[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7220 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7220

   To establish in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the 
    Department of Homeland Security an EB-5 Regional Center Program 
                          Advisory Committee.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2024

Mr. Stanton (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Gooden of 
    Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the 
    Department of Homeland Security an EB-5 Regional Center Program 
                          Advisory Committee.

    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 ``EB-5 Regional Center Program 
Advisory Committee Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    Subtitle E of title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 463. EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services an EB-5 Regional Center Program 
Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee shall be terminated upon 
adjudication of all benefits filed under section 203(b)(5) and 216A of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act from time to time or any other 
public law implementing the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
    ``(b) Duties.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall advise, 
        consult with, report to, and make recommendations to the 
        Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding 
        the EB-5 Regional Center Program.
            ``(2) Recommendations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall 
                develop recommendations for improvements to the EB-5 
                Regional Center Program within U.S. Citizenship and 
                Immigration Services.
                    ``(B) Recommendations of subcommittees.--
                Recommendations agreed upon by the subcommittees 
                established under subsection (d) for any year shall be 
                approved by a majority of the Advisory Committee before 
                the Advisory Committee submits to the Director the 
                annual report under paragraph (4) for that year. The 
                Advisory Committee shall not make any petition or case-
                specific recommendations to the program under section 
                203(b)(5) and section 216A of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act.
            ``(3) Periodic reports.--The Advisory Committee shall 
        annually, or when deemed necessary by a majority of the 
        Advisory Committee members, submit to the Director--
                    ``(A) reports on matters identified by the 
                Director; or
                    ``(B) reports on other matters identified by a 
                majority of the members of the Advisory Committee.
            ``(4) Annual report.--The Advisory Committee shall submit 
        to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Director an annual 
        report providing information on the activities, findings, and 
        recommendations of the Advisory Committee, including its 
        subcommittees, for the preceding fiscal year. Not later than 
        six months after the date that the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security and the Director receives an annual report for a year, 
        the Director shall publish a public version of the report 
        describing the activities of the Advisory Committee and such 
        related matters as would be informative to the public during 
        that year.
            ``(5) Congressional notification.--For each fiscal quarter 
        beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
        Director shall provide to the Committees on the Judiciary, and 
        the Committees on Appropriations a briefing on the activities 
        of the Advisory Committee.
            ``(6) Conformity with the eb-5 reform and integrity act of 
        2022.--Nothing in this section may be construed to violate or 
        be inconsistent with section 107 of the EB-5 Reform and 
        Integrity Act of 2022.
    ``(c) Membership.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security shall appoint the members of the 
                Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of 
                Federal, State, local and Tribal Governments and EB-5 
                regional centers in good standing representing projects 
                from diverse geographies and diverse project types.
                    ``(B) Composition.--The membership of the Advisory 
                Committee shall consist of not more than 35 members, 
                each of whom represent a category referred to in 
                subparagraph (C)(i). The member shall be considered the 
                appointed regional center or governmental agency, and 
                the member shall appoint, subject to Secretary 
                approval, the individual that represents such regional 
                center or governmental agency.
                    ``(C) Representation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Regional centers members 
                        shall be appointed only from regional centers 
                        in good standing and operating under the EB-5 
                        Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, 
                        notwithstanding any lapse or termination of the 
                        EB-5 Regional Center Program, and each regional 
                        center member shall represent a regional center 
                        that has submitted petitions to sponsor no 
                        fewer than two projects in the same regional 
                        center category pursuant to clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Representation categories.--Regional 
                        center members shall include at least two from 
                        each of the following categories:
                                    ``(I) Regional Center--High 
                                unemployment area.
                                    ``(II) Regional Center--Rural.
                                    ``(III) Regional Center--
                                Infrastructure.
                                    ``(IV) Regional Center--Census 
                                Region Northeast.
                                    ``(V) Regional Center--Census 
                                Region South.
                                    ``(VI) Regional Center--Census 
                                Region Midwest.
                                    ``(VII) Regional Center--Census 
                                Region West.
                            ``(iii) Additional representation.--
                        Representatives shall, in addition, include at 
                        least one from each of the following 
                        categories:
                                    ``(I) Mayor--City, large; Territory 
                                inside Urbanized Area and inside a 
                                Principal City with population of 
