Community Adjustment Act of 1987

Summary

Community Adjustment Act of 1987 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to revise the special economic development and adjustment assistance program by establishing a community adjustment program. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make grants matching non-Federal funds for establishing a revolving loan fund to implement a community adjustment strategy for a designated distressed area upon receiving an application of a State, economic development district, local government, Indian tribe, or private or public nonprofit organization representing such area. Requires a revolving loan fund to be available for making: (1) loans for improvement of public facilities; and (2) loans and loan guarantees to any business for providing capital, assets, facilities, or equipment or establishing any qualified employee ownership organization or worker cooperative association necessary to establish or retain such business in such area. Prohibits any loan from being made under a revolving loan fund, unless: (1) the loan is not available from private lenders; and (2) the loan applicant assures repayment of the loan and agrees to submit semiannual reports to the fund administrator and other information required by the Secretary. Specifies procedures for calculating interest on such loans. Prohibits loans from being made to facilitate the relocation of industrial or commercial facilities, unless the Secretary finds that such relocation would not significantly and adversely affect unemployment in, or the economic base of, the area from which the facility would relocate. Requires each grant recipient, for five years after receiving a grant, to submit reports required by the Secretary and to monitor the effectiveness of assistance being provided from the revolving loan fund. Prohibits the use of assistance provided under this Act for administrative expenses. Requires grant applications to include: (1) a certification that any activity or program to be funded will be carried out or located in a distressed area; (2) a community adjustment strategy; and (3) a statement that the applicant attempted to obtain job training assistance under the Job Training Partnership Act for individuals in distressed areas as part of its community adjustment strategy. Includes among applicant selection criteria the severity of distress and the extent of private sector involvement in the area for which the grant is to be made. Directs the Secretary to designate as a distressed area any area that: (1) is experiencing long-term economic distress and a permanent loss of a substantial number of jobs; (2) has experienced or is threatened with the loss of a major employer; (3) has experienced an emergency or major disaster as declared by the President during the preceding year; or (4) has experienced a significant rise in unemployment in an occupation. Requires the aggregate population of areas designated as being in distress in any period to be not less than 20 percent nor more than 25 percent of the population of the United States. Requires a community adjustment strategy to: (1) identify the economic adjustment problems, a strategy for solving the problems, and the extent to which the strategy will enhance the ability of the applicant to implement any projects and programs to carry out the proposed adjustment; (2) discuss the necessary projects and timetables for, and the costs and anticipated benefits of, implementing the strategy; (3) summarize the public and private resources expected to be available for such projects; and (4) identify methods to be used to find employment for persons unemployed or threatened with unemployment. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for up to 75 percent of the cost of preparation of such strategies for distressed areas. Prohibits more than 15 percent of the appropriations made under this Act from being expended in any State, except for expenditures to Indian tribes. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disseminate information concerning national and regional economic trends which are likely to result in economic dislocations; (2) develop and test new economic adjustment approaches and methods to predict economic dislocations; (3) provide necessary technical and financial assistance to any State, economic development district, or local government to monitor its local economy in order to anticipate economic dislocations; (4) identify technical assistance teams, experts, and other methods for providing technical assistance necessary to respond to economic dislocations; (5) provide, upon the request of a distressed area representative, technical assistance necessary to keep open any business threatened with closure, to find a buyer for any such business, or to reopen any business; (6) provide, upon the request of a representative of a distressed area that is not likely to receive any revolving loan fund assistance, technical assistance necessary to enable the applicant to deal with its economic adjustment problems; and (7) make information on the results of activities carried out with assistance under this Act available to areas experiencing economic dislocations. Directs the Secretary to maintain as permanent records of the Department of Commerce, and make available to the public, specified information on applications approved for grants under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990.

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• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 21 January 1987

  Open at official source

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