II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1473

To amend section 2007 of the Social Security Act to provide grant funding

for additional Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Strategic Planning Communities, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2, 1999

Mr. ROBB (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. LUGAR, Mr.

TORRICELLI, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. HOLLINGS) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend section 2007 of the Social Security Act to provide

grant funding for additional Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Strategic Planning Communities,

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 ‘‘Empowerment Zones

5 and Enterprise Communities Enhancement Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FUNDING ENTITLEMENT FOR ADDITIONAL EM2 POWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COM3 MUNITIES, AND FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING

4 COMMUNITIES.

5 (a) ENTITLEMENT.—Section 2007(a)(1) of the Social

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(a)(1)) is amended—

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘in the

8 State; and’’ and inserting ‘‘that is in the State and

9 is designated pursuant to section 1391(b) of the In10 ternal Revenue Code of 1986;’’;

11 (2) by adding after subparagraph (B) the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(C)(i) 9 grants under this section for

14 each qualified empowerment zone that is in an

15 urban area in the State and is designated pur16 suant to section 1391(g) of such Code; and

17 ‘‘(ii) 9 grants under this section for each

18 qualified empowerment zone that is in a rural

19 area in the State and is designated pursuant to

20 section 1391(g) of such Code;

21 ‘‘(D) 9 grants under this section for each

22 qualified enterprise community that is in the

23 State and is designated pursuant to section 766

24 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food

25 and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

26 Appropriations Act, 1999; and
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1 ‘‘(E) 1 grant under this section for each

2 strategic planning community.’’.

3 (b) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—Section 2007(a)(2) of

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(a)(2)) is amended—

5 (1) in the heading of subparagraph (A), by in6 serting ‘‘ORIGINAL’’ before ‘‘EMPOWERMENT’’;

7 (2) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre8 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘referred to in para9 graph (1)(A)’’ after ‘‘empowerment zone’’;

10 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub11 paragraph (F); and

12 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL EMPOWERMENT

15 GRANTS.—The amount of the grant to a State

16 under this section for a qualified empowerment

17 zone referred to in paragraph (1)(C) shall be—

18 ‘‘(i) if the zone is in an urban area,

19 $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2000,

20 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001

21 through 2004, and $12,500,000 for each

22 of fiscal years 2005 through 2008; or

23 ‘‘(ii) if the zone is in a rural area,

24 $3,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2000
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1 through 2004, and $4,750,000 for each of

2 fiscal years 2005 through 2008,

3 multiplied by the proportion of the population

4 of the zone that resides in the State.

5 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL ENTERPRISE COMMU6 NITY GRANTS.—The amount of the grant to a

7 State under this section for a qualified enter8 prise community referred to in paragraph

9 (1)(D) shall be $3,000,000, multiplied by the

10 proportion of the population of the community

11 that resides in the State.

12 ‘‘(E) STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNITY

13 GRANTS.—The amount of the grant to a State

14 under this section for a strategic planning com15 munity shall be $3,000,000, multiplied by the

16 proportion of the population of the community

17 that resides in the State.’’.

18 (c) TIMING OF GRANTS.—Section 2007(a)(3) of such

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(a)(3)) is amended—

20 (1) in the heading of subparagraph (A), by in21 serting ‘‘ORIGINAL’’ before ‘‘QUALIFIED’’;

22 (2) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre23 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘referred to in para24 graph (1)(A)’’ after ‘‘empowerment zone’’; and
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1 (3) by adding after subparagraph (B) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED EMPOWER4 MENT ZONES.—With respect to each qualified

5 empowerment zone referred to in paragraph

6 (1)(C), the Secretary shall make 1 grant under

7 this section to the State in which the zone lies,

8 on the first day of fiscal year 2000 and of each

9 of the 8 succeeding fiscal years.

10 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED ENTERPRISE

11 COMMUNITIES.—With respect to each qualified

12 enterprise community referred to in paragraph

13 (1)(D), the Secretary shall make 1 grant under

14 this section to the State in which the commu15 nity lies on the first day of fiscal year 2000 and

16 of each of the 8 succeeding fiscal years.

