BRIDGE Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1701 To promote exports of goods and services from and facilitation of business investment in rural areas of the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2021 Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia (for herself and Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To promote exports of goods and services from and facilita- tion of business investment in rural areas of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Building Rural Invest- 4 ments, Development, and Growth for the Economy Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘BRIDGE Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS RELATING TO ATTRACTING BUSINESS IN- 7 VESTMENT AND EXPORT PROMOTION. 8 Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1701.IH H1701 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1701 IH (1) Business investment in the United States 1 by both domestic and foreign firms, whether in the 2 form of new equipment or facilities or the expansion 3 of existing facilities, is a major engine of economic 4 growth and job creation. Increasing exports from 5 and investment in rural areas will expand the United 6 States economy and create United States jobs. 7 (2) Rural areas often have greater challenges in 8 attracting business investment, especially because 9 rural areas do not always have economic develop- 10 ment organizations to advance their local economic 11 interests. When a rural area does have a local eco- 12 nomic development organization, it may not have the 13 capacity or funding to compete effectively with larg- 14 er rivals worldwide. 15 (3) Due to their geographic location, rural 16 United States businesses often have limited access to 17 information and services that facilitate export suc- 18 cess. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1701.IH H1701 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1701 IH SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES 1 FROM AND FACILITATION OF BUSINESS IN- 2 VESTMENT IN RURAL AREAS OF THE UNITED 3 STATES. 4 The Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5 4701 note) is amended by inserting after section 2306 the 6 following new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 2306A. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS OF GOODS AND 8 SERVICES FROM AND FACILITATION OF BUSI- 9 NESS INVESTMENT IN RURAL AREAS OF THE 10 UNITED STATES. 11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce and 12 the Secretary of State shall promote the export of goods 13 and services from rural areas of the United States, par- 14 ticularly by small businesses and medium-sized businesses, 15 and shall facilitate business investment in the United 16 States, particularly in rural areas. 17 ‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO CHAMPIONING AMERICAN 18 BUSINESS THROUGH DIPLOMACY ACT.—The Secretary of 19 Commerce and the Secretary of State shall carry out sub- 20 section (a) in a manner consistent with the purposes of 21 the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy 22 Act (22 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.). 23 ‘‘(c) RURAL AREA DEFINED.—In this section the 24 term ‘rural area’ means an area with a population of less 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1701.IH H1701 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1701 IH than 50,000 inhabitants that is outside an urbanized area, 1 as determined by the most recent decennial census.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1701.IH H1701 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS