I 
107TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5654
To enhance the capacity of organizations working in the United States-
Mexico border region to develop affordable housing and infrastructure 
and to foster economic opportunity in the colonias. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 16, 2002
Mr. BONILLA (for himself, Mr. PASTOR, and Mr. ORTIZ) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, 
and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
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 enhance the capacity of organizations working in the 
United States-Mexico border region to develop affordable 
housing and infrastructure and to foster economic oppor-
tunity in the colonias.
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 ‘‘Colonias Gateway Ini-
tiative Act’’.
SEC. 2. COLONIAS GATEWAY INITIATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent amounts are made 
available to carry out this section, the Secretary may make 
grants under this section to one or more regional organiza-
tions to enhance the availability of affordable housing, eco-
nomic opportunity, and infrastructure in the colonias. 
(b) GRANTS.—Grants under this section may be 
made only to regional organizations selected pursuant to 
subsection (c). After an organization has been selected 
pursuant to subsection (c) to receive a grant under this 
section, the Secretary may provide grants to such organi-
zation in subsequent fiscal years, subject to subsection (e). 
(c) SELECTION OF REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The 
Secretary shall select one or more regional organizations 
that submit applications for grants under this section to 
receive such grants. The selection shall be made pursuant 
to a competition, which shall consider the applicant’s pro-
posed work plan under subsection (e) and shall be based 
upon criteria that reflect the purposes of this section. Such 
criteria shall include a demonstration of the extent to 
which the applicant organization has the capacity to—
(1) enhance the availability of affordable hous-
ing, economic opportunity, and infrastructure in the 
colonias by carrying out the eligible activities set 
forth in subsection (f);
(2) provide assistance in each State in which 
colonias are located; 
(3) form partnerships with the public and pri-
vate sectors and local and regional housing and eco-
nomic development intermediaries to leverage and 
coordinate additional resources to achieve the pur-
poses of this section; 
(4) ensure accountability to the residents of the 
colonias through active and ongoing outreach to, and 
consultation with, residents and local governments; 
and 
(5) meet such other criteria as the Secretary 
may specify. 
(d) ADVISORY BOARD.—
(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint 
an Advisory Board that shall consist of nine mem-
bers, who shall include—
(A) one individual from each State in 
which colonias are located; 
(B) four individuals who are members of 
non-profit or private sector organizations hav-
ing substantial investments in the colonias, at 
least one of whom is a member of such a pri-
vate sector organization; and
(C) one individual who is a resident of a 
colonia. 
(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall des-
ignate a member of the Advisory Board as Chair-
person. 
(3) TERM.—Advisory Board members shall be 
appointed for two year terms that shall be renewable 
at the discretion of the Secretary. 
(4) COMPENSATION.—Advisory Board members 
shall serve without compensation, but the Secretary 
may provide members with travel expenses, including 
per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 
section 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
(5) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Board shall—
(A) assist any regional organization that 
receives a grant under this section in the devel-
opment and implementation of its final work 
plan under subsection (e); 
(B) review and approve all final work 
plans; 
(C) assist the Secretary in monitoring and 
evaluating the performance of any regional or-
ganization in implementing its final work plan; 
and
(D) provide such other assistance as the 
Secretary may request. 
(e) WORK PLANS.—
(1) APPLICATION.—Each regional organization 
applying for a grant under this section shall include 
in its application a proposed work plan. 
(2) ANNUAL
SUBMISSION.—To be eligible to 
continue receive annual grants under this section 
after selection pursuant to subsection (c), a regional 
organization shall, on an annual basis after such se-
lection and subject to the Secretary’s determination 
to continue to provide grant amounts to such re-
gional organization, submit a proposed work plan to 
the Advisory Board and the Secretary for review and 
approval. 
(3) FINAL WORK PLAN.—In any fiscal year, in-
cluding the fiscal year in which any regional organi-
zation is selected pursuant to subsection (c), prior to 
final determination and allocation of specific grant 
amounts, each selected regional organization shall, 
with the assistance of the Advisory Board, develop 
a final work plan that thoroughly describes how the 
regional organization will use specific grant amounts 
to carry out its functions under this section, which 
shall include the following:
(A) A description of outcome measures and 
other baseline information to be used to mon-
itor success in promoting affordable housing, 
economic opportunity, and infrastructure in the 
colonias. 
(B) An account of how the regional organi-
zation will strengthen the coordination of exist-
ing resources used to assist residents of the 
colonias, and how the regional organization will 
leverage additional public and private resources 
to complement such existing resources. 
(C) An explanation, in part, of the effects 
that implementation of the work plan will have 
on areas in and around colonias. 
(D) Such assurances as the Secretary may 
require that grant amounts will be used in a 
manner that results in assistance and invest-
ments for colonias in each State containing 
colonias, in accordance with requirements that 
the Advisory and the Secretary may establish 
that provide for a minimum level of such invest-
ment and assistance as a condition of the ap-
proval of the work plans. 
(4) APPROVAL.—No grant amounts under this 
section for a fiscal year may be provided to a re-
gional organization until the Secretary approves the 
final work plan of the organization, including a spe-
cific grant amount for the organization. In deter-
mining whether to approve a final work plan, the 
Secretary shall consider whether the Advisory Board 
approved the plan. To the extent that the Advisory 
Board or the Secretary does not approve a work 
plan, the Advisory Board or the Secretary shall, to 
the maximum extent practicable, assist the selected 
regional organization that submitted the plan to de-
velop an approvable plan. 
(f) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grant amounts under 
this section may be used only to carry out the following 
eligible activities to benefit the colonias: 
(1) Coordination of public, private, and commu-
nity-based resources and the use of grant amounts 
to leverage such resources. 
(2) Technical assistance and capacity building, 
including training, business planning and investment 
advice, and the development of marketing and stra-
tegic investment plans. 
(3) Initial and early-stage investments in activi-
ties to provide—
(A) housing, infrastructure, and economic 
development;
(B) housing counseling and financial edu-
cation, including counseling and education 
about avoiding predatory lending; and 
(C) access to financial services for resi-
dents of colonias. 
(4) Development of comprehensive, regional, so-
cioeconomic, and other data, and the establishment 
of a centralized information resource, to facilitate 
strategic planning and investments. 
(5) Administrative and planning costs of any 
regional organization in carrying out this section, ex-
cept that the Secretary may limit the amount of 
grant funds used for such costs. 
(6) Such other activities as the Secretary deems 
appropriate to carry out this section. 
(g) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—A grant under this sec-
tion shall be made only pursuant to a grant agreement 
between the Secretary and a regional organization selected 
under this section. 
(h) TERMINATION
AND RECAPTURE.—If the Sec-
retary determines that a regional organization awarded a 
grant under this section has not substantially fulfilled its 
obligations under its final work plan or grant agreement, 
the Secretary shall terminate the regional organization’s
participation under this section, and shall recapture any 
unexpended grant amounts. 
(i) DETAILS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon re-
quest of any selected regional organization that has an ap-
proved work plan, the head of any Federal agency may 
detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of 
such agency to that regional organization to assist it in 
carrying out its duties under this section. 
(j) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—For purposes of en-
vironmental review, projects assisted by grant amounts 
under this section shall be treated as special projects that 
are subject to section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing 
Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
3547), and shall be subject to regulations issued by the 
Secretary to implement such section. 
(k) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘colonia’’ means any identifiable 
community that—
(A) is located in the State of Arizona, Cali-
fornia, New Mexico, or Texas; 
(B) is located in the United States-Mexico 
border region; 
(C) is determined to be a colonia on the 
basis of objective criteria, including lack of po-
table water supply, lack of adequate sewage sys-
tems, and lack of decent, safe, and sanitary 
housing; and 
(D) was in existence and generally recog-
nized as a colonia before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(2) The term ‘‘regional organization’’ means a 
nonprofit organization or a consortium of nonprofit 
organizations with the capacity to serve colonias. 
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development. 
(4) The term ‘‘United States-Mexico border re-
gion’’ means the area of the United States within 
150 miles of the border between the United States 
and Mexico, except that such term does not include 
any standard metropolitan statistical area that has 
a population exceeding 1,000,000. 
(l) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$16,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and such sums as may 
be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009. 
(m) SUNSET.—No new grants may be provided under 
this section after September 30, 2009.
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