17 ‘‘(E) STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMU18 NITIES.—With respect to each strategic plan19 ning community, the Secretary shall make 1

20 grant under this section to the State in which

21 the community is located, on October 1, 1999.’’.

22 (d) FUNDING.—Section 2007(a)(4) of such Act (42

23 U.S.C. 1397f(a)(4)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—$1,000,000’’

25 and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—

2 ‘‘(A) ORIGINAL GRANTS.—$1,000,000’’;

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘for empowerment zones and

4 enterprise communities described in subparagraphs

5 (A) and (B) of paragraph (1)’’ before the period;

6 and

7 (4) by adding after and below the end the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL EMPOWERMENT ZONE

10 GRANTS.—$1,645,000,000 shall be made avail11 able to the Secretary for grants under this sec12 tion for empowerment zones referred to in para13 graph (1)(C).

14 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL ENTERPRISE COMMU15 NITY GRANTS.—$60,000,000 shall be made

16 available to the Secretary for grants under this

17 section for enterprise communities referred to

18 in paragraph (1)(D).

19 ‘‘(D) STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNITY

20 GRANTS.—$45,000,000 shall be made available

21 to the Secretary for grants under this section

22 for strategic planning communities.’’.

23 (e) DIRECT FUNDING FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—Section

24 2007(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(a)) is amended by

25 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(5) DIRECT FUNDING FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may

3 make a grant under this section directly to the

4 governing body of an Indian tribe if—

5 ‘‘(i) the tribe is identified in the stra6 tegic plan of a qualified empowerment zone

7 or qualified enterprise community as the

8 entity that assumes sole or primary re9 sponsibility for carrying out activities and

10 projects under the grant; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the grant is to be used for activi12 ties and projects that are—

13 ‘‘(I) included in the strategic

14 plan of the qualified empowerment

15 zone or qualified enterprise commu16 nity, consistent with this section; and

17 ‘‘(II) approved by the Secretary

18 of Agriculture, in the case of a quali19 fied empowerment zone or qualified

20 enterprise community in a rural area,

21 or the Secretary of Housing and

22 Urban Development, in the case of a

23 qualified empowerment zone or quali24 fied enterprise community in an urban

25 area.
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1 ‘‘(B) RULES OF INTERPRETATION.—

2 ‘‘(i) If grant under this section is

3 made directly to the governing body of an

4 Indian tribe under subparagraph (A), the

5 tribe shall be considered a State for pur6 poses of this section.

7 ‘‘(ii) This subparagraph shall not be

8 construed as making applicable to this sec9 tion the provisions of the Indian Self-De10 termination and Education Assistance

11 Act.’’.

12 (f) DEFINITIONS.—

13 (1) QUALIFIED ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY.—Sec14 tion 2007(f)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

15 1397f(f)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or pursu16 ant to section 766 of the Agriculture, Rural Devel17 opment, Food and Drug Administration, and Re18 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999’’ before the

19 semicolon.

20 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Section 2007(f)(3) of

21 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(f)(3)) is amended by in22 serting ‘‘or under section 766 of the Agriculture,

23 Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,

24 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999’’ be25 fore the period.
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1 (3) STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNITY.—Sec2 tion 2007(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(f)) is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(7) STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMUNITY.—The

5 term ‘strategic planning community’ means a re6 spondent to the Notice Inviting Applications at 63

7 Federal Register 19162 (April 16, 1998) whose ap8 plication was ranked 16th through 30th in the com9 petition that concluded in December 1998.’’.

10 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—Section 2007(f) of such

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(f)), as amended by paragraph

12 (3) of this subsection, is amended by adding at the

13 end the following:

14 ‘‘(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’

15 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga16 nized group or community, including any Alaska Na17 tive village or regional or village corporation as de18 fined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Na19 tive Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as

20 eligible for the special programs and services pro21 vided by the United States to Indians because of

22 their status as Indians.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. USE OF GRANT FUNDS.

