work, become self-sufficient, and transition out of public housing and federally assisted dwelling units;

(6) consolidating the voucher and certificate programs for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 into a single market-driven program that will assist in making tenant-based rental assistance under such section more successful at helping low-income families obtain affordable housing and will increase housing choice for low-income families; and

(7) remedying the problems of troubled public housing agencies and replacing or revitalizing severely distressed public housing projects.

PART I-COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS

EXCERPTS FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF

1974

[Public Law 93–383; 88 Stat. 633; 42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.]

TITLE I-COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

SEC. 101. [42 U.S.C. 5301] (a) The Congress finds and declares that the Nation's cities, towns, and smaller urban communities face critical social, economic, and environmental problems arising in significant measure from

(1) the growth of population in metropolitan and other urban areas, and the concentration of persons of lower income in central cities;

(2) inadequate public and private investment and reinvestment in housing and other physical facilities, and related public and social services, resulting in the growth and persistence of urban slums and blight and the marked deterioration of the quality of the urban environment; and

(3) increasing energy costs which have seriously undermined the quality and overall effectiveness of local community and housing development activities.

(b) The Congress further finds and declares that the future welfare of the Nation and the well-being of its citizens depend on the establishment and maintenance of viable urban communities as social, economic, and political entities, and require

(1) systematic and sustained action by Federal, State, and local governments to eliminate blight, to conserve and renew older urban areas, to improve the living environment of lowand moderate-income families, and to develop new centers of population growth and economic activity;

(2) substantial expansion of and greater continuity in the scope and level of Federal assistance, together with increased private investment in support of community development activities;

(3) continuing effort at all levels of government to streamline programs and improve the functioning of agencies responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating community development efforts; and

(4) concerted action by Federal, State, and local governments to address the economic and social hardships borne by communities as a consequence of scarce fuel supplies.

(c) The primary objective of this title and of the community development program of each grantee under this title is the development of viable urban communities, by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. Consistent with this primary objective, not less than 70 percent of the aggregate of the Federal assistance provided to States and units of general local government under section 106 and, if applicable, the funds received as a result of a guarantee or a grant under section 108, shall be used for the support of activities that benefit persons of low and moderate income, and the Federal assistance provided in this title is for the support of community development activities which are directed toward the following specific objectives

(1) the elimination of slums and blight and the prevention of blighting influences and the deterioration of property and neighborhood and community facilities of importance to the welfare of the community, principally persons of low and moderate income;

(2) the elimination of conditions which are detrimental to health, safety, and public welfare, through code enforcement, demolition, interim rehabilitation assistance, and related activities;

(3) the conservation and expansion of the Nation's housing stock in order to provide a decent home and a suitable living environment for all persons, but principally those of low and moderate income;

(4) the expansion and improvement of the quantity and quality of community services, principally for persons of low and moderate income, which are essential for sound community development and for the development of viable urban communities;

(5) a more rational utilization of land and other natural resources and the better arrangement of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and other needed activity centers;

(6) the reduction of the isolation of income groups within communities and geographical areas and the promotion of an increase in the diversity and vitality of neighborhoods through the spatial deconcentration of housing opportunities for persons of lower income and the revitalization of deteriorating or deteriorated neighborhoods;

(7) the restoration and preservation of properties of special value for historic, architectural, or esthetic reasons;

(8) the alleviation of physical and economic distress through the stimulation of private investment and community revitalization in areas with population outmigration or a stagnating or declining tax base; and

(9) the conservation of the Nation's scarce energy resources, improvement of energy efficiency, and the provision of alternative and renewable energy sources of supply.

It is the intent of Congress that the Federal assistance made available under this title not be utilized to reduce substantially the amount of local financial support for community development activities below the level of such support prior to the availability of such assistance.

(d) It is also the purpose of this title to further the development of a national urban growth policy by consolidating a number of complex and overlaping programs of financial assistance to communities of varying sizes and needs into a consistent system of Federal aid which—

(1) provides assistance on an annual basis, with maximum certainty and minimum delay, upon which communities can rely in their planning;

(2) encourages community development activities which are consistent with comprehensive local and areawide development planning;

(3) furthers achievement of the national housing goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family; and

(4) fosters the undertaking of housing and community development activities in a coordinated and mutually supportive manner by Federal agencies and programs, as well as by com

munities.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 102. [42 U.S.C. 5302] (a) As used in this title

(1) The term "unit of general local government" means any city, county, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State; Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, or a general purpose political subdivision thereof; a combination of such political subdivisions that, except as provided in section 106(d)(4), is recognized by the Secretary; the District of Columbia; and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Such term also includes a State or a local public body or agency (as defined in section 711 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970), community association, or other entity, which is approved by the Secretary for the purpose of providing public facilities or services to a new community as part of a program meeting the eligibility standards of section 712 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 or title IV of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.

(2) The term "State" means any State of the United States, or any instrumentality thereof approved by the Governor; and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(3) The term "metropolitan area" means a standard metropolitan statistical area as established by the Office of Management and Budget.

(4)1 The term "metropolitan city" means (A) a city within a metropolitan area which is the central city of such area, as

1 Section 101(g) of Public Laws 99-500 and 99-591, 100 Stat. 1783-242, 3341-242, made effective the following provision:

"During 1987 and each succeeding fiscal year, any city within a metropolitan area shall be considered to be a metropolitan city under section 102(a)(4) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(4)) if such city

"(1) was entitled to a grant of a hold-harmless amount under section 106(h) of such Act as such section was in effect prior to the enactment of Public Law 96–399; "(2) had, according to the 1980 decennial census, a population of 36,957; and "(3) received a preliminary grant approval on March 8, 1984, for an urban development action grant under section 119 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.".

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.

(5) The term "city" means (A) any unit of general local government which is classified as a municipality by the United States Bureau of the Census or (B) any other unit of general local government which is a town or township and which, in the determination of the Secretary, (i) possesses powers and performs functions comparable to those associated with municipalities, (ii) is closely settled, and (iii) contains within its boundaries no incorporated places as defined by the United States Bureau of the Census which have not entered into cooperation agreements with such town or township to undertake or to assist in the undertaking of essential community development and housing assistance activities.

(6)(A) The term "urban county" means any county within a metropolitan area which