[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5654 Introduced in House (IH)]






107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5654

 To enhance the capacity of organizations working in the United States-
 Mexico border region to develop affordable housing and infrastructure 
          and to foster economic opportunity in the colonias.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 16, 2002

  Mr. Bonilla (for himself, Mr. Pastor, and Mr. Ortiz) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
   Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, 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 enhance the capacity of organizations working in the United States-
 Mexico border region to develop affordable housing and infrastructure 
          and to foster economic opportunity in the colonias.

    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 ``Colonias Gateway Initiative Act''.

SEC. 2. COLONIAS GATEWAY INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--To the extent amounts are made available to carry 
out this section, the Secretary may make grants under this section to 
one or more regional organizations to enhance the availability of 
affordable housing, economic opportunity, and infrastructure in the 
colonias.
    (b) Grants.--Grants under this section may be made only to regional 
organizations selected pursuant to subsection (c). After an 
organization has been selected pursuant to subsection (c) to receive a 
grant under this section, the Secretary may provide grants to such 
organization in subsequent fiscal years, subject to subsection (e).
    (c) Selection of Regional Organizations.--The Secretary shall 
select one or more regional organizations that submit applications for 
grants under this section to receive such grants. The selection shall 
be made pursuant to a competition, which shall consider the applicant's 
proposed work plan under subsection (e) and shall be based upon 
criteria that reflect the purposes of this section. Such criteria shall 
include a demonstration of the extent to which the applicant 
organization has the capacity to--
            (1) enhance the availability of affordable housing, 
        economic opportunity, and infrastructure in the colonias by 
        carrying out the eligible activities set forth in subsection 
        (f);
            (2) provide assistance in each State in which colonias are 
        located;
            (3) form partnerships with the public and private sectors 
        and local and regional housing and economic development 
        intermediaries to leverage and coordinate additional resources 
        to achieve the purposes of this section;
            (4) ensure accountability to the residents of the colonias 
        through active and ongoing outreach to, and consultation with, 
        residents and local governments; and
            (5) meet such other criteria as the Secretary may specify.
    (d) Advisory Board.--
            (1) Membership.--The Secretary shall appoint an Advisory 
        Board that shall consist of nine members, who shall include--
                    (A) one individual from each State in which 
                colonias are located;
                    (B) four individuals who are members of non-profit 
                or private sector organizations having substantial 
                investments in the colonias, at least one of whom is a 
                member of such a private sector organization; and
                    (C) one individual who is a resident of a colonia.
            (2) Chairperson.--The Secretary shall designate a member of 
        the Advisory Board as Chairperson.
            (3) Term.--Advisory Board members shall be appointed for 
        two year terms that shall be renewable at the discretion of the 
        Secretary.
            (4) Compensation.--Advisory Board members shall serve 
        without compensation, but the Secretary may provide members 
        with travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, in accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of title 
        5, United States Code.
            (5) Functions.--The Advisory Board shall--
                    (A) assist any regional organization that receives 
                a grant under this section in the development and 
                implementation of its final work plan under subsection 
                (e);
                    (B) review and approve all final work plans;
                    (C) assist the Secretary in monitoring and 
                evaluating the performance of any regional organization 
                in implementing its final work plan; and
                    (D) provide such other assistance as the Secretary 
                may request.
    (e) Work Plans.--
            (1) Application.--Each regional organization applying for a 
        grant under this section shall include in its application a 
        proposed work plan.
            (2) Annual submission.--To be eligible to continue receive 
        annual grants under this section after selection pursuant to 
        subsection (c), a regional organization shall, on an annual 
        basis after such selection and subject to the Secretary's 
        determination to continue to provide grant amounts to such 
        regional organization, submit a proposed work plan to the 
        Advisory Board and the Secretary for review and approval.
            (3) Final work plan.--In any fiscal year, including the 
        fiscal year in which any regional organization is selected 
        pursuant to subsection (c), prior to final determination and 
        allocation of specific grant amounts, each selected regional 
        organization shall, with the assistance of the Advisory Board, 
        develop a final work plan that thoroughly describes how the 
        regional organization will use specific grant amounts to carry 
        out its functions under this section, which shall include the 
        following:
                    (A) A description of outcome measures and other 
                baseline information to be used to monitor success in 
