 help increase international trading levels

14 and penetrate new markets in agricultural,

15 manufactured, and service products;

16 (v) evaluate the potential utility of

17 business and manufacturing networks in

18 target sectors;

19 (vi) assess the competitiveness of

20 manufacturers and the use of modern tech21 nology, processes, and information by the

22 manufacturers, and methods of assisting

23 manufacturers lacking the technology,

24 processes, or information;
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1 (vii) recommend methods in which

2 capital and technical assistance can be pro3 vided on a regional or sectoral basis to

4 business startups and expansions by pub5 lic, private, and nonprofit organizations;

6 and

7 (viii) recommend ways in which Fed8 eral and State resource conservation pro9 grams can be used to encourage tourism in

10 the region.

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

12 respect to the rural Northern Great Plains—

13 (i) determine if there are capital needs

14 in the economy, and in what part of the

15 economy the needs are located, and rec16 ommend how governmental, nonprofit, co17 operative, community-based, microlending,

18 banking, venture, seed, and nonbanking fi19 nancing sources can assist in meeting the

20 needs;

21 (ii) identify such strategies in organi22 zation, regulations, policy, marketing, and

23 coordination as are needed to implement a

24 plan to meet the needs referred to in

25 clause (i); and
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1 (iii) recommend methods of utilizing

2 secondary financial markets to increase the

3 capital available for business development.

4 (D) INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Commission

5 shall, with respect to the rural Northern Great

6 Plains—

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

8 and operate effective freight railroad serv9 ice in coordination with States, the Federal

10 Railroad Administration, the Interstate

11 Commerce Commission, rail operators,

12 shippers, and the financial community;

13 (ii) prepare an assessment and agree14 ment on the capital needs, coordination,

15 and financing of telecommunications infra16 structure, in cooperation with the Depart17 ment of Agriculture, the National Tele18 communications and Information Adminis19 tration of the Department of Commerce,

20 the Federal Communications Commission,

21 the public utilities commission of each

22 State, telephone companies and coopera23 tives, representative users, and such other

24 entities as the Commission determines are

25 appropriate; and
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1 (iii) recommend strategies for ad2 dressing air, water, and highway needs.

3 (E) HUMAN RESOURCES.—The Commis4 sion shall, with respect to the rural Northern

5 Great Plains—

6 (i) identify methods of facilitating the

7 employment and business startups of indi8 viduals who are not effectively participat9 ing in the labor force, including unem10 ployed, underemployed, and low-income in11 dividuals and households;

12 (ii) identify methods of coordinating

13 on a regional or sectoral basis education

14 and training programs that are tied to eco15 nomic development initiatives, especially

16 programs that address the outmigration of

17 youth; and

18 (iii) study the competence and avail19 ability of the labor force and the effects of

20 the health, educational, training, housing,

21 and economic needs of the labor force, and

22 identify regional strategies addressing the

23 needs.

24 (F) GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, POLICIES,

25 AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall
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1 submit to the appropriate government, non2 profit, and private sector organizations rec3 ommendations for modifications or additions to

4 the programs, policies, and regulations referred

5 to in section 7(b)(18) to promote the rural de6 velopment of the Northern Great Plains.

7 SEC. 11. TERMINATION.

8 The Commission shall terminate on the earlier of—

9 (1) 120 days after the date of submission of the

10 final report under section 10; and

11 (2) 2 years after the date of enactment of this

12 Act.

13 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

15 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate June 22 (legislative day, June 7),

1994.

Attest:

Secretary.
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