II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4077 

To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2022 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; 

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

Public Works 

A BILL 

To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development 

Administration, 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 ‘‘Increasing our Na5 tion’s Value through Economic Support and Tourism in 

6 Our Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘INVEST in Our Commu7 nities Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 501 of the Public Works 

10 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191) 


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1 is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ each place 

2 it appears and inserting ‘‘Under Secretary’’. 

3 (b) TRANSITION.—The individual serving as the As4 sistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development 

5 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act shall 

6 be deemed to have been confirmed as the Under Secretary 

7 of Commerce for Economic Development. 

8 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg9 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

10 States to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Eco11 nomic Development shall be deemed to be a reference to 

12 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Develop13 ment. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT. 

15 Section 3(4) of the Public Works and Economic De16 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122(4) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS AND

19 HOST GRANTS.—In the case of grants under 

20 sections 208 and 219, the term ‘eligible recipi21 ent’ also includes a tribal organization and a 

22 Native Hawaiian organization (as those terms 

23 are defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act 

24 (25 U.S.C. 4352)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE FOR TRIBAL ORGA2 NIZATIONS AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANI3 ZATIONS. 

4 Section 204(c)(1) of the Public Works and Economic 

5 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)(1)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ‘‘, 

8 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR9 GANIZATIONS’’ after ‘‘TRIBES’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting ‘‘, a tribal organization (as de11 fined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 

12 4352)), or a Native Hawaiian organization (as de13 fined in that section)’’ after ‘‘Indian tribe’’. 

14 SEC. 5. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

16 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et 

17 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 207 the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 208. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PREDEVELOPMENT ACTIV21 ITY.—In this section, the term ‘predevelopment activity’ 

22 means an activity carried out before a project can proceed 

23 to the execution stage or the eligible recipient can secure 

24 financing and partners. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a program to provide to eligible recipients assistance 

3 for predevelopment activities. 

4 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible recipient may use 

5 funds from a grant under this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) to carry out certain predevelopment activi7 ties, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) planning and community asset map9 ping; 

10 ‘‘(B) training; 

11 ‘‘(C) technical assistance and organiza12 tional development; 

13 ‘‘(D) feasibility and market studies; 

14 ‘‘(E) demonstration projects; 

15 ‘‘(F) organizational capacity building; 

16 ‘‘(G) organizing and facilitating 

17 convenings; and 

18 ‘‘(H) other predevelopment activities, as 

19 determined appropriate by the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(2) to hire and obtain qualified economic de21 velopment professionals and services for a 3-year pe22 riod to develop and carry out a comprehensive eco23 nomic development strategy, an economic develop24 ment strategic plan, or other predevelopment activi25 ties. 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant 

2 under this section, an eligible recipient shall submit to the 

3 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary may re5 quire, including a specific plan— 

6 ‘‘(1) on how the eligible recipient will carry out 

7 predevelopment activities using grant funds; and 

8 ‘‘(2) for the continuation of the position created 

9 or services obtained as a result of the grant after the 

10 end of the 3-year term, if applicable. 

11 ‘‘(e) WAIVER OF ATTORNEY’S AND CONSULTANT’S

12 FEE PROHIBITION.—In the case of a project under this 

13 section that is carried out using grant funds by 1 or more 

14 eligible recipients with low organizational capacity, in the 

15 determination of the Secretary, the Secretary may waive 

16 the prohibition described in section 213.’’. 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY.— 

18 (1) GRANTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND ECO19 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—Section 201(a) of the Pub20 lic Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 

21 (42 U.S.C. 3141(a)) is amended— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe25 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) predevelopment activities (as defined in 

3 section 208(a)).’’. 

4 (2) GRANTS FOR ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT.— 

5 Section 209(a) of the Public Works and Economic 

6 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3149(a)) is 

7 amended by inserting ‘‘predevelopment activities (as 

8 defined in section 208(a)),’’ after ‘‘training,’’. 

9 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

10 302(a) of the Public Works and Economic Develop11 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162(a)) is amended 

12 in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting 

13 ‘‘and predevelopment activities (as defined in section 

14 208(a)) under section 201 or 209’’ after ‘‘section 

15 209’’. 

