I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5517 

To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Ms. TITUS (for herself and Mr. YAKYM) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 

in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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’’ of the ‘‘INVEST in Our Commu7 nities Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT. 

2 Section 3(4) of the Public Works and Economic De3 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122(4)) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS AND

6 HOST GRANTS.—In the case of grants under 

7 sections 208 and 219, the term ‘eligible recipi8 ent’ also includes a Tribal organization and a 

9 Native Hawaiian organization (as those terms 

10 are defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act 

11 (25 U.S.C. 4352)).’’. 

12 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE FOR TRIBAL ORGA13 NIZATIONS AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANI14 ZATIONS. 

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

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

17 amended— 

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

19 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR20 GANIZATIONS’’ after ‘‘TRIBES’’; and 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘, a tribal organization (as de22 fined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 

23 4352)), or a Native Hawaiian organization (as de24 fined in that section)’’ after ‘‘Indian tribe’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

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

4 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 207 the fol5 lowing: 

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

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PREDEVELOPMENT ACTIV8 ITY.—In this section, the term ‘predevelopment activity’ 

9 means an activity carried out before a project can proceed 

10 to the execution stage or the eligible recipient can secure 

11 financing and partners. 

12 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab13 lish a program to provide to eligible recipients assistance 

14 for predevelopment activities. 

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

16 funds from a grant under this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) to carry out certain predevelopment activi18 ties, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) planning and community asset map20 ping; 

21 ‘‘(B) training; 

22 ‘‘(C) technical assistance and organiza23 tional development; 

24 ‘‘(D) feasibility and market studies; 

25 ‘‘(E) demonstration projects; 

26 ‘‘(F) organizational capacity building; 


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1 ‘‘(G) organizing and facilitating 

2 convenings; and 

3 ‘‘(H) other predevelopment activities, as 

4 determined appropriate by the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(2) to hire and obtain qualified economic de6 velopment professionals and services for a 3-year pe7 riod to develop and carry out a comprehensive eco8 nomic development strategy, an economic develop9 ment strategic plan, or other predevelopment activi10 ties. 

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

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

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

14 and containing such information as the Secretary may re15 quire, including a specific plan— 

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

17 predevelopment activities using grant funds; and 

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 eligible recipients with low organizational capacity, in the 


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1 determination of the Secretary, the Secretary may waive 

2 the prohibition described in section 213.’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY.— 

4 (1) GRANTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND ECO5 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—Section 201(a) of the Pub6 lic Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 

7 (42 U.S.C. 3141(a)) is amended— 

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

9 the end; 

10 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

14 section 208(a)).’’. 

15 (2) GRANTS FOR ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT.— 

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

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

18 amended by inserting ‘‘predevelopment activities (as 

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

20 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 302(a) of the Public Works and Economic Develop22 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162(a)) is amended, 

23 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 

24 ‘‘and predevelopment activities (as defined in section 


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1 208(a)) under section 201 or 209’’ after ‘‘section 

2 209’’. 

3 (c) INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 

4 204(c)(3) of the Public Works and Economic Development 

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

6 (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

7 ‘‘AND CAPACITY BUILDING’’ after ‘‘TECHNICAL AS8 SISTANCE’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘sections 207 and 208’’. 

11 (d) DIRECT EXPENDITURE OR REDISTRIBUTION BY

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

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

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

15 208’’. 

16 (e) POWERS OF THE SECRETARY.—Section 

17 601(a)(12) of the Public Works and Economic Develop18 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3211(a)(12)) is amended 

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

20 208’’. 

21 (f) 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. 1761) is amended by inserting after the 

25 item relating to section 207 the following: 

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


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1 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR PLANNING AND GRANTS FOR ADMIN2 ISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

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

4 Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

5 U.S.C. 3143) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Administrative 

8 expenses described in subsection (a) shall include expenses 

9 relating to— 

10 ‘‘(1) carrying out the planning process de11 scribed in subsection (b); and 

12 ‘‘(2) hiring professional staff to assist commu13 nities or organizations in— 

14 ‘‘(A) implementing projects and priorities 

15 included in— 

16 ‘‘(i) a comprehensive economic devel17 opment strategy; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) an economic development plan19 ning grant; 

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

21 State, and Tribal economic development pro22 grams; 

23 ‘‘(C) leveraging private and philanthropic 

24 investment; 

25 ‘‘(D) preparing disaster coordination and 

26 preparation plans; 


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1 ‘‘(E) collaborating with trade adjustment 

2 assistance centers, Hollings Manufacturing Ex3 tension Partnership Centers of the National In4 stitute of Standards and Technology, Business 

5 Centers and Rural Business Centers of the Mi6 nority Business Development Agency, and other 

7 relevant Federal economic development tech8 nical assistance and service providers to pro9 mote domestic manufacturing; and 

10 ‘‘(F) carrying out economic development 

11 activities in accordance with professional eco12 nomic development best practices.’’. 

