[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4371 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4371

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to make noninterest bearing loans 
   to State and local governments solely for the purpose of funding 
               capital projects, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2004

 Mr. LaHood (for himself, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. LaTourette, 
  Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Hinchey, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Manzullo, and Mr. 
    Quinn) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to make noninterest bearing loans 
   to State and local governments solely for the purpose of funding 
               capital projects, and for other purposes.

    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 ``State and Local Government Economic 
Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR INTEREST-FREE 
              LOANS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), each State, county, 
incorporated municipality, and Indian tribe shall be entitled to obtain 
a loan under section 3, unless such unit of government is delinquent in 
repaying a prior loan.
    (b) Maximum Amount Limitation.--The total amount of money to which 
any entity described in subsection (a) is entitled to borrow under this 
section shall not exceed the amount equal to the product of--
            (1) the resident population, as determined by the Secretary 
        on the basis of the 2000 census, of the geographic territory 
        over which the entity has jurisdiction; and
            (2) the amount equal to--
                    (A) in the case of a State, $200;
                    (B) in the case of a county (as defined in section 
                2 of title 1, United States Code), $200;
                    (C) in the case of an incorporated municipality, 
                $600; and
                    (D) in the case of an Indian tribe, $1,000.

SEC. 3. INTEREST-FREE LOANS.

    Subject to sections 2(b) and 4, the Secretary shall issue an 
interest-free loan to any government unit described in section 2(a) if 
the Secretary obtains such assurances as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate from the unit that the proceeds of such loan will be used 
solely for the purpose of funding capital projects of the governmental 
unit, including the construction of or improvements to--
            (1) streets, highways, bridges, and tunnels;
            (2) waste water and sewer systems; and
            (3) infrastructure and other public facilities.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Disbursement Requirements.--Loans made under section 3 shall be 
disbursed by the Secretary--
            (1) in a lump sum for the full amount of the loan; or
            (2) if the Secretary determines that partial disbursements 
        are appropriate in the case of loans for construction projects 
        in order to accommodate a greater number of loan requests, over 
        the construction period of the project.
    (b) Minimum Phase-In Period.--Disbursements on all eligible loans 
made under section 3 shall begin before the end of the 5-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Period to Maturity.--The period to maturity of any loan made 
under section 3 shall be the estimated number of years of the useful 
life of the infrastructure installation (if any) which is financed by 
the loan, but, in any case, shall be a minimum of 10 years and a 
maximum of 30 years.
    (d) Applicability of State Law.--The number or the principal 
amounts of interest-free loans made under section 3 to any governmental 
unit established by a State, or the period to maturity of any such 
loan, may not exceed the maximum number, amount, or period to maturity 
established under the law of such State, unless the State provides a 
waiver from any such limitation with respect to any such governmental 
unit.
    (e) Administrative Fees.--The Secretary shall impose an 
administrative fee on each recipient of a loan under section 3 in an 
amount not to exceed the lesser of--
            (1) 0.25 percent of the total amount of the loan; or
            (2) an amount sufficient to cover all administrative costs 
        incurred by the Secretary, including overhead, for making and 
        administering the loan.
    (f) Terms of Repayment.--The repayment terms of any loan made under 
section 3 shall require quarterly payments by the recipient in equal 
amounts determined by dividing--
            (1) the sum of the principal and the administrative fees 
        applicable with respect to such loan; by
            (2) the number of calendar quarters any portion of which 
        falls within the period to maturity of the loan.
    (g) Collections of Past Due Amounts and Collection Fees.--
            (1) Enforced collections.--The Secretary shall take action 
        to enforce collection of past due amounts of any loan on which 
        4 or more quarterly payments are due and payable.
            (2) Impoundment of delinquent amount.--In the case of any 
        delinquent loan described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may 
        seek an order from a district court of the United States of 
        appropriate jurisdiction directing a United States Marshall to 
        impound, under authority of this subsection, any available 
        funds of the debtor in an amount equal to the amount currently 
        due as of the date of such action to reduce or eliminate the 
        delinquency.
            (3) Waiver of debtor's right to defend against 
        collection.--As a condition for receiving any loan under 
        section 3, the recipient shall waive any right to take any 
        legal action to prevent or defend against the collection by the 
        Secretary of any amount which the parties agree is past due.
            (4) Cost of collection.--The costs incurred by the 
        Secretary in collecting any amount under this subsection with 
        respect to any loan shall be added to and treated as a part of 
        the principal amount of the loan.
            (5) Balance of loan principal and fees payable in 
        accordance with terms of loan.--A debtor who is subject to 
        collection proceedings under this subsection for any delinquent 
        portion of a loan under section 3 shall continue to meet the 
        repayment schedule applicable to such loan for the remaining 
        amount of principal and fees.
    (h) Repayment of Loans.--Loans made under section 3 shall be repaid 
to the Secretary in accordance with the terms established under this 
Act and shall be deposited into the Treasury of the United States.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' means any 
        Indian tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or other organized group or 
        community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or 
        village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to 
        the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as 
        eligible for the special programs and services provided by the 
        United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of 
        Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
        Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.

SEC. 6. PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

    In accordance with the provisions of this Act, there are hereby 
made available, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to make loans to all 
entities described in section 2(a).
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