16 (c) INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 

17 204(c)(3) of the Public Works and Economic Development 

18 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)(3)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

20 ‘‘AND CAPACITY BUILDING’’ after ‘‘TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘section 207’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘sections 207 and 208’’. 

24 (d) DIRECT EXPENDITURE OR REDISTRIBUTION BY

25 RECIPIENT.—Section 217(a) of the Public Works and 


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1 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3154c(a)) 

2 is amended by striking ‘‘or 207’’ and inserting ‘‘207, or 

3 208’’. 

4 (e) POWERS OF THE SECRETARY.—Section 

5 601(a)(12) of the Public Works and Economic Develop6 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3211(a)(12)) is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘section 207’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 207 and 

8 208’’. 

9 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco11 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

12 3597; 118 Stat. 1761) is amended by inserting after the 

13 item relating to section 207 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 208. Capacity building grant program.’’. 

14 SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR PLANNING AND GRANTS FOR ADMIN15 ISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

16 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Section 203 of the 

17 Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

18 U.S.C. 3143) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Administrative 

21 expenses described in subsection (a) shall include expenses 

22 relating to— 

23 ‘‘(1) carrying out the planning process de24 scribed in subsection (b); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) hiring professional staff to assist commu2 nities or organizations in— 

3 ‘‘(A) implementing projects and priorities 

4 included in— 

5 ‘‘(i) a comprehensive economic devel6 opment strategy; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) an economic development plan8 ning grant; 

9 ‘‘(B) identifying and using other Federal, 

10 State, and Tribal economic development pro11 grams; 

12 ‘‘(C) leveraging private and philanthropic 

13 investment; 

14 ‘‘(D) preparing disaster coordination and 

15 preparation plans; 

16 ‘‘(E) collaborating with trade adjustment 

17 assistance centers, Hollings Manufacturing Ex18 tension Partnership Centers of the National In19 stitute of Standards and Technology, Business 

20 Centers and Rural Business Centers of the Mi21 nority Business Development Agency, and other 

22 relevant Federal economic development tech23 nical assistance and service providers to pro24 mote domestic manufacturing; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) carrying out economic development 

2 activities in accordance with professional eco3 nomic development best practices.’’. 

4 (b) INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 204(c) 

5 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 

6 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)) is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) GRANTS FOR PLANNING AND GRANTS FOR

9 ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—In the case of a grant 

10 provided under section 203, the Secretary may in11 crease the Federal share above the percentage speci12 fied in subsection (a) up to 80 percent of the cost 

13 of the project.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP15 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Works and 

17 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et 

18 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 219. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP20 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) OUTDOOR RECREATION.—The term ‘out23 door recreation’ means all recreational activities, and 

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1 nesses and local economic efforts, undertaken for 

2 pleasure that— 

3 ‘‘(A) generally involve some level of inten4 tional physical exertion; and 

5 ‘‘(B) occur in nature-based environments 

6 outdoors. 

7 ‘‘(2) TOURISM, HOSPITALITY, OR SPECIAL

8 EVENT ACTIVITY.—The term ‘tourism, hospitality, or 

9 special event activity’ means any economic activity 

10 that primarily serves to encourage recreational or 

11 business travel within the United States or from 

12 abroad, including tourist attractions, business and 

13 recreational conventions, large entertainment events 

14 and venues, and promotion or organization of any 

15 such activity. 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients to 

18 support outdoor recreation, travel, and tourism, hospi19 tality, or special event activities to spur economic develop20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(c) GOALS.—A project carried out with a grant 

22 under this section shall be carried out for the goal of— 

23 ‘‘(1) in the case of an infrastructure project— 

24 ‘‘(A) leading to long-term increases in 

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1 nities adjacent to National Park System units, 

2 State parks, national marine sanctuaries, Na3 tional Heritage Areas, Tribal parks, or other 

4 natural destinations; and 

5 ‘‘(B) using nature-based infrastructure 

6 projects and other projects intended to enhance 

7 public access to outdoor recreation opportuni8 ties; and 

9 ‘‘(2) in the case of other projects as determined 

10 appropriate by the Secretary, supporting the outdoor 

11 recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, and special 

12 event industries, in a manner consistent with the 

13 National Travel and Tourism Strategy or as rec14 ommended by the United States Travel and Tourism 

15 Advisory Board, if any. 

16 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

18 may be used— 

19 ‘‘(A) to pay costs associated with obtaining 

20 State, Tribal, county, city, community, or re21 gional tourism marketing and promotion cam22 paigns, including through nonprofit or quasi23 governmental Destination Marketing Organiza24 tions (DMOs); 


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1 ‘‘(B) to carry out workforce training, re2 cruitment, and research programs that support 

3 the outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hospi4 tality, and special event industries to improve 

5 the skills of, and job opportunities for, workers 

6 in those industries, including through a pro7 gram registered under the Act of August 16, 

8 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National Ap9 prenticeship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), and 

10 other work and learn models; 

11 ‘‘(C) for short-term and long-term eco12 nomic development planning and coordination 

13 for the purpose of responding to the effects of 

14 the COVID–19 pandemic on the regional out15 door recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, and 

16 special event industries; 

17 ‘‘(D) to carry out technical assistance 

18 projects, including for small business concerns, 

19 entrepreneurs, and small and rural commu20 nities, to assist regional economies in— 

21 ‘‘(i) the recovery from, and response 

22 to, damage to the outdoor recreation, trav23 el, tourism, hospitality, and special event 

24 industries as a result of the COVID–19 

25 pandemic; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) future development of the out2 door recreation, travel, tourism, hospi3 tality, and special event industries; 

4 ‘‘(E) to establish local programs to provide 

5 assistance to small business concerns in the 

6 outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, 

7 or special events industries— 

8 ‘‘(i) for development; 

9 ‘‘(ii) to recover from the impacts of a 

10 major disaster or emergency declared 

11 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re12 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or a public health 

14 emergency declared under section 319 of 

15 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 247d); or 

17 ‘‘(iii) for expansion; 

18 ‘‘(F) to carry out construction activities at 

19 facilities or property owned by, or held in trust 

20 by a Federal or State government entity for, 

21 the eligible recipient that support outdoor recre22 ation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or special 

23 events, including activities involving— 

24 ‘‘(i) construction of new, or improve25 ments to existing, outdoor recreation and 


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1 trail infrastructure, including public access 

2 enhancements to that infrastructure; 

3 ‘‘(ii) nature-based infrastructure 

4 projects to improve access to outdoor 

5 recreation; 

6 ‘‘(iii) improvement of cultural, arts, 

7 convention, special event, outdoor recre8 ation, and tourism facilities, such as visitor 

9 or tourist information centers, including 

10 through— 

11 ‘‘(I) general accessibility up12 grades, such as increasing disability 

13 access; 

14 ‘‘(II) improving ventilation, heat15 ing, and cooling systems; 

16 ‘‘(III) increasing energy effi17 ciency; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) incorporating additional re19 newable energy generation associated 

20 with that infrastructure, including 

21 zero-emission vehicle fleets and charg22 ing infrastructure; 

23 ‘‘(iv) construction of workforce train24 ing facilities in order to carry out capacity 

25 building programs; 


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1 ‘‘(v) water or wastewater and 

2 stormwater improvements; 

3 ‘‘(vi) pier construction and improve4 ments; and 

5 ‘‘(vii) accessibility enhancements; 

6 ‘‘(G) to pay costs associated with upgrades 

7 and retrofits to existing outdoor recreation, 

8 travel, tourism, hospitality, and special event in9 frastructure, such as convention centers, to in10 crease travel and tourism activity or to make 

11 the infrastructure more functional under social 

12 distancing conditions due to a public health 

13 emergency declaration under section 319 of the 

14 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 

15 ‘‘(H) to pay costs associated with pro16 viding information to visitors about the health 

17 and safety protections, guidance, or require18 ments of Federal, State, Tribal, or local govern19 ments and businesses to reduce the spread of 

20 COVID–19; 

21 ‘‘(I) to pay the increased costs of filtration 

22 and sanitation, including physical modifications 

23 to facilities such as convention centers, large 

24 event spaces, campsites, or community attrac25 tions associated with precautions to provide for 


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1 safe worker, traveler, or event environments; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(J) to pay the costs of salaries and ex4 penses associated with the operations of the eli5 gible recipient, other than salaries and expenses 

6 of the executives of the eligible recipient, if the 

7 applicant— 

8 ‘‘(i) demonstrates the capacity to 

9 maintain the positions for which the funds 

10 are used; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates that the positions 

12 for which the funds are used are tem13 porary or seasonal. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Amounts provided under 

15 this section may not be used for recruitment efforts 

16 to bring in or host particular events, such as sport17 ing competitions or other activities. 