2 (a) REVOLVING LOAN ACTIVITIES.—Section 2007(b)

3 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(b)) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(5) REVOLVING LOAN ACTIVITIES.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to assist dis7 advantaged adults and youths in achieving and

8 maintaining economic self-support, a State may

9 use amounts paid under this section to fund re10 volving loan funds or similar arrangements for

11 the purpose of making loans to residents, insti12 tutions, organizations, or businesses that hire

13 disadvantaged adults and youths.

14 ‘‘(B) RULES FOR DISBURSEMENT.—

15 Amounts to be used as described in subpara16 graph (A) shall be disbursed by the Secretary,

17 consistent with the provisions of the Cash Man18 agement Improvement Act and its implementing

19 rules, regulations, and procedures issued by the

20 Secretary of the Treasury—

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of a grant to a revolv22 ing loan fund—

23 ‘‘(I) pursuant to a written irrev24 ocable grant commitment; and

25 ‘‘(II) at such time or times as the

26 Secretary determines that the funds
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1 are needed to meet the purposes of

2 such commitment; or

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a grant for pur4 poses of capitalizing an insured depository

5 institution (as defined in section 3 of the

6 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C.

7 1813)) or an insured credit union (as de8 fined in section 101 of the Federal Credit

9 Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1742)), at such time

10 or times as the Secretary determines that

11 funds are needed for such capitalization.’’.

12 (b) USE AS NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 2007(b)

13 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397f(b)), as amended by sub14 section (a) of this section, is amended by adding at the

15 end the following:

16 ‘‘(6) A State may use amounts received from a

17 grant under this section to pay all or part of the

18 non-Federal share of expenditures under any other

19 Federal grant to a local public or nonprofit private

20 agency or organization for activities consistent with

21 the purposes of this section, unless the statutory au22 thority for such other grant expressly prohibits

23 counting of Federal grant funds as such non-Federal

24 share.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

2 Section 2007 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

3 1397f) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub5 section (g); and

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—

9 ‘‘(1) EXECUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY BY THE

10 SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

11 AND THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—

12 ‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection

13 shall apply to grants under this section in con14 nection with empowerment zones, enterprise

15 communities, and strategic planning commu16 nities (as defined in subsection (g)).

17 ‘‘(B) EXECUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—

18 With respect to grants described in subpara19 graph (A), the Secretary of Housing and Urban

20 Development and the Secretary of Agriculture,

21 as appropriate, shall execute the responsibilities

22 under the National Environmental Policy Act of

23 1969 and other provisions of law that further

24 the purposes of such Act (as specified in regula25 tions issued by each such Secretary under para26 graph (2)(B)) that would otherwise apply to the
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1 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and

2 may provide for the assumption of such respon3 sibilities in accordance with paragraphs (2)

4 through (5).

5 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.—Except

6 as otherwise specified, in this subsection, the

7 term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Hous8 ing and Urban Development for purposes of

9 grants under this section with respect to quali10 fied empowerment zones and qualified enter11 prise communities in urban areas, and strategic

12 planning areas, and the Secretary of Agri13 culture for purposes of grants under this sec14 tion with respect to qualified empowerment

15 zones and qualified enterprise communities in

16 rural areas.

17 ‘‘(2) ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY BY

18 STATES, UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT,

19 AND INDIAN TRIBES.—

20 ‘‘(A) RELEASE OF FUNDS.—In order to as21 sure that the policies of the National Environ22 mental Policy Act of 1969 and other provisions

23 of law that further the purposes of such Act (as

24 specified in regulations issued by the Secretary

25 under subparagraph (B)) are most effectively
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1 implemented in connection with the expenditure

2 of funds under this section, and to assure to the

3 public undiminished protection of the environ4 ment, the Secretary may, under such regula5 tions, in lieu of the environmental protection

6 procedures otherwise applicable, provide for the

7 release of funds for particular projects to recipi8 ents of assistance under this section if the

9 State, unit of general local government, or In10 dian tribe, as designated by the Secretary in ac11 cordance with regulations issued by the Sec12 retary under subparagraph (B), assumes all of

13 the responsibilities for environmental review,

14 decisionmaking, and action pursuant to such

15 Act, and such other provisions of law as the

16 regulations of the Secretary specify, that would

17 otherwise apply to the Secretary were the Sec18 retary to undertake such projects as Federal

19 projects.

