I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6986 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements 

for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize the Northern Border Regional 

Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2022 

Ms. KUSTER (for herself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. KATKO, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. PINGREE, and Mr. WELCH) 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 amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain 

requirements for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize 

the Northern Border Regional Commission, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Border Re5 gional Commission Reauthorization Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REGIONAL COMMISSIONS MODIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15301 

3 of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘An alternate member’’ 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alternate 

8 member’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(ii) STATE ALTERNATES.—If the al11 ternate State member is unable to vote in 

12 accordance with clause (i), the alternate 

13 State member may delegate voting author14 ity to a designee, subject to the condition 

15 that the executive director shall be notified, 

16 in writing, of the designation not less than 

17 1 week before the applicable vote is to take 

18 place.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘a Federal em20 ployee’’ and inserting ‘‘an employee’’. 

21 (b) DECISIONS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15302 of 

22 title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or State al24 ternate members, including designees’’ after ‘‘State 

25 members’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) QUORUMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

5 Commission shall determine what constitutes a 

6 quorum for meetings of the Commission. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any quorum for meet8 ings of a Commission shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Federal Cochairperson or the al10 ternate Federal Cochairperson; and 

11 ‘‘(B) a majority of State members or alter12 nate State members, including designees (exclu13 sive of members representing States delinquent 

14 under section 15304(c)(3)(C)).’’. 

15 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS AND EXPENSES OF

16 COMMISSIONS.—Section 15304(a)(9) of title 40, United 

17 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘maintain a govern18 ment relations office in the District of Columbia and’’. 

19 (d) MEETINGS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15305(b) 

20 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘with the Federal Cochairperson’’ and all that follows 

22 through the period at the end and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘with— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Federal Cochairperson; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) at least a majority of the State members 

2 or alternate State members (including designees) 

3 present in-person or via electronic means.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

5 GRANTS. 

6 Section 15501 of title 40, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

10 through (9) as paragraphs (6) through (11), re11 spectively; and 

12 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(4) to design, build, implement, or upgrade 

15 transportation or basic public infrastructure or 

16 workforce capacity to support the adaption to and 

17 mitigation of climate challenges; 

18 ‘‘(5) to promote the production of housing to 

19 meet economic development and workforce needs;’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

22 (1), (2), (3), or (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), 

23 (2), (3), (4), or (9)’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION. 

2 (a) COUNTIES IN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.— 

3 Section 15733 of title 40, United States Code, is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Lincoln,’’ 

6 after ‘‘Knox,’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

8 ‘‘Merrimack,’’ after ‘‘Grafton,’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 15751 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 

11 striking subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap13 propriated to each Commission to carry out this subtitle— 

14 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

15 through 2026; and 

16 ‘‘(2) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 

17 through 2031.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. NORTHERN FOREST REGION PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 40, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘CHAPTER 159—NORTHERN FOREST 

23 REGION PROGRAMS 

24 ‘‘§ 15901. Definitions 

25 ‘‘In this chapter: 


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1 ‘‘(1) NBRC.—The term ‘NBRC’ means the 

2 Northern Border Regional Commission established 

3 by section 15301(a)(3). 

4 ‘‘(2) NORTHERN FOREST REGION.—The term 

5 ‘Northern Forest region’ means the counties in6 cluded in the NBRC under section 15733. 

7 ‘‘§ 15902. State capacity building grant program 

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

9 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION STATE.—The term ‘Commis10 sion State’ means each of the States of Maine, New 

11 Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—The term ‘eligible 

13 county’ means a county described in section 15733. 

14 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

15 the State capacity building grant program estab16 lished under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The NBRC shall establish a 

18 State capacity building grant program to provide grants 

19 to Commission States to carry out the purpose under sub20 section (c). 

21 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 

22 support the efforts of the NBRC— 

23 ‘‘(1) to better support business retention and 

24 expansion in eligible counties; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to create programs to encourage job cre2 ation and workforce development in eligible counties; 

3 ‘‘(3) to prepare economic and infrastructure 

4 plans for eligible counties; 

5 ‘‘(4) to expand access to high-speed broadband 

6 in eligible counties; 

7 ‘‘(5) to provide technical assistance that results 

8 in NBRC investments in transportation, water, 

9 wastewater, and other critical infrastructure; 

10 ‘‘(6) to create initiatives to increase the effec11 tiveness of local development districts in eligible 

12 counties; and 

13 ‘‘(7) to implement new or innovative economic 

14 development practices that will better position the el15 igible counties of Commission States to compete in 

16 the global economy. 

