EVALUATION, SELECTION, AND REVIEW OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

SEC. 806. EVALUATION, SELECTION, AND REVIEW OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. (a) Guidelines.—Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305), as amended by section 805, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) Guidelines for Evaluating and Selecting Economic Development Projects.— “(1) Establishment.—The Secretary shall establish, by regulation, guidelines to assist grant recipients under this title to evaluate and select activities described in section 105(a) (14), (15), and (17) for assistance with grant amounts. The Secretary shall not base a determination of eligibility of the use of funds under this title for such assistance solely on the basis that the recipient fails to achieve one or more of the guidelines’ objectives as stated in paragraph (2). “(2) Project costs and financial requirements.— The guidelines established under this subsection shall include the following objectives: “(A) The project costs of such activities are reasonable. “(B) To the extent practicable, reasonable financial sup-port has been committed for such activities from non-Federal sources prior to disbursement of Federal funds. “(C) To the extent practicable, any grant amounts to be provided for such activities do not substantially reduce the amount of non-Federal financial support for the activity. “(D) Such activities are financially feasible. “(E) To the extent practicable, such activities provide not more than a reasonable return on investment to the owner. “(F) To the extent practicable, grant amounts used for the costs of such activities are disbursed on a pro rata basis with amounts from other sources. “(3) Public benefit.—The guidelines established under this subsection shall provide that the public benefit provided by the activity is appropriate relative to the amount of assistance provided with grant amounts under this title.”. 106 STAT. 3847 (b) Assistance to For-Profit Entities.—Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by inserting at the end the following new subsection: “(f) Assistance to For-Profit Entities.—In any case in which an activity described in paragraph (17) of subsection (a) is provided assistance such assistance shall not be limited to activities for which no other forms of assistance are available or could not be accomplished but for that assistance.”. (c) GAO Study.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the use of grant amounts under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 for activities described in paragraphs (14), (15), and (17) of section 105(a) of such Act. The study shall evaluate whether the activities for which such amounts are being used under such paragraphs further the goals and objectives of such program, as established in section 101 of such Act. The Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress regarding the findings of the study not later than the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. The report shall include recommendations of— (1) any administrative or legislative actions that may be taken to ensure that such grant amounts are properly and efficiently used for economic development activities; and (2) criteria by which to evaluate the effectiveness of activities assisted under paragraphs (14), (15), and (17) of such section 105(a). (d) Enhancing Job Quality.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a report on the types and quality of jobs created or retained through assistance provided pursuant to title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the extent to which projects and activities assisted under that title enhance the upward mobility and future earning capacity of low- and moderate-income persons who are benefited by such projects and activities. (e) Rebuilding Distressed Neighborhoods.—Section 105(c) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(4) For the purposes of subsection (c)(1)(C).— “(A) if an employee resides in, or the assisted activity through which he or she is employed, is located in a census tract that meets the Federal enterprise zone eligibility criteria, the employee shall be presumed to be a person of low- or moderate-income; or “(B) if an employee resides in a census tract where not less than 70 percent of the residents have incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median, the employee shall be presumed to be a person of low or moderate income.”