[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1788. Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. Markey) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4049, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title X, add the following:
SEC. ___. REDUCTION IN AMOUNT AUTHORIZED TO BE APPROPRIATED
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 BY THIS ACT; ESTABLISHMENT
OF GRANT PROGRAM TO REDUCE POVERTY AND INVEST
IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES.
(a) In General.--The amount authorized to be appropriated
for fiscal year 2021 by this Act is--
(1) the aggregate amount authorized to be appropriated for
fiscal year 2021 by this Act (other than for military
personnel and the Defense Health Program); minus
(2) the amount equal to 14 percent of the aggregate amount
described in paragraph (1).
(b) Allocation.--The reduction made by subsection (a)
shall--
(1) apply on a pro rata basis among the accounts and funds
for which amounts are authorized to be appropriated by this
Act (other than military personnel and the Defense Health
Program);
(2) be applied on a pro rata basis across each program,
project, and activity funded by the account or fund
concerned; and
(3) be used by the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out
the grant program described in subsection (c).
(c) Grant Program.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Department
of the Treasury a grant program through which the Secretary
of the Treasury shall, in coordination with the Secretary of
Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, provide
grants to eligible entities in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection.
(2) Application.--An eligible entity that desires a grant
under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary of the
Treasury an application in such form and containing such
information as the Secretary may require.
(3) Purposes.--
(A) Permissible purposes.--An eligible entity that receives
a grant under this subsection may use the grant funds for any
of the following:
(i) To construct, renovate, retrofit, or perform
maintenance with respect to an affordable housing unit, a
public school, a childcare facility, a community health
center, a public hospital, a library, or a clean drinking
water facility if any such building or facility is located
within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(ii) To remove contaminants, including lead, from
infrastructure with respect to the provision of drinking
water if that infrastructure is located within the
jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(iii) To replace, remove, or renovate a vacant or blighted
property that is located within the jurisdiction of the
eligible entity.
(iv) To hire public school teachers to reduce class size at
public schools within the jurisdiction of the eligible
entity.
(v) To increase the pay of teachers at public schools
within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(vi) To provide nutritious meals to children and parents
who live within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(vii) To provide free tuition to residents within the
jurisdiction of the eligible entity to attend public
institutions of higher education, including vocational and
trade schools.
(viii) To provide rental assistance to residents within the
jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(ix) To reduce or eliminate homelessness within the
jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(B) Impermissible purposes.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under this subsection may not use the grant
funds--
(i) to construct a law enforcement facility, including a
prison or a jail; or
(ii) to purchase a vehicle for a law enforcement agency.
(4) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``eligible entity'' means--
(i) a county government with respect to a high-poverty
county;
(ii) a local or municipal government within the
jurisdiction of which there are not fewer than 5 high-poverty
neighborhoods; and
(iii) a federally recognized Indian Tribe that exercises
jurisdiction over Indian lands (as defined in section 824(b)
of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C.
1680n(b))) that contain high-poverty neighborhoods;
(B) the term ``high-poverty county'' means a county with a
poverty rate of not less than 25 percent, according to the
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the
Census for 2018;
(C) the term ``high-poverty neighborhood'' means a census
tract with a poverty rate of not less than 25 percent,
according to the 5-year estimate of the American Community
Survey of the Bureau of the Census for years 2014 through
2018; and
(D) the term ``public school'' means a public elementary
school or secondary school, as those terms are defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
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