HEALING Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8946 To provide emergency relief assistance under a modified Community Develop- ment Block Grant program for communities facing economic damage from civil and social crises, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2020 Ms. OMAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To provide emergency relief assistance under a modified Community Development Block Grant program for com- munities facing economic damage from civil and social crises, 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 ‘‘Holistic Economic Aid 4 for Low-Income Neighborhood Growth Act of 2020’’ or 5 the ‘‘HEALING Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 It is the sense of the Congress that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8946 IH (1) funds made available under the Community 1 Development Block Grant Program (‘‘CDBG’’) 2 should be used principally for low- and moderate-in- 3 come neighborhoods and can be used for community 4 revitalization in areas affected by social and civil un- 5 rest during 2020; 6 (2) CDBG funding must target historically 7 disinvested communities of color that have suffered 8 from long-standing systemic issues of racial injustice 9 and economic inequality; 10 (3) minority-serving institutions should be 11 prioritized in receiving and administering economic 12 development grants for their communities; 13 (4) economic activities carried out using CDBG 14 funds should be refocused on the implementation of 15 direct anti-poverty programming with evidence of ef- 16 fectiveness, such as food security initiatives and 17 basic income pilots, acquisition and rehabilitation of 18 affordable housing, improvement to public facilities, 19 including health centers, provision of public services, 20 restoration of natural areas and other conservation 21 efforts, and construction of clean energy infrastruc- 22 ture; 23 (5) minority-owned businesses should be 24 prioritized in receiving business development grants 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8946 IH to renovate their properties and create financial op- 1 portunities for their communities; and 2 (6) CDBG business activities should be re- 3 focused on assisting private, for-profit businesses 4 that pursue job creation and retention efforts 5 through the employment of low- and moderate-in- 6 come persons, adopt environmentally sustainable 7 practices to offer affordable goods and services to 8 low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and pro- 9 vide economic and technical assistance to other busi- 10 nesses based in low- and moderate-income areas. 11 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Housing 14 and Urban Development $11,000,000,000 for fiscal year 15 2021 for providing assistance under this Act. 16 (b) NON-BUSINESS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 17 FUNDING.—Of any amounts made available pursuant to 18 subsection (a), 77 percent shall be available for assistance 19 under section 4 for community revitalization and economic 20 development activities. 21 (c) CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND- 22 ING.—Of any amounts made available pursuant to sub- 23 section (a), 23 percent shall be available for assistance 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8946 IH under section 5 for business recovery and renovation ac- 1 tivities. 2 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDING.—Of any amounts 3 available pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of 4 Housing and Urban Development may use not more than 5 1 percent for costs of administering the program under 6 this Act. 7 (e) TERMINATION OF FUNDS.—Upon the expiration 8 of the 2-year period beginning upon the date of the enact- 9 ment of this Act, any programming and rulemaking asso- 10 ciated with the program shall expire. 11 SEC. 4. NON-BUSINESS GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY REVITAL- 12 IZATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 13 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall use 14 amounts made available to carry out this section to make 15 grants to States, units of general local government, Indian 16 Tribes, insular areas, and eligible institutions serving or 17 owned by minorities for use to carry out eligible non-busi- 18 ness activities under subsection (e) in low- and moderate- 19 income areas. 20 (b) RESERVATION OF FUNDING.—Of any amounts 21 made available to carry out this section, the Secretary 22 shall reserve for grants under this section— 23 (1) 76 percent for allocation in accordance with 24 subsection (c)(1); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8946 IH (2) 18 percent for allocation for minority-owned 1 and minority-serving entities in accordance with sub- 2 section (c)(2); and 3 (3) 6 percent for allocation for Indian Tribes 4 and insular areas in accordance with subsection 5 (c)(3). 6 (c) ALLOCATIONS.— 7 (1) ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITIES AND NON- 8 ENTITLEMENT AREAS.—Of the amount allocated 9 under subsection (b)(1)— 10 (A) 70 percent shall be allocated for enti- 11 tlement communities in accordance with the 12 formula under section 106(b) of the Housing 13 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 14 U.S.C. 5306(b)); and 15 (B) 30 percent shall be allocated to States, 16 for use in nonentitlement areas, in accordance 17 with the formula under section 106(d)(1) of the 18 Housing and Community Development Act of 19 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 20 (2) COMPETITIVE AWARDS TO MINORITY- 21 OWNED ENTITIES.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Hous- 23 ing and Urban Development shall allocate the 24 amount allocated under subsection (b)(3) di- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8946 IH rectly and on a competitive basis for grants to 1 eligible minority-owned entities and minority- 2 serving entities. 3 (B) COMPETITION.—Allocation for non- 4 business grants under this paragraph shall be 5 made pursuant to a competition for such 6 grants, as the Secretary shall provide, that— 7 (i) takes into account the need for 8 grant assistance for the area in which, and 9 for the activities for which the grant 10 amounts will be used; and 11 (ii) provides grant amount only to ap- 12 plicants who will carry out activities as- 13 sisted with such grant amounts only in 14 low- and moderate-income areas. 15 (C) CDBG SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS.— 16 Of the amount allocated under subsection 17 (b)(2), not less than 33 percent shall be allo- 18 cated for grants under this section for minority- 19 serving entities. 20 (D) VOUCHER PROGRAM.—The Secretary 21 shall take such actions as may be necessary to 22 ensure that grants under this paragraph are ac- 23 cessible to newer and smaller minority-owned 24 entities and ensure that technical assistance is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8946 IH prioritized and provided to organizations with 1 little or no grant-writing capacity. 