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

14 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 

15 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

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

18 ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—In the case of a grant 

19 provided under section 203, the Secretary may in20 crease the Federal share above the percentage speci21 fied in subsection (a) up to 80 percent of the cost 

22 of the project.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP2 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

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

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

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

6 ‘‘SEC. 219. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP7 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

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

9 ‘‘(1) OUTDOOR RECREATION.—The term ‘out10 door recreation’ means all recreational activities, and 

11 the economic drivers of those activities, such as busi12 nesses and local economic efforts, undertaken for 

13 pleasure that— 

14 ‘‘(A) generally involve some level of inten15 tional physical exertion; and 

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

17 outdoors. 

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

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

20 special event activity’ means any economic activity 

21 that primarily serves to encourage recreational or 

22 business travel within the United States or from 

23 abroad, including tourist attractions, activities relat24 ing to arts and cultural affairs, business and rec25 reational conventions, large entertainment events 


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1 and venues, and promotion or organization of any 

2 such activity. 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients to 

5 support outdoor recreation, travel, and tourism, hospi6 tality, or special event activities to spur economic develop7 ment. 

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

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

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

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

12 tourist activity in a region, including in commu13 nities adjacent to National Park System units, 

14 National Forest System land, State parks, na15 tional marine sanctuaries, National Heritage 

16 Areas, Tribal parks, or other natural destina17 tions; 

18 ‘‘(B) using nature-based infrastructure 

19 projects and other projects intended to enhance 

20 public access to outdoor recreation opportuni21 ties; and 

22 ‘‘(C) enhancing the visitor experience or 

23 economic value of the local tourism, hospitality, 

24 or special event industries; or 


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

2 appropriate by the Secretary, supporting the outdoor 

3 recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or special 

4 event industries, in a manner consistent with the 

5 National Travel and Tourism Strategy or as rec6 ommended by the United States Travel and Tourism 

7 Advisory Board, if any. 

8 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

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

10 may be used— 

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

13 of local or regional outdoor recreation, travel, 

14 tourism, hospitality, and special event indus15 tries; 

16 ‘‘(B) to carry out technical assistance 

17 projects to assist local or regional economies 

18 in— 

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

20 to, damage to the outdoor recreation, trav21 el, tourism, hospitality, and special event 

22 industries as a result of a natural disaster 

23 or public health emergency; and 


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

4 ‘‘(C) to pay costs associated with obtaining 

5 State, Tribal, county, city, community, or re6 gional tourism, hospitality, or special event ac7 tivity marketing and promotion campaigns, in8 cluding through nonprofit or quasigovernmental 

9 Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs); 

10 ‘‘(D) to carry out construction activities 

11 that support local or regional outdoor recre12 ation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or special 

13 events, including activities involving— 

14 ‘‘(i) construction of new, or improve15 ments to existing, outdoor recreation and 

16 trail infrastructure, including public access 

17 and safety enhancements to that infra18 structure; 

19 ‘‘(ii) nature-based infrastructure 

20 projects to improve access to outdoor 

21 recreation; 

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

23 convention, special event, outdoor recre24 ation, and tourism facilities, such as visitor 


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1 or tourist information centers, including 

2 through— 

3 ‘‘(I) general accessibility up4 grades, such as increasing disability 

5 access; 

6 ‘‘(II) improving ventilation, heat7 ing, and cooling systems; 

8 ‘‘(III) increasing energy effi9 ciency; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) incorporating additional re11 newable energy generation associated 

12 with that infrastructure, including 

13 zero-emission vehicle fleets and charg14 ing infrastructure; 

15 ‘‘(iv) construction of workforce train16 ing facilities in order to carry out capacity 

17 building programs; 

18 ‘‘(v) water or wastewater and 

19 stormwater improvements; 

20 ‘‘(vi) pier construction and improve21 ments; and 

22 ‘‘(vii) accessibility enhancements; 