20 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of

21 Housing and Urban Development and the Sec22 retary of Agriculture shall each issue regula23 tions to carry out this subsection only after con24 sultation with the Council on Environmental

25 Quality. Such regulations shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) specify any other provisions of

2 law that further the purposes of the Na3 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969

4 and to which the assumption of responsi5 bility as provided in this subsection ap6 plies;

7 ‘‘(ii) provide eligibility criteria and

8 procedures for the designation of a State,

9 unit of general local government, or Indian

10 tribe to assume all of the responsibilities

11 described in subparagraph (A);

12 ‘‘(iii) specify the purposes for which

13 funds may be committed without regard to

14 the procedure established under paragraph

15 (3);

16 ‘‘(iv) provide for monitoring of the

17 performance of environmental reviews

18 under this subsection;

19 (v) in the discretion of the Secretary,

20 provide for the provision or facilitation of

21 training for such performance; and

22 ‘‘(vi) subject to the discretion of the

23 Secretary, provide for suspension or termi24 nation by the Secretary of the assumption

25 under subparagraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE, UNIT

2 OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT, OR INDIAN

3 TRIBE.—The Secretary’s duty under subpara4 graph (B) shall not be construed to limit any

5 responsibility assumed by a State, unit of gen6 eral local government, or Indian tribe with re7 spect to any particular release of funds under

8 subparagraph (A).

9 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall ap10 prove the release of funds for projects subject to the

11 procedures authorized by this subsection only if, not

12 less than 15 days prior to such approval and prior

13 to any commitment of funds to such projects (except

14 for such purposes specified in the regulations issued

15 under paragraph (2)(B)), the recipient submits to

16 the Secretary a request for such release accompanied

17 by a certification of the State, unit of general local

18 government, or Indian tribe that meets the require19 ments of paragraph (4). The approval by the Sec20 retary of any such certification shall be deemed to

21 satisfy the Secretary’s responsibilities pursuant to

22 paragraph (1) under the National Environmental

23 Policy Act of 1969 and such other provisions of law

24 as the regulations of the Secretary specify insofar as

25 those responsibilities relate to the releases of funds
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1 for projects to be carried out pursuant thereto that

2 are covered by such certification.

3 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.—A certification under the

4 procedures authorized by this subsection shall—

5 ‘‘(A) be in a form acceptable to the Sec6 retary;

7 ‘‘(B) be executed by the chief executive of8 ficer or other officer of the State, unit of gen9 eral local government, or Indian tribe who

10 qualifies under regulations of the Secretary;

11 ‘‘(C) specify that the State, unit of general

12 local government, or Indian tribe under this

13 subsection has fully carried out its responsibil14 ities as described under paragraph (2); and

15 ‘‘(D) specify that the certifying officer—

16 ‘‘(i) consents to assume the status of

17 a responsible Federal official under the

18 National Environmental Policy Act of

19 1969 and each provision of law specified in

20 regulations issued by the Secretary insofar

21 as the provisions of such Act or other such

22 provisions of law apply pursuant to para23 graph (2); and

24 ‘‘(ii) is authorized and consents on be25 half of the State, unit of general local gov-
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1 ernment, or Indian tribe and himself or

2 herself to accept the jurisdiction of the

3 Federal courts for the purpose of enforce4 ment of the responsibilities as such an offi5 cial.

6 ‘‘(5) APPROVAL BY STATES.—In cases in which

7 a unit of general local government carries out the re8 sponsibilities described in paragraph (2), the Sec9 retary may permit the State to perform those ac10 tions of the Secretary described in paragraph (3).

11 The performance of such actions by the State, where

12 permitted, shall be deemed to satisfy the responsibil13 ities referred to in the second sentence of paragraph

14 (3).’’.

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