17 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds from a grant under 

19 the program may be used to support a project, pro20 gram, or related expense of the Commission State in 

21 an eligible county. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Funds from a grant under 

23 the program shall not be used for— 

24 ‘‘(A) the purchase of furniture, fixtures, or 

25 equipment; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the compensation of— 

2 ‘‘(i) any State member of the Com3 mission (as described in section 

4 15301(b)(1)(B)); or 

5 ‘‘(ii) any State alternate member of 

6 the Commission (as described in section 

7 15301(b)(2)(B)); or 

8 ‘‘(C) the cost of supplanting existing State 

9 programs. 

10 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL WORK PLAN.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, before 

12 providing a grant under the program, each Commis13 sion State shall provide to the NBRC an annual 

14 work plan that includes the proposed use of the 

15 grant. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—No grant under the program 

17 shall be provided to a Commission State unless the 

18 NBRC has approved the annual work plan of the 

19 State. 

20 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

22 provided to a Commission State under the program 

23 for a fiscal year shall be based on the proportion 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the amount paid by the Commission 

2 State (including any amounts paid on behalf of 

3 the Commission State by a nonprofit organiza4 tion) for administrative expenses for the appli5 cable fiscal year (as determined under section 

6 15304(c)); bears to 

7 ‘‘(B) the amount paid by all Commission 

8 States (including any amounts paid on behalf of 

9 a Commission State by a nonprofit organiza10 tion) for administrative expenses for that fiscal 

11 year (as determined under that section). 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to receive 

13 a grant under the program for a fiscal year, a Com14 mission State (or a nonprofit organization on behalf 

15 of the Commission State) shall pay the amount of 

16 administrative expenses of the Commission State for 

17 the applicable fiscal year (as determined under sec18 tion 15304(c)). 

19 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—For each fiscal year, a grant 

20 provided under the program shall be approved and 

21 made available as part of the approval of the annual 

22 budget of the NBRC. 

23 ‘‘(g) GRANT AVAILABILITY.—Funds from a grant 

24 under the program shall be available only during the fiscal 

25 year for which the grant is provided. 


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1 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Each fiscal year, each Commission 

2 State shall submit to the NBRC and make publicly avail3 able a report that describes the use of the grant funds 

4 and the impact of the program in the Commission State. 

5 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.—The program 

6 under this section shall be a continuation of the program 

7 under section 6304(c) of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

8 of 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note; Public Law 115–334) (as 

9 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

10 section). 

11 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

13 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 

14 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2028. 

15 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 

16 made available to carry out this section shall supple17 ment and not supplant funds made available for the 

18 NBRC and other activities of the NBRC. 

19 ‘‘§ 15903. Demonstration health projects 

20 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—To demonstrate the value of ade21 quate health facilities and services to the economic devel22 opment of the Northern Forest region, the NBRC may 

23 make grants for the planning, construction, equipment, 

24 and operation of demonstration health, nutrition, and 

25 child care projects, including hospitals, regional health diVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Mar 10, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6986.IH H6986

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1 agnostic and treatment centers, and other facilities and 

2 services necessary for the purposes of this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE AMOUNTS AND

5 MAKE GRANTS.—The NBRC may make grants for 

6 expenses of planning necessary for the development 

7 and operation of demonstration health projects for 

8 the Northern Forest region. 

9 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

10 maximum NBRC contributions for a grant for the 

11 construction or equipment of any component of a 

12 demonstration health project shall be made in ac13 cordance with section 15501(d). 

14 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

15 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

16 authorized under this section or in combination with 

17 amounts provided under other Federal grant pro18 grams. 

19 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

20 provision of law limiting the Federal share in other 

21 Federal grant programs described in paragraph (3), 

22 amounts appropriated to carry out this section may 

23 be used to increase the Federal share to the max24 imum percentage cost of a grant authorized by para25 graph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL USES FOR CONSTRUCTION

3 GRANTS.—Grants under this section for construction 

4 may also be used for— 

5 ‘‘(A) the acquisition of privately owned fa6 cilities— 

7 ‘‘(i) not operated for profit; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) previously operated for profit if 

9 the NBRC finds that health services would 

10 not otherwise be provided in the area 

11 served by the facility if the acquisition is 

12 not made; and 

13 ‘‘(B) initial equipment. 