23 ‘‘(E) to pay costs associated with upgrades 

24 and retrofits, including filtration and sanitation 

25 and physical modifications to existing local or 


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1 regional outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, 

2 hospitality, or special event infrastructure, such 

3 as convention centers, large event spaces, camp4 sites, or associated community attractions, with 

5 precautions to provide for safe worker, traveler, 

6 or event environments to increase travel and 

7 tourism activities or to make the infrastructure 

8 more functional as a result of a natural disaster 

9 or a public health emergency; 

10 ‘‘(F) to establish programs to provide as11 sistance to businesses in local or regional out12 door recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or 

13 special events industries— 

14 ‘‘(i) for development; 

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

16 major disaster or emergency declared 

17 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re18 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

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

20 emergency declared under section 319 of 

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

22 247d); or 

23 ‘‘(iii) for expansion of programs; 

24 ‘‘(G) to carry out workforce training, re25 cruitment, and research programs that support 


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1 the outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hospi2 tality, or special event industries to improve the 

3 skills of, and job opportunities for, workers in 

4 those industries, including through a program 

5 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 

6 (commonly known as the ‘National Apprentice7 ship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), and other work 

8 and learn models; 

9 ‘‘(H) to pay costs associated with pro10 viding information to visitors about the health 

11 and safety protections, guidance, or require12 ments of Federal, State, Tribal, or local govern13 ments and businesses in the wake of a natural 

14 disaster or a public health emergency; and 

15 ‘‘(I) as applicable, and a result of a nat16 ural disaster or a public health emergency to 

17 pay the costs of salaries and expenses associ18 ated with the operations of the eligible recipi19 ent, other than salaries and expenses of the ex20 ecutives of the eligible recipient, if the appli21 cant— 

22 ‘‘(i) demonstrates the capacity to 

23 maintain the positions for which the funds 

24 are used; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates that the positions 

2 for which the funds are used are tem3 porary or seasonal. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXAMPLES.—Examples of activities that 

5 comply with the eligible uses described in subpara6 graphs (A) through (I) of paragraph (1) include ac7 tivities that involve— 

8 ‘‘(A) media and marketing; 

9 ‘‘(B) installing or constructing visitor ki10 osks; 

11 ‘‘(C) installing interpretive signage; 

12 ‘‘(D) building improvements; and 

13 ‘‘(E) support or technical assistance for 

14 small businesses, including activities that bring 

15 public awareness to those small businesses. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—Amounts provided under 

17 this section may not be used— 

18 ‘‘(A) for recruitment efforts to bring in or 

19 host particular events, such as sporting com20 petitions or other activities; or 

21 ‘‘(B) to invest in facilities, events, or oper22 ations that are not open or broadly available to 

23 the general public. 

24 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH BIA.—In carrying out 

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1 priate, the Tribal Tourism Grant Program of the Office 

2 of Indian Economic Development of the Bureau of Indian 

3 Affairs to support Tribal communities when funding pro4 vided under that grant program is helpful in developing 

5 or expanding the outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hos6 pitality, and special event economies of those Tribal com7 munities. 

8 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

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

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

11 coordinated, and collaborative economic development 

12 or redevelopment strategies that foster economic 

13 growth and resilience; 

14 ‘‘(2) will promote workforce development; or 

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

16 American, or otherwise underserved small business 

17 concern. 

18 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATION RELATING TO INDIAN TRIBES, 

19 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGA20 NIZATIONS.—In providing a grant under this section to 

21 an eligible recipient that is an Indian tribe, a tribal organi22 zation (as defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 

23 U.S.C. 4352)), or a Native Hawaiian organization (as de24 fined in that section), the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) may consider whether the Indian tribe, 

2 tribal organization (as so defined), or Native Hawai3 ian organization (as so defined), as applicable, has 

4 matching funds from other sources to carry out an 

5 activity; and 

6 ‘‘(2) shall not require the Indian tribe, tribal 

7 organization (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian or8 ganization (as so defined), as applicable, to provide 

9 matching funds from other sources to receive a 

10 grant under this section. 

11 ‘‘(h) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

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

13 this section, the Secretary shall distribute the funds 

14 to eligible recipients in each region served by the 

15 Economic Development Administration in accord16 ance with the distribution parameters described in 

17 paragraph (2)(A). 

