I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4651 
To require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary 
for Economic Development, to establish a RECOMPETE grant program 
to provide flexible, 10-year block grants for purposes of creating quality 
jobs, providing resources to help local residents access opportunities 
and attain and retain employment, increasing local per capita income 
and employment rates, and supporting long-term, sustained economic 
growth and opportunity in persistently distressed areas, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2021 
Mr. KILMER (for himself, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 
LAMALFA, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CARBAJAL, 
Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COOPER, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Ms. DAVIDS of 
Kansas, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. 
HARDER of California, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. 
JEFFRIES, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSON of Con-
necticut, Mrs. LURIA, Ms. MANNING, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. MORELLE, Mrs. 
MURPHY of Florida, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PERLMUTTER, 
Mr. PETERS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RYAN, Mr. 
SCHIFF, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SOTO, Ms. 
STRICKLAND, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VELA, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Serv-
ices, 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 require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, to estab-
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lish a RECOMPETE grant program to provide flexible, 
10-year block grants for purposes of creating quality 
jobs, providing resources to help local residents access 
opportunities and attain and retain employment, increas-
ing local per capita income and employment rates, and 
supporting long-term, sustained economic growth and op-
portunity in persistently distressed areas, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rebuilding Economies 
and Creating Opportunities for More People Everywhere 
To Excel Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOMPETE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPLICABLE AREA.—The term ‘‘applicable 
area’’— 
(A) with respect to a local labor market, 
local community, or partial local labor market— 
(i) means— 
(I) the geographical area of the 
local labor market, local community, 
or partial local labor market; and 
(II) each corresponding unit of 
local government in the geographical 
area described in subclause (I); and 
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(ii) does not include any Tribal land 
in the geographical area described in 
clause (i)(I), unless the Tribal government 
with jurisdiction over the Tribal land elects 
to participate in an applicable cooperation 
agreement under section 3(b)(2)(B); and 
(B) with respect to a Tribal government, 
means the Tribal land subject to the jurisdic-
tion of the Tribal government. 
(2) 
APPLICANT.—The 
term 
‘‘applicant’’ 
means— 
(A) a unit of general local government, 
such as a county or a county equivalent (includ-
ing a borough in the State of Alaska and a par-
ish in the State of Louisiana), city, town, vil-
lage, or other general-purpose political subdivi-
sion of a State; 
(B) the District of Columbia; 
(C) a territory or possession of the United 
States; 
(D) a Tribal government; 
(E) a State-authorized political subdivision 
or other entity, such as a special-purpose entity 
engaged in economic development activities; 
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(F) a public or private nonprofit organiza-
tion, acting in cooperation with the officials of 
a political subdivision or entity described in 
subparagraph (E); 
(G) an economic development district (as 
defined in section 3 of the Public Works and 
Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3122)); and 
(H) a consortium of units of general local 
government within an applicable area. 
(3) COOPERATION
AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘‘cooperation agreement’’ means an agreement en-
tered into under section 3(b) relating to the imple-
mentation of a RECOMPETE plan for an applicable 
area. 
(4) ELIGIBLE.—The term ‘‘eligible’’ means— 
(A) with respect to a local labor market, 
local community, partial local labor market, or 
Tribal government, that the local labor market, 
local community, partial local labor market, or 
Tribal government meets the applicable distress 
eligibility criteria described in section 3(a); and 
(B) with respect to an applicant or lead 
entity, that the applicant or lead entity has sub-
mitted an application for a RECOMPETE 
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grant under section 4(a)(2) relating to a local 
labor market, local community, partial local 
labor market, or Tribal government described in 
subparagraph (A). 
(5) LEAD
ENTITY.—The term ‘‘lead entity’’ 
means an applicant designated to act as a lead enti-
ty pursuant to an applicable cooperation agreement. 
(6) LOCAL COMMUNITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘local com-
munity’’ means the area served by an applicant 
described in paragraph (2)(A) that— 
(i)(I) is located within a local labor 
market or partial local labor market that is 
not eligible; or 
(II) is not coexistent with a local labor 
market; and 
(ii) meets such additional criteria, in-
cluding a minimum population require-
ment, as the Secretary may establish. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘local com-
munity’’ includes a consortium of 2 or more ap-
plicants described in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) all of which are located within the 
same local labor market; or 
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(ii) each of which is directly adjacent 
to an area described in subparagraph (A). 
(7) LOCAL LABOR MARKET.—The term ‘‘local 
labor market’’ means any of the following areas that 
contains 1 or more applicants described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (2): 
(A) A commuting zone, as defined by the 
Economic Research Service of the Department 
of Agriculture. 
(B) Subject to subparagraph (C), if 1 or 
more discrete metropolitan statistical areas or 
micropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the 
Office of Management and Budget (collectively 
referred to as ‘‘core-based statistical areas’’), 
exist within a commuting zone described in sub-
paragraph (A), each such core-based statistical 
area. 
(C) If the remaining area of a commuting 
zone described in subparagraph (A), excluding 
all core-based statistical areas within the com-
muting zone described in subparagraph (B), 
contains 1 or fewer counties and has a popu-
lation of 7,500 or fewer residents, that remain-
ing area combined with an adjacent core-based 
statistical area within the commuting zone. 
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(8) PARTIAL
LOCAL
LABOR
MARKET.—The 
term ‘‘partial local labor market’’ means a geo-
graphical area that— 
(A) is located within, but is not coextensive 
with, a local labor market; and 
(B) contains 1 or more applicants de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 
paragraph (2). 
(9) PRIME-AGE.—The term ‘‘prime-age’’ means 
individuals between the ages of 25 years and 54 
years. 
(10) PRIME-AGE EMPLOYMENT GAP.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘prime-age 
employment gap’’, with respect to an applicable 
area, means the difference (expressed as a per-
centage), calculated in accordance with sub-
paragraph (B), between— 
(i) the national 5-year average prime- 
age employment rate; and 
(ii) the 5-year average prime-age em-
ployment rate of the applicable area. 
(B) CALCULATION.—For purposes of cal-
culating the prime-age employment gap under 
subparagraph (A), an applicant shall use data 
relating to the most recent 5-year period for 
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which data are available preceding the first date 
of the application period established for the ap-
plicant under section 4(a)(2)(B). 
(11) PRIME-AGE EMPLOYMENT RATE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘prime-age 
employment rate’’, with respect to an applicable 
area, means the quotient (expressed as a per-
centage), calculated in accordance with sub-
paragraph (B), obtained by dividing— 
(i) the 5-year average quantity of the 
prime-age population of the applicable area 
that is employed; by 
(ii) the total prime-age population of 
the applicable area. 
(B) CALCULATION.—For purposes of cal-
culating the prime-age employment rate under 
subparagraph (A), an applicant shall use data 
relating to the most recent 5-year period for 
which data are available preceding the first date 
of the application period established for the ap-
plicant under section 4(a)(2)(B). 
(12) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘recipient’’ means, 
as applicable— 
(A) an applicant to which a RECOMPETE 
grant is provided; or 
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