18 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

19 eligible recipients that seek to carry out an activity that— 

20 ‘‘(1) is based on long-term, regionally oriented, 

21 coordinated, and collaborative economic development 

22 or redevelopment strategies that foster economic 

23 growth and resilience; 

24 ‘‘(2) will promote workforce development; 


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1 ‘‘(3) will involve a minority-owned, rural, Native 

2 American, or otherwise underserved small business 

3 concern; or 

4 ‘‘(4) implements strong labor standards, includ5 ing project labor agreements and community benefit 

6 agreements that include local hire provisions to pro7 mote effective and efficient delivery of high-quality 

8 infrastructure projects. 

9 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under 

11 this section, the Secretary shall distribute the funds 

12 to eligible recipients in each region served by the 

13 Economic Development Administration in accord14 ance with the formula described in paragraph 

15 (2)(A). 

16 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The formula referred 

18 to in paragraph (1) shall include consideration 

19 of each of the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) Using the most recent data from 

21 the Quarterly Census of Employment and 

22 Wages and the Current Employment Sta23 tistics, employment in the leisure and hos24 pitality sectors (other than food service 

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1 ployment in States in the region, using a 

2 5-year average. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Using the most recent data from 

4 the Arts and Cultural Production and Out5 door Recreation Satellite Account, employ6 ment in arts and cultural production and 

7 outdoor recreation as a percentage of total 

8 employment in States in the region, using 

9 a 5-year average. 

10 ‘‘(iii) The number of international and 

11 domestic visitors in States in the region, 

12 using data from the Department or an13 other source as the Secretary determines 

14 to be appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(iv) The impacts of the COVID–19 

16 pandemic, and other natural or economic 

17 disasters, on the outdoor recreation, travel, 

18 tourism, hospitality, or special event indus19 tries in States in the region. 

20 ‘‘(v) Any other data that the Sec21 retary determines reliably measures the 

22 impact of outdoor recreation, travel, tour23 ism, hospitality, or special events to the 

24 economy of a State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OUT OF DATE, DISCONTINUED, OR

2 INACCURATE DATA SOURCES.—If the Secretary 

3 determines that a data source described in 

4 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) is out of 

5 date, discontinued, or otherwise inaccurate, the 

6 Secretary may substitute other data sources to 

7 obtain the employment statistics described in 

8 those clauses, subject to the condition that the 

9 Secretary provides to Congress a report describ10 ing the new data source used by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(g) RURAL SET-ASIDE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

13 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec14 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 20 

15 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re16 cipients located in, or that serve, a rural area (as de17 fined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm 

18 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a))), 

19 with a particular focus on rural areas that are lo20 cated in distressed or underserved communities. 

21 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali22 fied eligible recipients located in, or that serve, a 

23 rural area (as so defined), to carry out paragraph 

24 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

25 that paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(h) NATIVE AMERICAN SET-ASIDE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

3 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec4 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 5 

5 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re6 cipients that are Indian tribes, tribal organizations 

7 (as defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 4352)), and Native Hawaiian organizations 

9 (as defined in that section). 

10 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali11 fied eligible recipients that are Indian tribes, tribal 

12 organizations (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian 

13 organizations (as so defined) to carry out paragraph 

14 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

15 that paragraph.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco18 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

19 3597; 118 Stat. 1767) is amended by inserting after the 

20 item relating to section 218 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 219. Hospitality and Outdoor-Recreation Supporting Tourism (HOST) 

grants.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. TOURISM MARKETING. 

