[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 126 (Tuesday, September 25, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2001 (H.R. 2941)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 25, 2001

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, last Friday, I 
introduced the ``Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act of 2001 
(H.R. 2941).''
  I would like to thank my colleagues U.S. Representative Maloney, 
Chairman Mike Oxley and Chairwoman Marge Roukema for joining me in 
supporting this important measure.
  The biggest barrier that cities and communities face when trying to 
acquire and redevelop contaminated ``Brownfields'' properties is their 
lack of access to adequate and affordable capital to carry out critical 
activities including site assessment, remediation planning, cleanup and 
initial redevelopment activities.
  This legislation is designed to facilitate the provision of 
assistance by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 
cleanup and economic development of Brownfields.
  For nearly 25 years, HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee program has 
encouraged local economic development by giving cities access to the 
up-front financing needed for key site preparation and infrastructure 
projects that make an area ready for revitalization. This bill would, 
in essence, improve the ability of local governments to use HUD's 
Section 108 Loan Guarantee program and the Brownfields Economic 
Development Initiative (BEDI) program to address Brownfields projects 
by recognizing one of the new realities of the redevelopment process--
that environmental evaluation and cleanup activities have become a 
necessary part of the process for reusing old, often abandoned sites, 
and that the public sector frequently must jump start that process.
  This legislation will modify HUD's existing Section 108 Loan 
Guarantee program to make it a more flexible and usable tool for 
Brownfields projects and provide BEDI grant funding in a more flexible 
form.
  First, it authorizes, for the first time ever, appropriations 
specifically for the BEDI program, to clarify through the conventional 
authorization and appropriation process that Brownfields redevelopment 
assistance is a congressional priority. The authorization of such sums 
as may be necessary is for fiscal years 2002-4. This 3-year 
authorization would result in need for authorization after 3 years and 
prompt a timely congressional re-examination of the need for such 
funding and funding levels.
  Second, it establishes the BEDI program as an independent program by 
separating it from the requirement that local governments obtain 
Section 108 loan guarantees in order to obtain BEDI grant funding. 
While Congress has funded the BEDI program at a level of $25 million 
annually since FY 1998, the program has existed solely as a line item 
in appropriations. This ``de-linking'' of BEDI funding from the Section 
108 program will help to improve its visibility as a key source of 
Federal funds to trigger Brownfields redevelopment activities. 
Additionally, it establishes the BEDI program as an independent program 
by separating it from the section 108 (q) economic development 
initiative program as a new section 123 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974.
  Third, it increases the allowable guarantee limit for Section 108-
backed loans used in conjunction with Brownfields activities--cities 
and states could access an additional five times their annual 
entitlement for Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. This provision 
will provide smaller communities with the opportunity to assemble a 
capital pool of sufficient size to cover the costs of Brownfields site 
preparation. It also gives cities more practical options to pursue 
Brownfields reuse strategies--for example, to acquire and clean up 
sites themselves, and assemble them into tracts that best fit markets 
and uses they have identified. The increase in the allowable guarantee 
limit for section 108-backed loans for Brownfields activities applies 
only prospectively to obligations guaranteed after the date of the 
enactment of the legislation.
  Fourth, it promotes Section 108 Loan Guarantee Brownfields activities 
by better addressing the developmental realities of this type of real 
estate development. This will be achieved by clearly identifying 
Brownfields redevelopment activities as eligible activities under the 
Section 108 program, thereby enabling the loan funds to be used for a 
wider range of activities that support Brownfields reuse. It also 
encourages communities to identify and coordinate other public and 
private funding sources for Brownfields projects by allowing them to 
count as leverage in terms of award criteria.
  Fifth, it implements HUD's Community Empowerment Fund (CEF) Pilot 
program. The CEF Pilot is designed to use the Section 108 Loan 
Guarantee program in combination with the Economic Development 
Initiative (EDI) grant program. It is noteworthy that several years 
ago, HUD issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and guidelines, 
but failed to implement the CEF Pilot program. The CEF Pilot is 
designed to mitigate or even eliminate the risk of loss to a 
community's CDBG program inherent in making business loans funded by 
the Section 108 Loan Guarantee program. The CEF Pilot combines modem 
private sector financial engineering with privatization of much of the 
administration of business loans. The EDI grants are to provide a 
pooled cash loan reserve to cushion against losses resulting from 
defaults on business loans funded through the Section 108 Loan 
Guarantee program and reducing the risk to the community's CDBG 
program.
  Sixth, and finally, it directs HUD to undertake a comprehensive study 
of Brownfields redevelopment issues on a nationwide basis. While 
Brownfields redevelopment has become a critical community and economic 
development issue over the past five years, it seems that there has not 
been a thorough Federal effort to collect data and analyze key issues 
in a manner which would serve as the foundation for Legislative and 
Executive branch decision-making in this area.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation which 
will foster and promote the revitalization of American communities.

                          ____________________