2 (3) COMPETITIVE AWARDS TO INDIAN TRIBES 3 AND INSULAR AREAS.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Hous- 5 ing and Urban Development shall allocate for 6 grants to Indian Tribes and insular areas on a 7 competitive basis the amount allocated under 8 subsection (b)(4). 9 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In making alloca- 10 tions under this paragraph, the Secretary shall, 11 to the greatest extent practicable, ensure that 12 each Indian Tribe and each insular area that 13 satisfies low- to moderate-income requirements 14 and unmet need criteria, as determined by the 15 Secretary, receives such an allocation. 16 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall monitor 17 the reporting requirements and disclosures of allocated ex- 18 penditures as set forth in section 6(e), to coordinate with 19 grantees and subgrantees to ensure there are no overpay- 20 ments or duplication of benefits. 21 (e) ELIGIBLE NON-BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.— 22 (1) PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.—Amounts from a 23 grant under this section may be used by a grantee 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8946 IH or subgrantee only for activities specified under 1 paragraph (2) that— 2 (A) principally benefit households having 3 incomes that do not exceed 50 percent of the 4 median income of the area in which such house- 5 holds reside; 6 (B) aid in the prevention or elimination of 7 slums or blight primarily for severely economi- 8 cally distressed communities (as such term is 9 defined in section 610 of the National and 10 Community Service Act of 199 (42 U.S.C. 11 12645d)), and historically disinvested commu- 12 nities, including high-poverty areas (as such 13 term is defined in section 681.260 of title 20, 14 Code of Federal Regulations) and persistent 15 poverty counties (as such term is defined in the 16 Department of Agriculture notice entitled ‘‘Im- 17 plementation of Certain Provisions of Consoli- 18 dated Appropriations Act, 2020 Specific to Per- 19 sistent Poverty Counties’’ [Docket No. RBS– 20 20–BUSINESS–0033], published in the Fed- 21 eral Register on August 21, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 22 51676)); or 23 (C) reduce the isolation and inequality of 24 income groups within communities and geo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8946 IH graphical areas and the promotion of an in- 1 crease in the diversity and vitality of neighbor- 2 hoods through the spatial deconcentration of 3 housing opportunities for persons of lower in- 4 come and the revitalization of deteriorating or 5 deteriorated neighborhoods; 6 (D) conserve and expand the housing stock 7 in order to provide a decent home and a suit- 8 able living environment for all persons, but 9 principally those of low and moderate income, 10 and expand the number of community land 11 trust, cooperative, municipal, and public hous- 12 ing units as a ratio of total housing stock; 13 (E) expand and enhance the quantity and 14 quality of community services, principally for 15 persons of low and moderate income, that are 16 evidenced-based and essential for sound commu- 17 nity development and for the development of 18 viable urban communities; 19 (F) improve the rational utilization of land 20 and other natural resources and the better ar- 21 rangement of residential, commercial, indus- 22 trial, recreational, and other needed activity 23 centers, including parks, green spaces, and 24 walking trails; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8946 IH (G) conserve scarce energy resources, im- 1 prove energy efficiency, or provide alternative 2 and renewable energy sources, especially for en- 3 vironmental justice communities that have 4 harmful environmental quality issues; 5 (H) restore and preserve properties of spe- 6 cial value for historic, architectural, or esthetic 7 reasons; 8 (I) alleviate the physical and economic dis- 9 tress through the stimulation of private invest- 10 ment and community revitalization in areas 11 with population outmigration or a stagnating or 12 declining tax base; 13 (J) meet an urgent need by addressing 14 economic conditions that pose a serious and im- 15 mediate threat to the health and safety of resi- 16 dents; or 17 (K) prevent, prepare for, or respond to 18 coronavirus, based on public health needs, risk 19 of transmission of coronavirus, number of 20 coronavirus cases compared to the national av- 21 erage, and economic and housing market dis- 22 ruptions, and other factors. 23 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Activities specified under this 24 subsection are as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8946 IH (A) CDBG ACTIVITIES.—Except as pro- 1 vided in paragraph (3)(C) of this subsection, 2 any activity that is eligible for assistance under 3 section 105(a) of the Housing and Community 4 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)). 5 (B) CDBG SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS AC- 6 TIVITIES.—Any activity that is eligible for as- 7 sistance under section 107 of such Act (42 8 U.S.C. 5307). 9 (C) CASH RELIEF FOR AFFECTED HOUSE- 10 HOLDS.—Direct income payments by States or 11 units of general local government to households 12 having incomes that do not exceed 200 percent 13 of the Federal poverty level, provided that such 14 payments otherwise comply with subsection (a) 15 of this section. 16 (D) HISTORICAL ARCHIVING.—Activities to 17 conserve art, construct monuments, and pre- 18 serve memorials of contemporary civil rights 19 struggles, such as the George Floyd Memorial 20 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 21 (E) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Technical 22 assistance and outreach activities by grantees to 23 expand and diversify subgrantees funded with 24 amounts provided under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8946.IH H8946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8946 IH (F) INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES BY MINORITY- 1 OWNED ACTIVITIES.—Any activity that— 2 (i) is proposed by a grantee and ap- 3 proved by the Secretary; and 4 (ii) complies with subsection (a) of 5 this section. 6 (3) PROHIBITIONS.—Amounts from a grant 7 under this section may not be used to provide assist- 8 ance for— 9 (A) any law enforcement agency or to sup- 10 port or assist any law enforcement activities; 11 (B) any discriminatory conduct or pro- 12 gramming, as prohibited by section 109(a) of 13 the Housing and Community Development Act 14 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5309(a)); 15 (C) any business support activity described 16 in section 105(a)(17) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 17 5305(a)(17)) or any other activity for business 18 development or business support; or 19 (D) any ineligible activity described in sec- 20 tion 570.207 of the Secretary [Text truncated for display. 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