22 (a) DECLARATION.—Section 2(b) of the Public 

23 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

24 U.S.C. 3121(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) tourism marketing is an economic develop7 ment tool used by communities for economic devel8 opment and should be considered an eligible use of 

9 economic development funding awarded by the Fed10 eral Government through the Economic Development 

11 Administration.’’. 

12 (b) GRANTS FOR ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT.—Section 

13 209(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development 

14 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3149(a)) (as amended by section 

15 3(b)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘travel promotion (in16 cluding funding for tourism marketing, marketing re17 search, purchasing advertisements, and attracting busi18 ness meetings or convention travel),’’ after ‘‘208(a)),’’. 

19 SEC. 9. ECONOMIC DISTRESS FORMULA. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall review the 

22 economic distress formula under section 301 of the Public 

23 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

24 U.S.C. 3161) and submit to Congress a report that in25 cludes— 


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1 (1) recommendations for modifications to the 

2 formula to ensure that all areas, including distressed 

3 areas, are eligible to receive a higher percentage of 

4 Federal funding than those areas currently are eligi5 ble to receive; 

6 (2) a recommendation on whether to reduce the 

7 non-Federal share for projects carried out with 

8 grants under that Act (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.); and 

9 (3) an analysis of the financial limitations of el10 igible recipients located within high-density public 

11 land counties (as defined in section 7(a)) in access12 ing Economic Development Administration funding 

13 opportunities. 

14 SEC. 10. HIGH-DENSITY PUBLIC LAND COUNTIES. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF HIGH-DENSITY PUBLIC LAND

16 COUNTY.—In this section, the term ‘‘high-density public 

17 land county’’ means a county (or equivalent jurisdiction) 

18 of a State, Indian Tribe, or territory of the United 

19 States— 

20 (1) that has a population of not more than 

21 100,000 people, according to the most recent annual 

22 estimates of population by the Bureau of the Cen23 sus; and 

24 (2) in which more than 50 percent of the land 

25 is owned or managed by the Federal Government 


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1 (including land held in trust by the United States 

2 for the benefit of an Indian Tribe). 

3 (b) REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of providing as4 sistance under the Public Works and Economic Develop5 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) (including sec6 tions 209 and 301 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3149, 3161)) 

7 and other programs of the Economic Development Admin8 istration, a high-density public land county shall be consid9 ered to be— 

10 (1) an area with a special need arising from ac11 tual or threatened severe unemployment or economic 

12 adjustment problems resulting from severe changes 

13 in economic conditions; 

14 (2) a distressed area; and 

15 (3) an underserved area. 

16 SEC. 11. OFFICE OF RURAL AND NATIVE AMERICAN ECO17 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Public Works and 

19 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et 

20 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 508. OFFICE OF RURAL AND NATIVE AMERICAN ECO22 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

24 the Economic Development Administration an Office of 


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1 Rural and Native American Economic Development (re2 ferred to in this section as the ‘Office’). 

3 ‘‘(b) UNDER SECRETARIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be jointly 

5 headed by— 

6 ‘‘(A) a Deputy Under Secretary for Rural 

7 Economic Development; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a Deputy Under Secretary for Native 

9 American Economic Development. 

10 ‘‘(2) DEDICATED STAFFS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR

13 RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—The 

14 Secretary shall ensure that the Deputy 

15 Under Secretary for Rural Economic De16 velopment has a dedicated staff to carry 

17 out the purposes of the Office with respect 

18 to rural communities. 

19 ‘‘(ii) DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR

20 NATIVE AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOP21 MENT.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

22 the Deputy Under Secretary for Native 

23 American Economic Development has a 

24 dedicated staff to carry out the purposes of 


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1 the Office with respect to tribal commu2 nities. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXISTING STAFF AND PERSONNEL.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

5 carrying out clauses (i) and (ii) of sub6 paragraph (A), the Secretary may reorga7 nize and redesignate existing positions or 

8 staffing within the Economic Development 

9 Administration. 

10 ‘‘(ii) WEBSITE.—Any existing per11 sonnel reorganized or redesignated under 

12 clause (i) shall be recognized on the 

13 website of the Economic Development Ad14 ministration. 

15 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Office shall be— 

16 ‘‘(1) to coordinate all rural and Native Amer17 ican economic development activities carried out by 

18 the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(2) to provide resources to help rural and Na20 tive American communities access economic develop21 ment assistance programs, including the grants pro22 vided by this Act; 

23 ‘‘(3)(A) to develop rural and tribal economic de24 velopment strategies and efforts, including the stratVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:48 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4077.IS S4077

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1 egies for rural and Native American economic devel2 opment described in subsection (d); and 

3 ‘‘(B) to coordinate those strategies and efforts 

4 with other Federal agencies, including the Office of 

5 Rural Development of the Department of Agri6 culture and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

7 ‘‘(4) to be a participant in any negotiated 

8 rulemakings, or consultations relating to, or having 

9 an impact on, projects, programs, or funding that 

10 benefit rural or Native American communities. 

11 ‘‘(d) STRATEGIES FOR RURAL AND NATIVE AMER12 ICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall, in con14 sultation with rural communities, develop a strategy 

15 for rural economic development and, in consultation 

16 with Native American communities, develop a strat17 egy for Native American economic development, 

18 which shall each, as applicable— 

19 ‘‘(A) identify the most pressing priorities 

20 and challenges of the United States in pro21 moting rural and Native American prosperity 

22 during the 10-year period beginning on the date 

23 of enactment of the INVEST in Our Commu24 nities Act; 


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1 ‘‘(B) describe the policy actions that will 

2 be taken by the Economic Development Admin3 istration, and any other Federal agency imple4 menting rural and Native American economic 

5 development programs, if applicable, to accel6 erate and support social and economic pros7 perity in rural and tribal areas; and 

8 ‘‘(C) identify opportunities to partner with 

9 other Federal agencies or across Federal agen10 cies and programs to address the priorities and 

11 challenges identified under subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Office 

13 shall submit to the Committees on Agriculture, Nu14 trition, and Forestry, Environment and Public 

15 Works, and Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

16 Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and In17 frastructure, and Natural Resources of the House of 

18 Representatives the strategies for rural economic de19 velopment and Native American economic develop20 ment developed under paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretaries 

23 shall establish within the Office a public gateway to 

24 help provide a comprehensive, single source of infor25 mation for civic leaders, economic development proVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:48 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4077.IS S4077

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1 fessionals, businesses, and individuals in rural and 

2 Native American communities to better understand 

3 and access programs that support economic develop4 ment in those communities, including the economic 

5 development programs administered by Federal 

6 agencies or departments other than the Department. 

7 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—In carrying out this sub8 section, the Under Secretaries shall include the fol9 lowing activities: 

10 ‘‘(A) HOTLINE.—The Office shall establish 

11 a telephone hotline to offer information and an12 swer questions about Federal programs to as13 sist rural and Native American communities, 

14 including the grants provided under this Act 

15 and programs offered by other Federal agen16 cies. 

17 ‘‘(B) WEBSITE AND ELECTRONIC MAIL.— 

18 The Office shall establish a website and elec19 tronic mail portal through which to offer infor20 mation and answer questions about Federal 

21 programs to assist rural and tribal commu22 nities, including the grants provided under this 

23 Act and programs offered by other Federal 

24 agencies, to civic leaders, economic development 


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1 professionals, businesses, and individuals in 

2 rural and tribal communities. 

3 ‘‘(C) OUTREACH AND SUPPORT MATE4 RIALS.—The Office shall develop printed and 

5 electronic outreach and support materials that 

6 offer information and answer questions about 

7 Federal programs to assist rural and Native 

8 American communities, including the grants 

9 provided under this Act and programs offered 

10 by other Federal agencies, to civic leaders, eco11 nomic development professionals, businesses, 

12 and individuals in rural and Native American 

13 communities. 

14 ‘‘(D) OTHER OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—The 

15 Office may carry out additional activities that 

16 offer information and answer questions about 

17 Federal programs to assist rural and Native 

18 American communities. 

19 ‘‘(3) EXISTING EFFORTS.—The outreach efforts 

20 and activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 

21 shall be in coordination with existing efforts and ac22 tivities of the rural development mission area De23 partment of Agriculture and the Bureau of Indian 

24 Affairs. 


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1 ‘‘(f) DEDICATED STAFF.—The Secretary shall ensure 

2 that the Office has sufficient staff where appropriate, in3 cluding in each regional office of the Economic Develop4 ment Administration, to carry out all outreach activities 

5 under subsection (e) in rural and Native American com6 munities.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco9 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

10 3597) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

11 section 507 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 508. Office of Rural and Native American Economic Development.’’. 

12 SEC. 12. FLEXIBLE HIRING AND DISASTER AUTHORITIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Public Works and 

14 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et 

15 seq.) (as amended by section 11(a)) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 509. FLEXIBLE HIRING AND DISASTER AUTHORITIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION AUTHORI19 TIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint 

21 and fix the compensation of such temporary per22 sonnel as may be necessary to carry out this Act and 

23 to implement post-disaster economic recovery re24 sponsibilities, without regard to the provisions of 

25 subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 


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1 Code, governing appointments in competitive service 

2 and compensation of personnel. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT TO POSITION WITHIN

4 EDA.—Notwithstanding chapter 33 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, or any other provision of law relating 

6 to the examination, certification, and appointment of 

7 individuals in the competitive service, the Secretary 

8 may convert a temporary employee appointed under 

9 paragraph (1) to a permanent appointment in the 

10 competitive service in the Economic Development 

11 Administration under merit promotion procedures 

12 if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the employee has served continuously 

14 in that appointment for not less than 2 years; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) the performance of the employee has 

17 been at an acceptable level of performance 

18 throughout the period or periods referred to in 

19 subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(b) DISASTER TEAM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—As soon as practicable 

22 after the date of enactment of the INVEST in Our 

23 Communities Act, the Secretary shall establish a dis24 aster team for the deployment of individuals to carry 

25 out post-disaster economic recovery efforts after a 


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1 major disaster or emergency has been declared 

2 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 

4 and an agency has been activated by the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency. 

6 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION OF STAFF.—As soon 

8 as practicable after the date of enactment of 

9 the INVEST in Our Communities Act, the Sec10 retary shall designate to serve on the disaster 

11 team, in conjunction with staff of the Depart12 ment— 

13 ‘‘(i) employees of the Department who 

14 are not employees of the agency; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) in consultation with the heads of 

16 other Federal agencies, employees of those 

17 agencies, as appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(B) CAPABILITIES.—In designating indi19 viduals under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

20 shall ensure that the disaster team includes a 

21 sufficient number of— 

22 ‘‘(i) individuals who are capable of de23 ploying rapidly and efficiently to respond 

24 to major disasters and emergencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in conjunction with permanent 

2 agency staff, highly trained individuals em3 ployed full-time to lead and manage the 

4 disaster team. 

5 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure 

6 that appropriate and ongoing training is provided to 

7 members of the disaster team designed under para8 graph (2) to ensure that the members are ade9 quately trained with respect to the programs and 

10 policies of the agency relating to post-disaster eco11 nomic recovery efforts. 

12 ‘‘(4) EXPENSES.—In carrying out this sub13 section, the Secretary may— 

14 ‘‘(A) use, with or without reimbursement, 

15 any service, equipment, personnel, or facility of 

16 any Federal agency with the explicit support of 

17 that agency, to the extent such use does not im18 pair or conflict with the authority of the Presi19 dent or the Administrator of the Federal Emer20 gency Management Agency under the Robert T. 

21 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist22 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to direct 

23 Federal agencies in any major disaster or emer24 gency declared under that Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide members of the disaster team 

2 with travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

3 of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ4 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

5 57 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 

6 service as a member of the disaster team.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco9 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

10 3597) (as amended by section 11(b)) is amended by in11 serting after the item relating to section 508 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 509. Flexible hiring and disaster authorities.’’. 

12 SEC. 13. COVID-ERA FUNDING AVAILABILITY. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

14 amounts made available to carry out the Public Works and 

15 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et 

16 seq.) during the period during which the public health 

17 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

18 Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health 

19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with 

20 respect to COVID–19 is in effect shall be available for 

21 obligation until September 30, 2030. 

22 SEC. 14. FUNDING FOR HOST GRANTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Public Works and 

24 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3231 et 

25 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 705. FUNDING FOR HOST GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘Of the amounts made available under section 701(a) 

3 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, $100,000,000 

4 shall be used to carry out section 219, of which 3 percent 

5 shall be used for the administrative costs of carrying out 

6 that section, including for maintaining the formula de7 scribed in subsection (f)(2) of that section.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

9 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco10 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

11 3597; 118 Stat. 1772) is amended by inserting after the 

12 item relating to section 704 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 705. Funding for HOST grants.’’. 

