Direct Support for Communities Act
Bill: S.34 | Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (D-NY)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Direct Support for Communities Act
This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award additional Community Development Block Grants to units of local government and counties to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus and the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
Specifically, within 30 days, HUD must distribute 50% of such funds to metropolitan cities and other units of local government and 50% to counties and parishes. These funds may be used to cover costs or replace lost, delayed, or decreased revenues stemming from the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Additionally, the bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.

To provide funding for cities, counties, and other units of general 
 local government to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Direct Support for Communities 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.

    The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2021, and for other purposes, namely:
    

              DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

                   Community Planning and Development

                       community development fund

    For an additional amount for the ``Community Development Fund'', 
such sums as may be necessary, to remain available until expended, to 
prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, which shall be in 
addition to any other amounts available for such purposes, of which--
            (1) 50 percent shall be allocated to metropolitan cities 
        and other units of general local government (as those terms are 
        defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development 
        Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)), of which--
                    (A) 70 percent of such sums shall be distributed, 
                not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 
                this Act, pursuant to the formula under section 
                106(b)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act 
                of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(b)(1)) to metropolitan cities 
                that received allocations pursuant to such formula in 
                fiscal year 2020; and
                    (B) 30 percent of such sums shall be distributed, 
                not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 
                this Act, to States (as defined in such section 102) 
                for use by units of general local government, other 
                than counties or parishes, in nonentitlement areas (as 
                defined in such section 102) of the State, in amounts 
                equal to the relative sum of the populations of such 
                units of general local government in a State as a 
                proportion of the total population of all such units of 
                general local government in all States:  Provided, That 
                a State shall pass-through the amounts received under 
                this subparagraph within 30 days of receipt to such 
                units of general local government:  Provided further, 
                That if a State has not elected to distribute amounts 
                allocated under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing and 
                Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
                5306(d)(1)), the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development shall distribute the applicable amounts 
                under this subparagraph to such units of general local 
                government in the State not later than 30 days after 
                the date on which the State would otherwise have 
                received the amounts from the Secretary; and
            (2) 50 percent shall be distributed, not later than 30 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, directly to counties 
        and parishes of States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
        Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
        American Samoa, in amounts equal to the relative sum of the 
        populations of the counties and parishes in a State or such 
        other jurisdiction as a proportion of the total population of 
        all the counties and parishes in all States and such other 
        jurisdictions:  Provided, That in calculating the populations 
        of counties and parishes for purposes of this paragraph, the 
        District of Columbia shall be treated as a county:  Provided 
        further, That no county or parish that is an urban county (as 
        defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development 
        Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)) shall receive less than the 
        amount the county or parish would otherwise receive if the 
        amount distributed under this paragraph were allocated to 
        metropolitan cities and urban counties under section 106(b) of 
        the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
        5306(b)):  Provided further, That the amounts otherwise 
        determined for counties and parishes under this paragraph shall 
        be adjusted on a pro rata basis to the extent necessary to 
        comply with the preceding proviso:  Provided further, That the 
        District of Columbia may spend the amount received under this 
        paragraph as if it were a county:  Provided further, That in 
        the case of an amount allocated to a county or parish that does 
        not have a governing body, the amount shall be distributed to 
        the State or such other jurisdiction of the county or parish 
        which, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, shall distribute the amount to units of general local 
        government within the county or parish in amounts equal to the 
        relative population of each such unit of general local 
        government as a proportion of the total population of the 
        county or parish:
  Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
funds made available under this heading may be used to cover costs, or 
to replace lost, delayed, or decreased revenues, stemming from the 
public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-
19), including revenues lost, delayed, or decreased during or after the 
end of such public health emergency as a result of the global and 
national economic decline caused by the outbreak and response to COVID-
19:  Provided further, That amounts distributed under paragraph (1) or 
(2) shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, any non-Federal 
funds that a State or such other jurisdiction would otherwise provide 
to cities, counties, parishes, or other units of general local 
government of the State or other jurisdiction:  Provided further, That 
nothing in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be construed as prohibiting a 
metropolitan city and a county or parish that have formed a 
consolidated government from each receiving a distribution under 
paragraph (1) or (2), as applicable:  Provided further, That for 
purposes of this heading, the population of an entity shall be 
determined based on the most recent year for which data are available 
from the Bureau of the Census:  Provided further, That, except as 
provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), no requirement or limitation 
applicable to funds provided under title I of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) shall apply to funds 
made available under this heading and distributed under such 
paragraphs:  Provided further, That such amount is designated by 
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)).
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