I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7590 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 26, 2022 Ms. Titus introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure , and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services , 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 reauthorize and improve the programs authorized by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Economic Development Promotion and Resiliency Act . 2. Predevelopment grants (a) Predevelopment grants Title II of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 207 the following: 208. Predevelopment grants (a) Predevelopment grants On the application of an eligible recipient, the Secretary may make grants or cooperative agreements for— (1) community asset mapping; (2) training; (3) technical assistance and organizational development; (4) feasibility, environmental, and market studies; (5) demonstration projects; (6) organizational capacity building; (7) organizing and facilitating convenings; (8) site preparation and infrastructure; (9) permitting, including professional services; and (10) other predevelopment activities determined by the Secretary to be appropriate. (b) Application assistance In the case of a project carried out with a grant under this section that provides assistance to one or more eligible entities with low organizational capacity, the Secretary may waive section 213. . (b) Grant rate for predevelopment grants Section 204(c)(3) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3144 ) is amended— (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking and technical assistance and inserting technical assistance, and predevelopment ; and (2) by striking section 207 and inserting sections 207 or 208 . (c) Conforming amendments (1) Direct expenditure or redistribution by recipient Section 217(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3154c(a) ) is amended by striking or 207 and inserting 207, or 208 . (2) Powers of Secretary Section 601(a)(12) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3211(a)(12) ) is amended by striking section 207 and inserting sections 207 and 208 . (d) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3121 note) is amended by inserting after the item related to section 207 the following: Sec. 208. Predevelopment grants. . 3. Capacity building pilot program (a) In general Section 218 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3154d ) is amended to read as follows: 218. Strong communities economic development capacity building pilot program (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a program, to be known as the Strong Communities Economic Development Capacity Building Pilot Program , under which the Secretary shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to an eligible recipient to hire 1 or more qualified economic development professionals to assist the eligible recipient in implementing certain projects and priorities. (b) Applications (1) In general To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible recipient shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (2) Inclusions Each application under this subsection shall include— (A) a demonstration of need for economic development staffing, support, and technical assistance; and (B) an explanation of the means for which the eligible recipient would use the services of each qualified economic development professional hired using a grant under this section. (c) Use of funds An eligible recipient shall use a grant provided under this section to hire 1 or more qualified economic development professionals to assist the eligible recipient in— (1) implementing projects and priorities, including— (A) a comprehensive economic development strategy; (B) a locally-derived economic development strategic plan other than a comprehensive economic development strategy; (C) projects carried out with grants awarded under this Act; (D) a predevelopment project; (E) a public-private partnership initiative; (F) business retention and expansion efforts; (G) entrepreneur and small business development activities; (H) real estate development and reuse projects; (I) financial and credit analysis resources; (J) a workforce and economic development program; and (K) other projects and priorities related to core economic development practices; (2) identifying and using other Federal and State economic development programs; (3) leveraging private and philanthropic investment; and (4) carrying out economic development activities in accordance with professional economic development best practices. (d) Requirements A grant provided under this section shall be— (1) in an amount equal to not more than $500,000; and (2) provided for a term of— (A) not less than 3 years; and (B) not more than 5 years. (e) Limitation (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2)— (A) a grant recipient may use a grant provided under this section to pay an amount equal to 80 percent of the salary of a qualified economic development professional hired using the grant; and (B) the Secretary may permit such grant recipient to pay an amount equal to 100 percent of the salary of such professional if the Secretary determines that the extent of distress in the community receiving such grant warrants the payment in such amount. (2) Maximum amount A grant provided under this section may not be used to pay more than $100,000 of the salary of a qualified economic development professional hired using the grant. (f) Definition In this section, the term qualified economic development professional means an individual— (1) with not less than 4 consecutive years of economic development experience; and (2) with relevant professional training obtained from an accrediting organization, or who is committed to obtaining such training from an accrediting organization. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3121 note) is further amended by striking the item relating to section 218 and inserting the following: 218. Strong communities economic development capacity building pilot program. . 4. Covid-era funding availability Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amounts made available to carry out the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq. ) during the period for which the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ) on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19 is in effect shall be available until September 30, 2030. 5. Travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation stabilization grants (a) In general Title II of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq. ) is further amended by adding at the end the following: 219. Travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation stabilization grants (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients to support outdoor recreation, tourism, hospitality, or special event activities to spur economic development. (b) Eligible uses (1) In general A grant under this section may be used to— (A) pay costs associated with obtaining State, county, city, community, or regional tourism marketing and promotion campaigns, including through nonprofit or quasi-governmental destination marketing organizations; (B) carry out workforce training programs that support the travel, tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation industries to improve the skills of, and job opportunities for, employees in such industries; (C) carry out projects to improve regional economies in developing travel, tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation industries, including projects to assist small businesses, entrepreneurs, and small and rural communities; (D) pay costs associated with upgrades and retrofits to existing travel, tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation infrastructure, such as convention centers, to increase travel and tourism activity or to make such infrastructure more functional under social distancing conditions due to a public health emergency; (E) carry out construction activities at a facility or property that is related to tourism and owned by the eligible recipient; (F) pay costs associated with providing information to visitors about the health and safety protections, guidance, or requirements of Federal, State, or local governments and businesses to reduce the spread of a public health emergency; (G) pay the increased costs of filtration and sanitation, including physical modifications to a convention center, large event space, or community attraction associated with precautions to provide for safe work, travel, or event environments; and (H) establish local programs to provide assistance to a small business operating in the travel, tourism, hospitality, outdoor recreation, or special events industries— (i) for development or expansion of such small business; or (ii) to recover from the impacts of a public health emergency. (2) Prohibition A grant provided under this section may not be used— (A) for recruitment efforts to bring in or host a particular event, such as a sporting competition; or (B) to pay costs associated with obtaining a marketing and promotion campaign described in paragraph (1)(A) if such campaign is carried out for the benefit of a private company. (c) Priority In providing grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible recipients that seek to carry out an activity that— (1) is based on long-term, regionally oriented, coordinated, and collaborative economic development or redevelopment strategies that foster economic growth and resilience; (2) promotes workforce development; (3) involves a minority-owned, rural, or otherwise underserved small business; or (4) implements strong labor standards, including project labor agreements and community benefit agreements that include local hire provisions to promote effective and efficient delivery of high-quality infrastructure projects. (d) Regional distribution (1) In general In providing grants under this section, the Secretary shall select eligible recipients in each region served by the Economic Development Administration. (2) Regional amounts (A) In general Of the amounts made available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall allocate an amount for each region served by the Economic Development Administration in an amount equal to the proportion that— (i) the average employment in the leisure and hospitality sectors in a region for fiscal years 2015 through 2019; bears to (ii) the total employment and gross domestic product in such region for such fiscal years. (B) Special rule (i) In general In cases in which the data described in subparagraph (A) is not available for a territory in a region, the Secretary shall establish an allocation amount for such region using any other data that the Secretary determines reliably measures the impact of tourism, hospitality, and special events on the economy of such region. (ii) Limitation In establishing an allocation amount under clause (i) to account for unavailable data for a territory in a region, the Secretary may establish an allocation amount for such region that is not more than 10 percent higher than the amount that would be allocated for such region pursuant to the formula described in subparagraph (A). (3) Grant amount The Secretary shall determine the amount of each grant provided to an eligible recipient in a region served by the Economic Development Administration based on the allocation for such region under paragraph (2). (e) Authorization of appropriations Of the amounts made available pursuant to section 701(a) for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, $100,000,000 shall be made available to carry out this section. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Outdoor recreation The term outdoor recreation means all recreational activities undertaken for pleasure that— (A) involve some level of intentional physical exertion; and (B) occur in outdoor nature-based environments. (2) Public health emergency The term public health emergency means a public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ). (3) Tourism, hospitality, or special event activity The term tourism, hospitality, or special event activity means any economic activity that primarily serves to encourage recreational or business travel within the United States or from another country, including— (A) tourist attractions; and (B) venues that support conventions or entertainment events. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 3121 note) is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 218 (as amended by this Act) the following: Sec. 219. Travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation stabilization grants. .