13 SEC. 15. SET ASIDES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Public Works and 

15 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3231 et 

16 seq.) (as amended by section 11(a)) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 706. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF FUNDS. 

19 ‘‘(a) PLANNING ASSISTANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

21 available for each fiscal year under section 701(a), 

22 the Secretary shall set aside an amount equal to 5 

23 percent to provide assistance to eligible recipients for 

24 the development of a comprehensive economic devel25 opment strategy. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

2 the cost of an activity carried out with assistance 

3 under paragraph (1) shall be not less than 80 per4 cent. 

5 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

6 Of the amounts made available for each fiscal year under 

7 section 701(a), the Secretary shall set aside an amount 

8 equal to 5 percent to provide to eligible recipients technical 

9 and operational capacity assistance to prepare those eligi10 ble recipients to better access Federal funding from the 

11 Economic Development Administration and other sources. 

12 ‘‘(c) RURAL SET-ASIDE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

14 available for each fiscal year under section 701(a), 

15 the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 15 per16 cent is used to provide assistance to eligible recipi17 ents located in, or that serve, a rural area (as de18 fined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm 

19 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a))). 

20 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali21 fied eligible recipients located in, or that serve, a 

22 rural area (as so defined) to carry out paragraph 

23 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

24 that paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNTS.—The Secretary 

2 shall consider increasing maximum grant amounts set by 

3 the Secretary and increasing the average amount of funds 

4 distributed per grant provided under this Act to increase 

5 the impact of those investments. 

6 ‘‘(e) NATIVE AMERICAN SET-ASIDE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

8 available for each fiscal year under section 701(a), 

9 the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 5 per10 cent is used to provide assistance to eligible recipi11 ents that are Indian tribes, tribal organizations (as 

12 defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 

13 4352)), and Native Hawaiian organizations (as de14 fined in that section). 

15 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali16 fied eligible recipients that are Indian tribes, tribal 

17 organizations (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian 

18 organizations (as so defined) to carry out paragraph 

19 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

20 that paragraph.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco23 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

24 3597; 118 Stat. 1772) (as amended by section 11(b)) is 


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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 705 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 706. Requirements for the use of funds.’’. 

3 SEC. 16. COST SHARING. 

4 Section 204 of the Public Works and Economic De5 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

8 by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘this 

9 section’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘30 

11 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘40 percent’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) HIGH-DENSITY PUBLIC LAND COUNTIES.—In 

14 the case of a grant under this Act to an eligible recipient 

15 that is located in or that serves a high-density public land 

16 county (as defined in section 7(a) of the INVEST in Our 

17 Communities Act), the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) reduce the non-Federal share of the cost 

19 of the project carried out with the grant by 50 per20 cent; 

21 ‘‘(2) provide to the eligible recipient direct and 

22 expanded technical assistance to improve applica23 tions from high-density public land counties (as so 

24 defined); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) allow the eligible recipient to provide any 

2 required non-Federal share in the form of in-kind 

3 contributions. 

4 ‘‘(e) COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY DISASTERS.—In 

5 the case of a grant under section 209(c)(2), the Federal 

6 share of the cost of a project carried out with the grant 

7 shall be 100 percent. 

8 ‘‘(f) COVID-ERA FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a project 

10 carried out with a grant under this Act made on or 

11 after the date of enactment of the INVEST in Our 

12 Communities Act from amounts made available dur13 ing the period during which the public health emer14 gency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 

16 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 

17 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19 is in effect, the 

18 Federal share of the cost of the project shall be not 

19 less than 90 percent. 

20 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN AREAS.—The Secretary shall 

21 consider increasing the Federal share set by the Sec22 retary under paragraph (1) to be 100 percent of the 

23 cost of the project if the project is to be carried out 

24 in an area that is experiencing, in the determination 


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1 of the Secretary, lasting economic impacts as a re2 sult of the COVID–19 pandemic.’’. 

Æ 


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