Title: Community Development Block Grant Equity Act of 2020
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Community Development Block Grant Equity Act of 2020
This bill revises the allocation formula used to distribute Community Development Block Grants to metropolitan cities, urban counties, and other areas. Among other changes, the formula (1) incorporates an area's rate of female-headed households with children, and (2) more heavily weights an area's relative poverty rate.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8416 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8416

 To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise 
the formula for allocation of community development block grant funds, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2020

  Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise 
the formula for allocation of community development block grant funds, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Community Development Block Grant 
Equity Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. CDBG FORMULA.

    (a) Revision of Formula.--Section 106 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking the subsection designation and all 
                that follows through the end of paragraph (3) and 
                inserting the following:
    ``(b)(1) The Secretary shall determine the amount to be allocated 
to each metropolitan city, which shall be the amount that bears the 
same ratio to the allocation for all metropolitan areas as the average 
of the ratios between--
            ``(A) the poverty rate per person in families and elderly 
        households in that city and such poverty rate in all 
        metropolitan areas;
            ``(B) the extent of female-headed households with children 
        under age 18 in that city and the extent of such households in 
        all metropolitan areas;
            ``(C) the extent of housing that was constructed before 
        1950 and is occupied by a household in poverty in that city and 
        the extent of such housing in all metropolitan areas; and
            ``(D) the extent of housing overcrowding in that city and 
        the extent of housing overcrowding in all metropolitan areas.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall determine the amount to be allocated to 
each urban county, which shall be the amount that bears the same ratio 
to the allocation for all metropolitan areas as the average of the 
ratios between--
            ``(A) the poverty rate per person in families and elderly 
        households in that urban county and such poverty rate in all 
        metropolitan areas;
            ``(B) the extent of female-headed households with children 
        under age 18 in that urban county and the extent of such 
        households in all metropolitan areas;
            ``(C) the extent of housing that was constructed before 
        1950 and is occupied by a household in poverty in that urban 
        county and the extent of such housing in all metropolitan 
        areas; and
            ``(D) the extent of housing overcrowding in that urban 
        county and the extent of housing overcrowding in all 
        metropolitan areas.
    ``(3) In determining the average of ratios under paragraphs (1) and 
(2)--
            ``(A) the ratio under subparagraph (A) of such paragraphs 
        shall be counted five times;
            ``(B) the ratio under subparagraph (C) of such paragraphs 
        shall be counted three times; and
            ``(C) each of the other ratios shall be counted once.''; 
        and
                    (B) in paragraph (6)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (B);
                            (ii) by striking ``(A)''; and
                            (iii) by redesignating clauses (i) through 
                        (iii) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 
                        respectively; and
            (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking the second and third 
        sentences and inserting the following: ``The allocation for 
        each State shall be the amount that bears the same ratio to the 
        allocation for such areas of all States available under this 
        paragraph as the average of the ratios between--
                    ``(A) the poverty rate per person in families and 
                elderly households in the nonentitlement areas in that 
                State and such poverty rate in the nonentitlement areas 
                of all States;
                    ``(B) the extent of female-headed households with 
                children under age 18 in the nonentitlement areas in 
                that State and the extent of such households in the 
                nonentitlement areas of all States;
                    ``(C) the extent of housing that was constructed 
                before 1950 and is occupied by a household in poverty 
                in the nonentitlement areas in that State and the 
                extent of such housing in the nonentitlement areas of 
                all States; and
                    ``(D) the extent of housing overcrowding in the 
                nonentitlement areas in that State and the extent of 
                housing overcrowding in the nonentitlement areas of all 
                States.
        In determining the average of the ratios under the preceding 
        sentence, the ratio under clause (A) shall be counted five 
        times, the ratio under clause (C) shall be counted three times, 
        and each of the other ratios shall be counted once.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Subsection (a) of section 102 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (9), by striking the first sentence and 
        inserting the following: ``The term `poverty' means having an 
        income that does not exceed the poverty level.'';
            (2) by striking paragraphs (11) through (16); and
            (3) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through (24) as 
        paragraphs (11) through (18), respectively.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 103 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 
(42 U.S.C. 5303) is amended by striking the last sentence and inserting 
the following: ``For purposes of assistance under section 106, there is 
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2021 an amount equal to 
$3,425,000,000, as adjusted by adding to such amount a percentage 
thereof equal to any percentage increase, over the immediately 
preceding 4 calendar quarters ending before the commencement of such 
fiscal year, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-
U) and, for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025, the amount that is 
equal to the amount authorized under this sentence for the immediately 
preceding fiscal year, as adjusted by adding to such amount a 
percentage thereof equal to any percentage increase, over the 
immediately preceding 4 calendar quarters ending before the 
commencement of such fiscal year to which such authorization applies, 
in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).''.
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