[House Report 110-86]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-86

======================================================================

 
  AMENDING THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974 TO TREAT 
    CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AS METROPOLITAN CITIES FOR PURPOSES OF THE 
               COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM

                                _______
                                

 April 16, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Financial Services, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1515]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1515) to amend the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 to treat certain communities as 
metropolitan cities for purposes of the community development 
block grant program, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     3
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     3
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Earmark Identification...........................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 1515 amends the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1974 to designate Alton and Granite City Illinois, as 
metropolitan cities, thus restoring their eligibility as 
entitlement communities for Community Development Block Grant 
funds.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Community Development Block Grant program was 
established under Title I of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974. Primarily designed to help families 
with low- or moderate-incomes, the program distributes grant 
funds through a formula which allocates 70 percent directly to 
metropolitan city and urban county entitlement communities and 
30 percent to States to be used in non-entitlement areas. 
Metropolitan cities are defined as having a population of at 
least 50,000 or being a city which is the ``principal city'' or 
such an area as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. 
Urban counties are defined as a county within a metropolitan 
area authorized by the State to undertake community development 
activities that has a population of at least 200,000.
    Both Alton and Granite City were previously eligible under 
the Office of Management and Budget's ``central city'' 
definition. However, in 2003 the Office of Management and 
Budget adopted new standards for the definition of Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas to reflect the 2000 Census data. As result, 
the Office of Management and Budget created the designation of 
``principal cities'' as communities with a minimum population 
of 50,000. Neither Alton nor Granite City meet this new 
population threshold.
    Other communities which otherwise would have lost their 
entitlement status based on the Office of Management and 
Budget's new population threshold were grandfathered-in based 
on their classification as metropolitan cities for the previous 
two years. However, for the years preceding the Office of 
Management and Budget designation change, Alton and Granite 
City deferred their entitlement status to surrounding Madison 
County, the population of which had fallen below the threshold 
of 200,000. This deferment inadvertently caused both 
communities to lose their entitlement status which otherwise 
would have been preserved by the statute.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 1515 in the 110th Congress.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 
March 28, 2007, and ordered H.R. 1515 reported by a voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes 
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. No 
record votes were taken with in conjunction with the 
consideration of this legislation. A motion by Mr. Frank to 
report the bill to the House with a favorable recommendation 
was agreed to by a voice vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has held hearings and 
made findings that are reflected in this report.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the 
following performance related goals and objectives for this 
legislation:
    H.R. 1515 designates Alton and Granite City Illinois, as 
metropolitan cities, thus restoring their eligibility as 
entitlement communities for Community Development Block Grant 
funds.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its 
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement 
authority, tax expenditures or revenues contained in the cost 
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared 
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                                    April 12, 2007.
Hon. Barney Frank,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1515, a bill to 
amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to 
treat certain communities as metropolitan cities for purposes 
of the community development block grant program.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel 
Hoople.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1515--A bill to amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 
        1974 to treat certain communities as metropolitan cities for 
        purposes of the community development block grant program

