II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3689 

To establish a national historic country store preservation and revitalization 

program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2006 

Mr. JEFFORDS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a national historic country store preservation 

and revitalization program. 

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 ‘‘National Historic 

5 Country Store Preservation and Revitalization Act of 

6 2006’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 

9 (1) historic country stores are lasting icons of 

10 rural tradition in the United States; 


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1 (2) historic country stores are valuable contrib2 utors to the civic and economic vitality of their local 

3 communities; 

4 (3) historic country stores demonstrate innova5 tive approaches to historic preservation and small 

6 business practices; 

7 (4) historic country stores are threatened by 

8 larger competitors and the costs associated with 

9 maintaining older structures; and 

10 (5) the United States should— 

11 (A) collect and disseminate information 

12 concerning the number, condition, and variety 

13 of historic country stores; 

14 (B) develop opportunities for cooperation 

15 among proprietors of historic country stores; 

16 and 

17 (C) promote the long-term economic viabil18 ity of historic country stores through the provi19 sion of financial assistance to historic country 

20 stores. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) COUNTRY STORE.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘country 

25 store’’ means a structure independently owned 


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1 and formerly or currently operated as a busi2 ness that— 

3 (i) sells or sold grocery items and 

4 other small retail goods; and 

5 (ii) is located in— 

6 (I) an economically distressed 

7 area; or 

8 (II) a nonmetropolitan area, as 

9 defined by the Secretary. 

10 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘country 

11 store’’ includes a cooperative. 

12 (2) ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA.—The 

13 term ‘‘economically distressed area’’ means an area 

14 that meets 1 or more of the criteria described in sec15 tion 301(a) of the Public Works and Economic De16 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161(a)). 

17 (3) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

18 applicant’’ means— 

19 (A) a State department of commerce or 

20 economic development; 

21 (B) a national or State nonprofit organiza22 tion that— 

23 (i) is described in section 501(c)(3), 

24 and exempt from Federal tax under section 


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1 501(a), of the Internal Revenue Code of 

2 1986; and 

3 (ii)(I) has experience or expertise, as 

4 determined by the Secretary, in the identi5 fication, evaluation, rehabilitation, or pres6 ervation of historic country stores; or 

7 (II) is undertaking economic and com8 munity development activities; 

9 (C) a national or State nonprofit trade or10 ganization that— 

11 (i) is described in section 501(c)(3), 

12 and exempt from Federal tax under section 

13 501(a), of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986; and 

15 (ii) acts as a cooperative to promote 

16 and enhance country stores; and 

17 (D) a State historic preservation office. 

18 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the His19 toric Country Store Revolving Loan Fund estab20 lished under section 5(a). 

21 (5) HISTORIC COUNTRY STORE.—The term 

22 ‘‘historic country store’’ means a country store 

23 that— 

24 (A) has operated at the same location for 

25 at least 50 years; and 


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1 (B) retains sufficient integrity of design, 

2 materials, and construction to clearly identify 

3 the structure as a country store. 

4 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the As6 sistant Secretary for Economic Development. 

7 SEC. 4. HISTORIC COUNTRY STORE PRESERVATION AND 

8 REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

10 a historic country store preservation and revitalization 

11 program— 

12 (1) to collect and disseminate information on 

13 historic country stores; 

14 (2) to promote State and regional partnerships 

15 among proprietors of historic country stores; and 

16 (3) to sponsor and conduct research on— 

17 (A) the economic impact of historic coun18 try stores in rural areas, including the impact 

19 on unemployment rates and community vitality; 

20 (B) best practices to— 

21 (i) improve the profitability of historic 

22 country stores; and 

23 (ii) protect historic country stores 

24 from foreclosure or seizure; and 


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1 (C) best practices for developing coopera2 tive organizations that address the economic 

3 and historic preservation needs of— 

4 (i) historic country stores; and 

5 (ii) the communities served by the his6 toric country stores. 

7 (b) GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

9 grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

10 agreements with, eligible applicants to carry out an 

11 eligible project under paragraph (2). 

12 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A grant under this 

13 subsection may be made to an eligible applicant for 

14 a project— 

15 (A)(i) to rehabilitate or repair a historic 

16 country store; and 

17 (ii) to enhance the economic benefit of the 

18 historic country store to the communities served 

19 by the historic country store; 

20 (B) to identify, document, and conduct re21 search on historic country stores; and 

22 (C) to develop and evaluate appropriate 

23 techniques or best practices for protecting his24 toric country stores. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible applicant that 

2 receives a grant for an eligible project under para3 graph (1) shall comply with all applicable require4 ments for historic preservation projects under Fed5 eral, State, and local law. 

6 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

8 submit to the Committee on Environment and Pub9 lic Works of the Senate and the Committee on 

10 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

11 Representatives a report that— 

12 (A) identifies the number of grants made 

13 under subsection (b); 

14 (B) describes the type of grants made 

15 under subsection (b); and 

16 (C) includes any other information that the 

17 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

18 (c) COUNTRY STORE ALLIANCE PILOT PROJECT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

20 out a pilot project in the State of Vermont under 

21 which the Secretary shall conduct demonstration ac22 tivities to preserve historic country stores and the 

23 communities served by the historic country stores, 

24 including— 


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1 (A) the collection and dissemination of in2 formation on historic country stores in the 

3 State; 

4 (B) the development of collaborative coun5 try store marketing and purchasing techniques; 

6 and 

7 (C) the development of best practices for 

8 historic country store proprietors and commu9 nities facing transitions involved in the sale or 

10 closure of a historic country store. 