                promoting affordable housing, economic opportunity, and 
                infrastructure in the colonias.
                    (B) An account of how the regional organization 
                will strengthen the coordination of existing resources 
                used to assist residents of the colonias, and how the 
                regional organization will leverage additional public 
                and private resources to complement such existing 
                resources.
                    (C) An explanation, in part, of the effects that 
                implementation of the work plan will have on areas in 
                and around colonias.
                    (D) Such assurances as the Secretary may require 
                that grant amounts will be used in a manner that 
                results in assistance and investments for colonias in 
                each State containing colonias, in accordance with 
                requirements that the Advisory and the Secretary may 
                establish that provide for a minimum level of such 
                investment and assistance as a condition of the 
                approval of the work plans.
            (4) Approval.--No grant amounts under this section for a 
        fiscal year may be provided to a regional organization until 
        the Secretary approves the final work plan of the organization, 
        including a specific grant amount for the organization. In 
        determining whether to approve a final work plan, the Secretary 
        shall consider whether the Advisory Board approved the plan. To 
        the extent that the Advisory Board or the Secretary does not 
        approve a work plan, the Advisory Board or the Secretary shall, 
        to the maximum extent practicable, assist the selected regional 
        organization that submitted the plan to develop an approvable 
        plan.
    (f) Eligible Activities.--Grant amounts under this section may be 
used only to carry out the following eligible activities to benefit the 
colonias:
            (1) Coordination of public, private, and community-based 
        resources and the use of grant amounts to leverage such 
        resources.
            (2) Technical assistance and capacity building, including 
        training, business planning and investment advice, and the 
        development of marketing and strategic investment plans.
            (3) Initial and early-stage investments in activities to 
        provide--
                    (A) housing, infrastructure, and economic 
                development;
                    (B) housing counseling and financial education, 
                including counseling and education about avoiding 
                predatory lending; and
                    (C) access to financial services for residents of 
                colonias.
            (4) Development of comprehensive, regional, socioeconomic, 
        and other data, and the establishment of a centralized 
        information resource, to facilitate strategic planning and 
        investments.
            (5) Administrative and planning costs of any regional 
        organization in carrying out this section, except that the 
        Secretary may limit the amount of grant funds used for such 
        costs.
            (6) Such other activities as the Secretary deems 
        appropriate to carry out this section.
    (g) Grant Agreements.--A grant under this section shall be made 
only pursuant to a grant agreement between the Secretary and a regional 
organization selected under this section.
    (h) Termination and Recapture.--If the Secretary determines that a 
regional organization awarded a grant under this section has not 
substantially fulfilled its obligations under its final work plan or 
grant agreement, the Secretary shall terminate the regional 
organization's participation under this section, and shall recapture 
any unexpended grant amounts.
    (i) Details From Other Agencies.--Upon request of any selected 
regional organization that has an approved work plan, the head of any 
Federal agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 
personnel of such agency to that regional organization to assist it in 
carrying out its duties under this section.
    (j) Environmental Review.--For purposes of environmental review, 
projects assisted by grant amounts under this section shall be treated 
as special projects that are subject to section 305(c) of the 
Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
3547), and shall be subject to regulations issued by the Secretary to 
implement such section.
    (k) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``colonia'' means any identifiable community 
        that--
                    (A) is located in the State of Arizona, California, 
                New Mexico, or Texas;
                    (B) is located in the United States-Mexico border 
                region;
                    (C) is determined to be a colonia on the basis of 
                objective criteria, including lack of potable water 
                supply, lack of adequate sewage systems, and lack of 
                decent, safe, and sanitary housing; and
                    (D) was in existence and generally recognized as a 
                colonia before the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) The term ``regional organization'' means a nonprofit 
        organization or a consortium of nonprofit organizations with 
        the capacity to serve colonias.
            (3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing 
        and Urban Development.
            (4) The term ``United States-Mexico border region'' means 
        the area of the United States within 150 miles of the border 
        between the United States and Mexico, except that such term 
        does not include any standard metropolitan statistical area 
        that has a population exceeding 1,000,000.
    (l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through 
2009.
    (m) Sunset.--No new grants may be provided under this section after 
September 30, 2009.
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