I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4371 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to make noninterest bearing loans 
to State and local governments solely for the purpose of funding capital 
projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2004 
Mr. 
LAHOOD
(for 
himself, 
Mr. 
EMANUEL, 
Mr. 
JEFFERSON, 
Mr. 
LATOURETTE, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. 
MANZULLO, and Mr. QUINN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to make noninterest 
bearing loans to State and local governments solely for 
the purpose of funding capital projects, 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 ‘‘State and Local Gov-
ernment Economic Empowerment Act’’.
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 
FOR INTEREST-FREE LOANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), each 
State, county, incorporated municipality, and Indian tribe 
shall be entitled to obtain a loan under section 3, unless 
such unit of government is delinquent in repaying a prior 
loan. 
(b) MAXIMUM
AMOUNT
LIMITATION.—The total 
amount of money to which any entity described in sub-
section (a) is entitled to borrow under this section shall 
not exceed the amount equal to the product of— 
(1) the resident population, as determined by 
the Secretary on the basis of the 2000 census, of the 
geographic territory over which the entity has juris-
diction; and 
(2) the amount equal to— 
(A) in the case of a State, $200; 
(B) in the case of a county (as defined in 
section 2 of title 1, United States Code), $200; 
(C) in the case of an incorporated munici-
pality, $600; and 
(D) in the case of an Indian tribe, $1,000. 
SEC. 3. INTEREST-FREE LOANS. 
Subject to sections 2(b) and 4, the Secretary shall 
issue an interest-free loan to any government unit de-
scribed in section 2(a) if the Secretary obtains such assur-
ances as the Secretary determines to be appropriate from 
the unit that the proceeds of such loan will be used solely 
for the purpose of funding capital projects of the govern-
mental unit, including the construction of or improve-
ments to— 
(1) streets, highways, bridges, and tunnels; 
(2) waste water and sewer systems; and 
(3) infrastructure and other public facilities. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS.—Loans made 
under section 3 shall be disbursed by the Secretary— 
(1) in a lump sum for the full amount of the 
loan; or 
(2) if the Secretary determines that partial dis-
bursements are appropriate in the case of loans for 
construction projects in order to accommodate a 
greater number of loan requests, over the construc-
tion period of the project. 
(b) MINIMUM PHASE-IN PERIOD.—Disbursements on 
all eligible loans made under section 3 shall begin before 
the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(c) PERIOD TO MATURITY.—The period to maturity 
of any loan made under section 3 shall be the estimated 
number of years of the useful life of the infrastructure
installation (if any) which is financed by the loan, but, 
in any case, shall be a minimum of 10 years and a max-
imum of 30 years. 
(d) APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAW.—The number or 
the principal amounts of interest-free loans made under 
section 3 to any governmental unit established by a State, 
or the period to maturity of any such loan, may not exceed 
the maximum number, amount, or period to maturity es-
tablished under the law of such State, unless the State 
provides a waiver from any such limitation with respect 
to any such governmental unit. 
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—The Secretary shall im-
pose an administrative fee on each recipient of a loan 
under section 3 in an amount not to exceed the lesser of— 
(1) 0.25 percent of the total amount of the 
loan; or 
(2) an amount sufficient to cover all adminis-
trative costs incurred by the Secretary, including 
overhead, for making and administering the loan. 
(f) TERMS OF REPAYMENT.—The repayment terms 
of any loan made under section 3 shall require quarterly 
payments by the recipient in equal amounts determined 
by dividing— 
(1) the sum of the principal and the adminis-
trative fees applicable with respect to such loan; by
(2) the number of calendar quarters any por-
tion of which falls within the period to maturity of 
the loan. 
(g) COLLECTIONS OF PAST DUE AMOUNTS AND COL-
LECTION FEES.— 
(1) ENFORCED COLLECTIONS.—The Secretary 
shall take action to enforce collection of past due 
amounts of any loan on which 4 or more quarterly 
payments are due and payable. 
(2) 
IMPOUNDMENT
OF
DELINQUENT 
AMOUNT.—In the case of any delinquent loan de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary may seek an 
order from a district court of the United States of 
appropriate jurisdiction directing a United States 
Marshall to impound, under authority of this sub-
section, any available funds of the debtor in an 
amount equal to the amount currently due as of the 
date of such action to reduce or eliminate the delin-
quency. 
(3) WAIVER OF DEBTOR’S RIGHT TO DEFEND 
AGAINST COLLECTION.—As a condition for receiving 
any loan under section 3, the recipient shall waive 
any right to take any legal action to prevent or de-
fend against the collection by the Secretary of any 
amount which the parties agree is past due.
(4) COST OF COLLECTION.—The costs incurred 
by the Secretary in collecting any amount under this 
subsection with respect to any loan shall be added 
to and treated as a part of the principal amount of 
the loan. 
(5) BALANCE OF LOAN PRINCIPAL AND FEES 
PAYABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH TERMS OF LOAN.— 
A debtor who is subject to collection proceedings 
under this subsection for any delinquent portion of 
a loan under section 3 shall continue to meet the re-
payment schedule applicable to such loan for the re-
maining amount of principal and fees. 
(h) REPAYMENT OF LOANS.—Loans made under sec-
tion 3 shall be repaid to the Secretary in accordance with 
the terms established under this Act and shall be deposited 
into the Treasury of the United States. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
means any Indian tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or 
other organized group or community, including any 
Alaska Native village or regional or village corpora-
tion as defined in or established pursuant to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is rec-
ognized as eligible for the special programs and serv-
ices provided by the United States to Indians be-
cause of their status as Indians. 
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 
Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 6. PROGRAM AUTHORITY. 
In accordance with the provisions of this Act, there 
are hereby made available, out of any money in the Treas-
ury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be nec-
essary to make loans to all entities described in section 
2(a). 
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