Defense Community Investment Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7091 To amend title 10, United States Code, to codify and rename the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. HECK, and Mr. YOUNG) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to codify and rename the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Defense Community 4 Investment Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Office of Economic Adjustment, 8 through relationships with defense communities built 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7091 IH over the course of years, is uniquely situated and 1 technically staffed to effectively administer the Com- 2 munity Investment Program of the Department of 3 Defense and to help States and communities main- 4 tain strong relationships that address community 5 challenges while simultaneously supporting military 6 readiness. 7 (2) Installation readiness and resiliency does 8 not stop at the fence line, and often requires coordi- 9 nation and planning with other organizations of the 10 Department of Defense, the Armed Forces, other 11 Federal departments and agencies, and communities 12 surrounding military installations. 13 (3) The Community Investment Program en- 14 ables States and communities to organize, evaluate, 15 and plan for appropriate community investments 16 that support the sustainability, readiness, and 17 growth of a military mission at an installation by— 18 (A) addressing impacts that mission 19 growth may have on everything from housing, 20 schools, transportation, utilities, access to med- 21 ical services, and other public services; 22 (B) providing funding to construct, ren- 23 ovate, repair, or expand public schools located 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7091 IH on military installations to address capacity and 1 facility condition deficiencies; and 2 (C) improving accessibility and safety of 3 access to medical facilities for wounded war- 4 riors, veterans, staff, and all other eligible bene- 5 ficiaries. 6 (4) The Defense Community Infrastructure 7 Pilot Program authorizes the Secretary of Defense 8 to make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, 9 and provide supplemental funds to address defi- 10 ciencies in community infrastructure supportive of a 11 military installation. 12 (5) The Defense Manufacturing Communities 13 Program authorizes long-term investments by the 14 Secretary of Defense in critical skills, facilities, re- 15 search and development, and small business support 16 by designating and supporting consortiums in order 17 to strengthen national security innovation. 18 (6) The Office of Economic Adjustment con- 19 tinues to help communities affected by base realign- 20 ments and closures to address issues by assisting in 21 land use planning to respond to unanticipated envi- 22 ronmental contamination and the availability of new 23 parcels of land for redevelopment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7091 IH (7) Industry resilience projects support critical 1 military missions by building a more competitive and 2 resilient defense industrial base, creating closer civil- 3 ian-military partnerships, and promoting community 4 and economic development that support key military 5 missions, including by— 6 (A) promoting industry resilience, with 7 funding that helps protect critical production 8 capabilities and expand markets for defense 9 suppliers; 10 (B) enhancing military modernization, by 11 helping defense suppliers become more innova- 12 tive and invent, develop, and deploy techno- 13 logically superior products for the Armed 14 Forces; and 15 (C) preserving military readiness, by help- 16 ing communities, companies, and workers be- 17 come more agile and responsive to the fluid 18 military needs and requirements. 19 (8) The Military Installation Sustainability Pro- 20 gram of assistance provides technical and financial 21 assistance to States and local governments to ana- 22 lyze and implement actions necessary to foster, pro- 23 tect, and enhance military installation sustainability 24 that alleviates and prevents incompatible develop- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7091 IH ment and other manmade or natural threats to in- 1 stallation resiliency including— 2 (A) compatible use and joint land use stud- 3 ies; 4 (B) compatible use plans; and 5 (C) military installation resilience reviews. 6 (9) Reductions to the budget of the Office of 7 Economic Adjustment will adversely affect the de- 8 fense community missions the Office supports, harm 9 small businesses, impede efforts to rebuild schools 10 for children of members of the Armed Forces, and 11 compromise readiness and infrastructure resiliency 12 efforts. 13 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF DEFENSE COMMUNITY COOPERATION 14 AND ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 141 of title 10, 17 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 18 section 2391 the following new section: 19 ‘‘§ 2391a. Office of Defense Community Cooperation 20 and Economic Adjustment 21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Office of the 22 Secretary of Defense an Office of Defense Community Co- 23 operation and Economic Adjustment (in this section re- 24 ferred to as the ‘Office’). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7091 IH ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.—There is a Director of the 1 Office who shall be the head of the Office. The Director 2 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense. 3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 4 ‘‘(1) serve as the office in the Department of 5 Defense with primary responsibility for— 6 ‘‘(A) providing assistance to States, coun- 7 ties, municipalities, regions, and other commu- 8 nities to foster cooperation with military instal- 9 lations to enhance the military mission, achieve 10 facility and infrastructure savings and reduced 11 operating costs, address encroachment and 12 compatible land use issues, support military 13 families, and increase military, civilian, and in- 14 dustrial readiness and resiliency; and 15 ‘‘(B) providing adjustment and diversifica- 16 tion assistance to State and local governments 17 under section 2391(b) to achieve the objectives 18 described in subparagraph (A); 19 ‘‘(2) coordinate the provision of such assistance 20 with other organizations and elements of the De- 21 partment; 22 ‘‘(3) provide support to the Economic Adjust- 23 ment Committee established under Executive Order 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7091 IH 12788 (57 Fed. Reg. 2213; 10 U.S.C. 2391 note) or 1 any successor to such Committee; and 2 ‘‘(4) carry out such other activities as the Sec- 3 retary of Defense determines appropriate.’’. 4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 5 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 6 by inserting after the item relating to section 2391 7 the following new item: 8 ‘‘2391a. Office of Defense Community Cooperation and Economic Adjustment.’’. (b) TRANSFERS.—Not later than 180 days after the 9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 10 shall transfer the functions, personnel, and assets of the 11 Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of De- 12 fense to the Office of Defense Community Cooperation 13 and Economic Adjustment established under section 14 2391a of title 10, United States Code (as added by sub- 15 section (a)). 16 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—Be- 17 ginning on the effective date of the transfers under sub- 18 section (b), any program, project, or other activity admin- 19 istered by the Office of Economic Adjustment of the De- 20 partment of Defense as of the date of the enactment of 21 this Act shall be administered by the Office of Defense 22 Community Cooperation and Economic Adjustment estab- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7091 IH lished under section 2391a of title 10, United States Code 1 (as added by subsection (a)). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS