I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 629
To amend the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions
Act of 1994 to reauthorize the Community Development Financial Insti-
tutions Fund and to more efficiently and effectively promote economic
revitalization, community development, and community development fi-
nancial institutions, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 8, 1999
Mr. VENTO (for himself and Mrs. ROUKEMA) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To amend the Community Development Banking and Finan-
cial Institutions Act of 1994 to reauthorize the Commu-
nity Development Financial Institutions Fund and to
more efficiently and effectively promote economic revital-
ization, community development, and community develop-
ment financial institutions, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Amendments Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Change of status of the Fund; miscellaneous technical corrections.
Sec. 3. Amendments to programs administered by the Fund and the Bank
Enterprise Act of 1991.
Sec. 4. Extension of authorization.
Sec. 5. Amendments to Small Business Capital Enhancement Program.
Sec. 6. Additional safeguards.
SEC. 2. CHANGE OF STATUS OF THE FUND; MISCELLANE-
OUS TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
(a) PURPOSE.—Section 102(b) of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subtitle is to
create a Community Development Financial Institutions
Fund to promote economic revitalization and community
development through investment in and assistance to com-
munity development financial institutions, including en-
hancing the liquidity of community development financial
institutions, and through incentives to insured depository
institutions that increase lending and other assistance and
investment in both economically distressed communities
and community development financial institutions.’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—
(1) Section 103 of the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 is
amended—
(A) by striking paragraph (1);
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2)
through (17) as paragraphs (1) through (16),
respectively; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (16), as
so redesignated, the following new paragraph:
‘‘(17) SECRETARY.—Except in the case of sec-
tion 104(d)(2), the term ‘Secretary’ means the Sec-
retary of the Treasury.’’.
(2) The Community Development Banking and
Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701
et seq.) is amended (other than in section 118) by
striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place such term ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.
(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND WITHIN THE DE-
PARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(a) of the Com-
munity Development Banking and Financial Institu-
tions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the
Department of the Treasury a Community Develop-
ment Financial Institutions Fund that shall have the
functions specified by this subtitle and subtitle B of
Title II. The offices of the Fund shall be in Wash-
ington, D.C. The Fund shall not be affiliated with
any other agency or department of the Federal
Government.
‘‘(2) WHOLLY OWNED GOVERNMENT CORPORA-
TION.—The Fund shall be a wholly owned govern-
ment corporation within the Department of the
Treasury and shall be treated in all respects as an
agency of the United States, except as otherwise
provided in this subtitle.’’.
(2) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF THE
TREASURY.—Section 104(b) of the Community De-
velopment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(b)) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT OF FUND.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY
OF
SECRETARY
OF
THE
TREASURY.—All functions of the Fund shall be per-
formed by or under the supervision of the Secretary.
‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOY-
EES.—The Secretary may appoint such officers and
employees of the Fund, including a Director, as the
Secretary deems necessary or appropriate.’’.
(3) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Section 118 of the
Community Development Banking and Finan-
cial Institutions Act of 1994 is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘SEC. 118. INSPECTOR GENERAL.
‘‘The Inspector General of the Department of the
Treasury shall be the Inspector General of the Fund.’’.
(B) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENT.—Section 11 of the Inspector General
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 3) is amended—
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; the
Administrator of the Community Develop-
ment Financial Institutions Fund;’’; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the
Community Development Financial Insti-
tutions Fund,’’.
(4) TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO RULEMAKING
AUTHORITY.—Section 119(a)(1) of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act
of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4717(a)(1)) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may pre-
scribe such regulations and procedures as may be
necessary to carry out this subtitle.’’.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY
THE FUND AND THE BANK ENTERPRISE ACT
OF 1991.
(a) AMENDMENTS TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM.—
(1) FORM OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED.—Section
108(a)(1)(B)(iii) of the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12
U.S.C. 4707(a)(1)(B)(iii)) is amended by inserting
‘‘through cooperative agreements or’’ before ‘‘by
contracting’’.