18 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The distribution pa20 rameters referred to in paragraph (1) shall in21 clude consideration of each of the following: 

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

23 the Quarterly Census of Employment and 

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1 pitality sectors (other than food service 

2 businesses) as a percentage of total em3 ployment in States in the region, using a 

4 5-year average. 

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

6 the Arts and Cultural Production and Out7 door Recreation Satellite Account, employ8 ment in arts and cultural production and 

9 outdoor recreation as a percentage of total 

10 employment in States in the region, using 

11 a 5-year average. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The number of international and 

13 domestic visitors in States in the region, 

14 using data from the Department or an15 other source as the Secretary determines 

16 to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The impacts of natural or eco18 nomic disasters, or public health emer19 gencies, on the outdoor recreation, travel, 

20 tourism, hospitality, or special event indus21 tries in States in the region. 

22 ‘‘(v) Any other data that the Sec23 retary determines reliably measures the 

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1 ism, hospitality, or special events to the 

2 economy of a State. 

3 ‘‘(B) OUT OF DATE, DISCONTINUED, OR

4 INACCURATE DATA SOURCES.—If the Secretary 

5 determines that a data source described in 

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

7 date, discontinued, or otherwise inaccurate, the 

8 Secretary may substitute other data sources to 

9 obtain the employment statistics described in 

10 those clauses, subject to the condition that the 

11 Secretary provides to Congress a report describ12 ing the new data source used by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(i) OUTDOOR RECREATION SET-ASIDE.—Of the 

14 amounts made available for each fiscal year to carry out 

15 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 

16 40 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible recipi17 ents for activities that benefit the local outdoor recreation 

18 sector. 

19 ‘‘(j) RURAL SET-ASIDE.— 

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

21 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 20 

23 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re24 cipients located in, or that serve, a rural area (as de25 fined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm 


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

2 with a particular focus on rural areas that are lo3 cated in distressed or underserved communities. 

4 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali5 fied eligible recipients located in, or that serve, a 

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

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

8 that paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(k) NATIVE AMERICAN SET-ASIDE.— 

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

11 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec12 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 5 

13 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re14 cipients that are Indian tribes, Tribal organizations 

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

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

17 (as defined in that section). 

18 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali19 fied eligible recipients that are Indian tribes, Tribal 

20 organizations (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian 

21 organizations (as so defined) to carry out paragraph 

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

23 that paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(l) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 204(c) of the Public 

25 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 3144(c)) (as amended by section 6(b)) is amend2 ed— 

3 ‘‘(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘In the case’ 

4 and inserting ‘Except as provided in paragraph (5), 

5 in the case’; and 

6 ‘‘(2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘ ‘(5) HOST GRANT TO INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL

8 ORGANIZATIONS, OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZA9 TIONS.—In the case of a grant to an Indian tribe, 

10 a tribal organization (as defined in section 3 of the 

11 NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 4352)), or a Native Ha12 waiian organization (as defined in that section) for 

13 a project under section 219, the Federal share of the 

14 cost of the project shall be 100 percent.’.’’. 

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

16 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco17 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

18 3597; 118 Stat. 1767) is amended by inserting after the 

19 item relating to section 218 the following: 

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

grants.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. TOURISM MARKETING. 

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

22 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

23 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 5(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. 8. FUNDING FOR HOST GRANTS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

2 shall be used for the administrative costs of carrying out 

3 that section, including for maintaining the distribution pa4 rameters described in subsection (f)(2) of that section.’’. 

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

6 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco7 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

8 3597; 118 Stat. 1772) is amended by inserting after the 

9 item relating to section 704 the following: 

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

10 SEC. 9. COST SHARING. 

11 Section 204 of the Public Works and Economic De12 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

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

16 section’’; and 

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

18 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘40 percent’’; and 

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

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

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

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

23 shall be 100 percent. 

24 ‘‘(f) COVID-ERA FUNDING.— 


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25 

•HR 5517 IH

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

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

3 after the date of enactment of the INVEST in Our 

4 Communities Act from amounts made available dur5 ing the period during which the public health emer6 gency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 

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

9 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19 is in effect, the 

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

11 less than 90 percent. 

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

13 consider increasing the Federal share set by the Sec14 retary under paragraph (1) to be 100 percent of the 

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

16 in an area that is experiencing, in the determination 

17 of the Secretary, lasting economic impacts as a re18 sult of the COVID–19 pandemic.’’. 

Æ 


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