    H.R. 1515 would define the cities of Alton and Granite City 
in Illinois as metropolitan cities for the purpose of 
allocating funds within the Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) program. The CDBG program provides grants to over 1,100 
states and local governments for various community development 
projects, including local housing, neighborhood revitalization, 
public services, and infrastructure needs. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 1515 would have no significant impact on the 
federal budget.
    H.R. 1515 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The 
bill would likely benefit the cities of Alton and Granite City, 
Illinois, by classifying them as metropolitan cities under the 
CDBG program. The change in classification would result in a 
reallocation of funds that all metropolitan cities receive from 
the program. The costs of any requirements tied to these grants 
would be incurred voluntarily.
    Under current law, about 70 percent of the funds 
appropriated to the CDBG program (about $2.6 billion in 2007) 
are allocated to central cities of Metropolitan Statistical 
Areas, cities with populations of at least 50,000, and urban 
counties with a population of at least 200,000 (excluding the 
population of metropolitan cities located within the county). 
In the CDBG program, such areas are known as entitlement 
communities and receive a portion of appropriated funds based 
on population, housing stock, and the extent of poverty.
    The remaining 30 percent of funds appropriated to the CDBG 
program are allocated to local governments that do not qualify 
as entitlement communities based on state-determined criteria. 
In 2007, the states will receive about $1.1 billion for this 
purpose, $33 million of which is allocated to Illinois.
    H.R. 1515 would reclassify Alton and Granite City as 
entitlement communities within the CDBG program. CBO expects 
this reclassification could cause the funding those cities 
receive to change by up to several hundred thousand dollars in 
any year, depending how Illinois decides to allocate its CDBG 
funding. As such, CBO estimates that implementing this bill 
would have no significant cost to the federal government over 
the next five years. Any additional costs to the program 
resulting from this legislation would be subject to the 
availability of appropriations.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the 
Constitutional Authority of Congress to enact this legislation 
is provided by Article 1, section 8, clause 1 (relating to the 
general welfare of the United States) and clause 3 (relating to 
the power to regulate interstate commerce).

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                         Earmark Identification

    H.R. 1515 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Metropolitan Cities

    Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to 
designate Alton and Granite City, Illinois as metropolitan 
cities for the purposes of the Community Development Block 
Grant program.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

    SECTION 102 OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974

                              definitions

  Sec. 102. (a) As used in this title--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (4) The term ``metropolitan city'' means (A) a city 
        within a metropolitan area which is the central city of 
        such area, as defined and used by the Office of 
        Management and Budget, or (B) any other city, within a 
        metropolitan area, which has a population of fifty 
        thousand or more. Any city that was classified as a 
        metropolitan city for at least 2 years pursuant to the 
        first sentence of this paragraph shall remain 
        classified as a metropolitan city. Any unit of general 
        local government that becomes eligible to be classified 
        as a metropolitan city, and was not classified as a 
        metropolitan city in the immediately preceding fiscal 
        year, may, upon submission of written notification to 
        the Secretary, defer its classification as a 
        metropolitan city for all purposes under this title, if 
        it elects to have its population included in an urban 
        county under subsection (d). Notwithstanding the second 
        sentence of this paragraph, a city may elect not to 
        retain its classification as a metropolitan city. Any 
        city classified as a metropolitan city pursuant to this 
        paragraph, and that no longer qualifies as a 
        metropolitan city in a fiscal year beginning after 
        fiscal year 1989, shall retain its classification as a 
        metropolitan city for such fiscal year and the 
        succeeding fiscal year, except that in such succeeding 
        fiscal year (A) the amount of the grant to such city 
        shall be 50 percent of the amount calculated under 
        section 106(b); and (B) the remaining 50 percent shall 
        be added to the amount allocated under section 106(d) 
        to the State in which the city is located and the city 
        shall be eligible in such succeeding fiscal year to 
        receive a distribution from the State allocation under 
        section 106(d) as increased by this sentence. Any unit 
        of general local government that was classified as a 
        metropolitan city in any fiscal year, may, upon 
        submission of written notification to the Secretary, 
        relinquish such classification for all purposes under 
        this title if it elects to have its population included 
        with the population of a county for purposes of 
        qualifying for assistance (for such following fiscal 
        year) under section 106 as an urban county under 
        paragraph (6)(D). Any metropolitan city that elects to 
        relinquish its classification under the preceding 
        sentence and whose port authority shipped at least 
        35,000,000 tons of cargo in 1988, of which iron ore 
        made up at least half, shall not receive, in any fiscal 
        year, a total amount of assistance under section 106 
        from the urban county recipient that is less than the 
        city would have received if it had not relinquished the 
        classification under the preceding sentence. 
        Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, 
        with respect to any fiscal year beginning after the 
        date of the enactment of this sentence, the cities of 
        Alton and Granite City, Illinois, shall be considered 
        metropolitan cities for purposes of this title.

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