(2) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Section 109(d) of
the Community Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4708(d)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) FORM OF TRAINING.—The Fund may offer the
training program described in this section—
‘‘(1) directly; or
‘‘(2) through grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements with other organizations that possess
special expertise in community development, without
regard to whether the organizations receive or are
eligible to receive assistance under this subtitle.’’.
(b) AMENDMENTS TO THE BANK ENTERPRISE ACT
AWARDS PROGRAM.—
(1) AWARDS FOR ASSISTANCE TO COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.—Para-
graph (2) of section 233(a) of the Bank Enterprise
Act (12 U.S.C. 1834a(a)) is amended—
(A) in that portion of such paragraph
which precedes subparagraph (A), by striking
‘‘for for’’ and inserting ‘‘for’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘for
low- and moderate-income persons’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘to community development financial insti-
tutions, low- and moderate-income persons’’;
and
(C) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘of the increase’’ after
‘‘the amount’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘financial’’ each place
such term appears.
(2) INCREASE IN AWARD AMOUNTS FOR CER-
TAIN ACTIVITIES.—Section 114(b)(2) of the Commu-
nity Development Banking and Financial Institu-
tions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4713(b)(2)) is amend-
ed by amending the substitute text used to apply
section 233(a)(3) of the Bank Enterprise Act of
1991—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or
(2)(B)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2)(A)’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting
‘‘each’’ before ‘‘such subparagraph’’; and
(C) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting
‘‘each’’ before ‘‘such subparagraph’’.
(3) AWARDING CREDIT FOR ADDITIONAL QUALI-
FIED ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph (4) of section 233(a)
of the Bank Enterprise Act (12 U.S.C. 1834a(a)(4))
is amended—
(A) in the portion of such paragraph which
precedes subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and
(2)(B)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2)(A)’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(P) Other forms of assistance that the
Board determines to be appropriate.
(4) EVALUATION
OF
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
PROVIDED.—Section 233(a)(7) of the Bank Enter-
prise Act (12 U.S.C. 1834a(a)(7)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘and other’’ after ‘‘tech-
nical’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘and (O)’’ and inserting
instead ‘‘(O), and (P)’’.
(5) ESTABLISHING ALTERNATIVE CRITERIA IN
DEFINING
CERTAIN
DISTRESSED
COMMUNITIES.—
Section 233(b)(4)(C) of the Bank Enterprise Act
(12 U.S.C. 1834a(b)(4)(C)) is amended by inserting
‘‘or alternative’’ before ‘‘eligibility requirements’’.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION.
Paragraph (1) of section 121(a) of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4718(a)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this subtitle
and subtitle B of title II, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Fund, to remain available until
expended—
‘‘(A) $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
‘‘(B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
‘‘(C) $105,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
and
‘‘(D) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.’’.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO SMALL BUSINESS CAPITAL EN-
HANCEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—Sec-
tion 252(5) of the Riegle Community Development and
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4742(5))
is amended by inserting ‘‘any community development fi-
nancial institution (as defined in section 103(5) of this
Act) and,’’ before ‘‘any federally chartered’’.
(b) ELIMINATION
OF
THRESHOLD
APPROPRIA-
TION.—Section 253 of the Riegle Community Develop-
ment and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12
U.S.C. 4743) is amended by striking subsection (d) and
redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d).
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 254(a) of
the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Im-
provement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4744(a)) is amended
by inserting ‘‘(if any)’’ after ‘‘appropriate Federal banking
agency’’.
(d) AMENDMENTS
TO REIMBURSEMENT AUTHOR-
ITY.—Section 257(a) of the Riegle Community Develop-
ment and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12
U.S.C. 4747(a)) is amended to read as follows—
‘‘(a) REIMBURSEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall reimburse
participating States according to criteria established
by the Fund.