14 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS FOR MAKING GRANTS.— 

15 Grants under this section for construction shall be 

16 made in accordance with section 15501 and shall not 

17 be incompatible with the applicable provisions of title 

18 VI of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 291 

19 et seq.), the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 

20 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15001 et 

21 seq.), and other laws authorizing grants for the con22 struction of health-related facilities, without regard 

23 to any provisions in those laws relating to appropria24 tion authorization ceilings or to allotments among 

25 the States. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

2 maximum NBRC contributions for a grant for the 

3 construction or equipment of any component of a 

4 demonstration health project shall be made in ac5 cordance with section 15501(d). 

6 ‘‘(4) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

7 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

8 authorized under this section or in combination with 

9 amounts provided under other Federal grant pro10 grams for the construction or equipment of health11 related facilities. 

12 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

13 provision of law limiting the Federal share in other 

14 Federal grant programs described in paragraph (4), 

15 amounts authorized under this section may be used 

16 to increase Federal grants for component facilities of 

17 a demonstration health project to a maximum of 80 

18 percent of the cost of the facilities. 

19 ‘‘(d) OPERATION GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS FOR MAKING GRANTS.—A 

21 grant for the operation of a demonstration health 

22 project shall not be made unless the facility is pub23 licly owned, or owned by a public or private non24 profit organization, and is not operated for profit. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—Grants 

2 under this section for the operation (including initial 

3 operating amounts and operating deficits, including 

4 the cost of attracting, training, and retaining quali5 fied personnel) of a demonstration health project, 

6 whether or not constructed with amounts authorized 

7 to be appropriated by this section, shall be made in 

8 accordance with section 15501(d). 

9 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

10 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

11 appropriated to carry out this section or in combina12 tion with amounts provided under other Federal 

13 grant programs for the operation of health related 

14 facilities and the provision of health and child devel15 opment services, including parts A and B of title IV 

16 and title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 601 et seq., 620 et seq., 1397 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

19 provision of law limiting the Federal share in those 

20 other programs, amounts appropriated to carry out 

21 this section may be used to increase Federal grants 

22 for operating components of a demonstration health 

23 project to the maximum percentage cost of a grant 

24 authorized by this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(5) STATE DEEMED TO MEET REQUIREMENT

2 OF PROVIDING ASSISTANCE OR SERVICES ON STATE3 WIDE BASIS.—Notwithstanding any provision of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) requir5 ing assistance or services on a statewide basis, a 

6 State providing assistance or services under a Fed7 eral grant program described in paragraph (3) in 

8 any area of the region approved by the NBRC is 

9 deemed to be meeting that requirement. 

10 ‘‘(e) EMPHASIS ON PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS SUB11 STANCE USE DISORDERS.—To provide for the further de12 velopment of the human resources of the Northern Forest 

13 region, grants under this section shall give special empha14 sis to projects and activities to address substance use dis15 orders, including opioid and methamphetamine use, in the 

16 Northern Forest region, including projects and activi17 ties— 

18 ‘‘(1) to increase access to and disseminate in19 formation on the availability of substance use dis20 order treatment programs; 

21 ‘‘(2) to strengthen the substance use disorder 

22 workforce operating in the Northern Forest region, 

23 including programs to attract and retain relevant 

24 health care services, businesses, and staff; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to facilitate the sharing of best practices 

2 among States, counties, and other experts in the 

3 Northern Forest region with respect to reducing 

4 substance use disorders; 

5 ‘‘(4) to initiate or expand programs designed to 

6 eliminate or reduce the harm to the workforce and 

7 economic growth of the region that results from that 

8 abuse; and 

9 ‘‘(5) to develop relevant infrastructure, includ10 ing broadband infrastructure that supports the use 

11 of telemedicine.’’. 

12 (b) REPEAL.—Section 6304(c) of the Agriculture Im13 provement Act of 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note; Public 

14 Law 115–334) is repealed. 

15 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 for subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is amended 

17 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 157 the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘CHAPTER 159–NORTHERN FOREST REGION PROGRAMS

‘‘15901. Definitions. 

‘‘15902. State capacity building grant program. 

‘‘15903. Demonstration health projects.’’. 

Æ 


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