                                250,000 or more.
                                    ``(II) Mayor--City, midsize; 
                                Territory inside Urbanized Area and 
                                inside a Principal City with population 
                                less than 250,000 and greater than or 
                                equal to 100,000.
                                    ``(III) Mayor--City, small; 
                                Territory inside Urbanized Area and 
                                inside a Principal City with population 
                                less thank 100,000.
                                    ``(IV) County Economic Development 
                                Officer--Urbanized Area.
                                    ``(V) County Economic Development 
                                Officer--Urban Place Outside of 
                                Urbanized Area.
                                    ``(VI) County Economic Development 
                                Officer--Rural Place.
                                    ``(VII) State Economic Development 
                                Officer.
                                    ``(VIII) Department of State, ex 
                                officio.
                                    ``(IX) Department of Commerce, ex 
                                officio.
                                    ``(X) Trade association 
                                representing no fewer than 50 EB-5 
                                regional centers.
                                    ``(XI) Other relevant fields 
                                identified by the Director.
                            ``(iv) Prohibition.--The Advisory Committee 
                        shall include at least two members from each 
                        category under clause (ii) but not exceed three 
                        members from any one category.
            ``(2) Term of office.--
                    ``(A) Terms.--The term of each member of the 
                Advisory Committee shall be two years, but a member may 
                continue to serve, notwithstanding any term limit, 
                until a successor is appointed. In the event that an 
                individual representing the member is no longer 
                associated with the member, the member shall appoint, 
                subject to Secretary of Homeland Security approval, a 
                new individual to serve the remaining term of such 
                member.
                    ``(B) Removal.--The Director may review the 
                participation of a member of the Advisory Committee and 
                remove such member for cause at any time, after 
                notifying the Secretary of Homeland Security.
                    ``(C) Reappointment.--A member of the Advisory 
                Committee may be reappointed for a maximum of 6 
                consecutive terms.
            ``(3) Prohibition on compensation.--The members of the 
        Advisory Committee may not receive pay or benefits from the 
        United States Government by reason of their service on the 
        Advisory Committee, other than pay and benefits for Federal 
        employees serving on the Advisory Committee that are incident 
        to their Federal employment.
            ``(4) Meetings.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director shall require the 
                Advisory Committee to meet at least quarterly, and may 
                convene additional meetings as necessary.
                    ``(B) Public meetings.--At least one of the 
                meetings referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be open 
                to the public.
                    ``(C) Attendance.--The Advisory Committee shall 
                maintain a record of the persons present at each 
                meeting.
            ``(5) Chairperson.--The Advisory Committee shall select, 
        from among the members of the Advisory Committee--
                    ``(A) a member to serve, for a term of 4 years, as 
                chairperson of the Advisory Committee; and
                    ``(B) a member to serve as chairperson of each 
                subcommittee of the Advisory Committee established 
                under subsection (d).
    ``(d) Subcommittees.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director and the Advisory Committee 
        shall establish subcommittees within the Advisory Committee to 
        address EB-5 Regional Center Program issues, including the 
        following:
                    ``(A) Administration, including--
                            ``(i) agency staffing;
                            ``(ii) petition processing times;
                            ``(iii) improved communication between the 
                        Agency and EB-5 Regional Center stakeholders;
                            ``(iv) fraud prevention; and
                            ``(v) compliance with securities laws.
                    ``(B) Impact, including--
                            ``(i) job creation and job retention; and
                            ``(ii) capital investment.
                    ``(C) Policy, subject to applicable requirements 
                under law, including--
                            ``(i) legislative interpretation and 
                        specific policies and guidelines of U.S. 
                        Citizenship and Immigration Services relevant 
                        to the EB-5 Regional Center Program;
                            ``(ii) policymaking procedures outside of 
                        formal legislative or regulatory rule-making 
                        processes;
                            ``(iii) regulations;
                            ``(iv) financial structuring of 
                        investments; and
                            ``(v) source of funds issues.
                    ``(D) Other such issues relevant to the EB-5 
                Regional Center Program and requested by members of the 
                Advisory Committee.
            ``(2) Additional subcommittees.--In addition to the 
        subcommittees established pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
        Advisory Committee chairperson, in coordination with the 
        Director, shall establish within the Advisory Committee such 
        additional subcommittees that the majority of the Advisory 
        Committee determine to be necessary.
            ``(3) Meetings and reporting.--Each subcommittee shall meet 
        at least quarterly, and at least once in-person annually, and 
        submit to the Advisory Committee for inclusion in the annual 
        report required under subsection (b)(4) information, including 
        activities, findings, and recommendations, regarding subject 
        matter considered by the subcommittee.
            ``(4) Subject matter experts.--The chair of the Advisory 
        Committee shall appoint members to subcommittees.
    ``(e) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee and its 
subcommittees.''.
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