‘‘(2) EXAMPLES OF CRITERIA.—Criteria estab-
lished under paragraph (1) may include whether a
participating State is creating a new program, is ex-
panding in scope or scale an existing State program,
the need for Fund reimbursement, the availability of
Fund resources, and other criteria established by the
Fund.
‘‘(3) TIMING
AND
AMOUNT
OF
REIMBURSE-
MENT.—Not later than 30 calendar days after re-
ceiving a report filed in compliance with section 256,
the Fund shall reimburse a participating State meet-
ing such criteria in an amount equal to up to 50
percent of the amount of contributions by the par-
ticipating State to the reserve funds that are subject
to reimbursement by the Fund pursuant to section
256 and this section, until such sums made available
by the Fund for this purpose are expended.’’.
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 260 of the
Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improve-
ment Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4750) is hereby repealed.
SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.
(a) NEUTRAL
REVIEW
REQUIREMENTS.—Section
107 of the Community Development Banking and Finan-
cial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4706) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsections:
‘‘(c) OBJECTIVE SCORING SYSTEM.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of making
any evaluation under subsection (a) of any applica-
tion, the Fund shall develop a scoring system which
assigns a relative point value to each factor required
to be considered under paragraphs (1) through (14)
of subsection (a) in connection with the selection of
applicants.
‘‘(2) NOTICE OF SCORING SYSTEM.—A descrip-
tion of the scoring system shall be included in any
notice of funding availability issued by the Fund.
‘‘(d) NEUTRAL MULTIPERSON REVIEW PANEL.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Fund shall convene
multiperson review panels to—
‘‘(A) review all applications for selection,
under subsection (a), on the basis of the factors
required to be considered under paragraphs (1)
through (14) of subsection (a) using the objec-
tive scoring system developed pursuant to sub-
section (c) before any selection is made by the
Fund under subsection (a) with respect to such
applications; and
‘‘(B) make recommendations with regard
to such selections to the Fund on the basis of
such review.
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The multiperson review
panels shall each consist of such number of members
as the Fund determines to be appropriate, but not
less than 3, who shall be appointed from among in-
dividuals who, by virtue of their education, training,
or experience, are specially qualified to carry out the
responsibilities of the panel and at least 1/3 of the
members of each panel shall be appointed from
among individuals with diverse experiences who are
not officers or employees of any government.’’.
(b) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN
ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 117 of the Community De-
velopment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994
(12 U.S.C. 4716) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsections:
‘‘(g) CONTRACT AND COMPLIANCE INFORMATION.—
The annual report submitted to the Congress by the Fund
pursuant to subsection (a) shall contain the following in-
formation:
‘‘(1) SERVICES OF CONTRACTORS.—Information
on the use of contractors to carry out any function
of the Fund under this subtitle, including—
‘‘(A) a description of the services provided
by contractors under this subtitle during the
period covered by the report;
‘‘(B) a description of the procurement
process utilized to obtain such services;
‘‘(C) the basis of the authority of the Fund
to contract for the services so obtained; and
‘‘(D) the total amount obligated by the
Fund for such contracts.
‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE
WITH
OTHER
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—An evaluation of the extent to which the
Fund is maintaining compliance, in connection with
the activities of the Fund under this subtitle and
subtitle B of title II, with the requirements of, and
regulations prescribed pursuant to subsections (b)
and (d) of section 3512 of title 31, United States
Code.
‘‘(3) PLAN FOR ADDRESSING WEAKNESSES OF
INTERNAL CONTROLS.—A plan for addressing any
material weakness in internal controls identified in
the most recent external audit pursuant to sub-
section (f).’’.
(c) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SCORING SYS-
TEM.—The 1st annual report submitted by the Fund to
the Congress under section 117(a) of the Community De-
velopment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994
after the effective date of this Act shall include a complete
description of the implementation of the scoring system
required under subsection (c) of the amendment made by
subsection (a) of this section, including a description of
the methodology of the system.