11 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 submit to the Committee on Environment and Pub14 lic Works of the Senate and the Committee on 

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

16 Representatives a report that— 

17 (A) describes the results of the pilot 

18 project; and 

19 (B) includes any recommended changes of 

20 the Secretary to the program established under 

21 subsection (a), based on the results of the pilot 

22 project. 


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1 SEC. 5. HISTORIC COUNTRY STORE REVOLVING LOAN 

2 FUND. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury shall establish in the Treasury of the United 

6 States a revolving fund, to be known as the ‘‘Historic 

7 Country Store Revolving Loan Fund’’, consisting of— 

8 (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

9 Fund under subsection (b); 

(2) 1 10 ⁄3 of the amounts appropriated under sec11 tion 8(a); and 

12 (3) any interest earned on investment of 

13 amounts in the Fund under subsection (d). 

14 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There are appropriated 

15 to the Fund amounts equivalent to— 

16 (1) the amounts repaid on loans under section 

17 6; and 

18 (2) the amounts of the proceeds from the sales 

19 of notes, bonds, obligations, liens, mortgages and 

20 property delivered or assigned to the Secretary pur21 suant to loans made under section 6. 

22 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 

24 request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treas25 ury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary 


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1 such amounts as the Secretary determines are nec2 essary to provide loans under section 6. 

3 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount 

4 not exceeding 10 percent of the amounts in the 

5 Fund shall be available for each fiscal year to pay 

6 the administrative expenses necessary to carry out 

7 this Act. 

8 (d) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, 

11 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, 

12 required to meet current withdrawals. 

13 (2) INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS.—Invest14 ments may be made only in interest-bearing obliga15 tions of the United States. 

16 (3) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 

17 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga18 tions may be acquired— 

19 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or 

20 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 

21 at the market price. 

22 (4) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac23 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of 

24 the Treasury at the market price. 


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1 (5) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and 

2 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob3 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 

4 form a part of the Fund. 

5 (e) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to be 

7 transferred to the Fund under this section shall be 

8 transferred at least monthly from the general fund 

9 of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti10 mates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

11 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

12 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

13 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

14 the amounts required to be transferred. 

15 SEC. 6. LOANS FOR HISTORIC COUNTRY STORE REHABILI16 TATION OR REPAIR PROJECTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts in the Fund, the 

18 Secretary may make direct loans to eligible applicants for 

19 projects— 

20 (1) to purchase, rehabilitate, or repair historic 

21 country stores; or 

22 (2) to establish microloan funds to make short23 term, fixed-interest rate loans to proprietors of his24 toric country stores. 

25 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a loan 

2 under this section, an eligible applicant shall submit 

3 to the Secretary a complete application for a loan 

4 that addresses the criteria described in paragraph 

5 (2). 

6 (2) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL OR DIS7 APPROVAL.—In determining whether to approve or 

8 disapprove an application for a loan submitted under 

9 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— 

10 (A) the demonstrated need for the pur11 chase, construction, reconstruction, or renova12 tion of the historic country store based on the 

13 condition of the historic country store; 

14 (B) the age of the historic country store; 

15 (C) the extent to which the project to pur16 chase, rehabilitate, or repair the historic coun17 try store includes collaboration among historic 

18 country store proprietors and other eligible ap19 plicants; and 

20 (D) any other criteria that the Secretary 

21 determines to be appropriate. 

22 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible applicant that re23 ceives a loan for a project under this section shall comply 

24 with all applicable standards for historic preservation 

25 projects under Federal, State, and local law. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 on which the Fund is established under subsection (a), 

3 and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

4 to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 

5 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In6 frastructure of the House of Representatives a report 

7 that— 

8 (1) identifies— 

9 (A) the number of loans provided under 

10 this section; 

11 (B) the repayment rate of the loans; and 

12 (C) the default rate of the loans; and 

13 (2) includes any other information that the Sec14 retary determines to be appropriate. 

15 SEC. 7. PERFORMANCE REPORT. 

16 Any eligible applicant that receives financial assist17 ance under this Act shall, for each fiscal year for which 

18 the eligible applicant receives the financial assistance, sub19 mit to the Secretary a performance report that— 

20 (1) describes— 

21 (A) the allocation of the amount of finan22 cial assistance received under this Act; 

23 (B) the economic benefit of the financial 

24 assistance, including a description of— 


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1 (i) the number of jobs retained or cre2 ated; and 

3 (ii) the tax revenues generated; and 

4 (2) addresses any other reporting requirements 

5 established by the Secretary. 

6 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro8 priated to carry out this Act, $50,000,000 for the period 

9 of fiscal years 2006 through 2011, to remain available 

10 until expended. 

11 (b) COUNTRY STORE ALLIANCE PILOT PROJECT.— 

12 Of the amount made available under subsection (a), not 

13 less than $250,000 shall be made available to carry out 

14 section 4(c). 

Æ 


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