1965 under section 15(9) of the U.S. Housing Act which has been unworkable because the required monthly payments are beyond the financial means of lowincome families.

The proposed homeownership legislation would provide subsidy assistance up to the full amount of principal and interest payable by the local housing authority on the debt it has incurred in developing the housing. The purchasing family would be required to contribute 20 percent of its income to homeownership expense, but this contribution would have to be sufficient to cover the full cost of utilities, insurance, maintenance and taxes. The program provides for the conveyance of the property as soon as the low income family undertakes the obligation to purchase the property and execute a mortgage to the local housing authority. Thus, the family would enjoy all the benefits—and responsibilities—of homeownership immediately.

We believe the potential for a successful public housing homeownership program has been demonstrated under the several homebuyer programs-such as the Turnkey III low-income homeownership program-developed through administrative action. The provision of new homeownership opportunities in public housing takes on added significance when we consider the problems which many local housing agencies are encountering in maintaining and operating their rental units.

The legislation also contains a number of other changes which will make the public housing program more effective. These include:

A modification of the definition of "elderly family" to permit a single person who is at least 50 years of age to be admitted to public housing;

The deletion of the requirement that a family must move from public housing if its income increases beyond the local authority's limits for continued occupancy;

The provision of greater flexibility in the way local housing agencies finance the capital cost of their projects; and

Changes to facilitate the modernization of existing projects, with $100 million in contract authority to be earmarked for this purpose.

The legislation also provides for an additional $150 million in new public housing contract authority for fiscal year 1973.

OTHER LEGISLATION

There are several other bills or resolutions before the Committee which are needed for carrying out specific recommendations of the President and on which I hope the Committee will take early and favorable action.

Among these are the bills and resolutions that would increase the authorizations for the current comprehensive planning and open-space land programs. Included are H.R. 9332 and S. J. Res. 52 which has recently been passed by the Senate. The authorizations provided by these measures would permit us to proceed with a redirected section 701 program that would give new emphasis to building up management capabilities and to do so with sufficient funds to assure continuation of important work already being assisted under 701. By starting now in this way, we can be certain of a far smoother, as well as a more rapid, transition to the kind of planning and management program contemplated by both H.R. 9688 and H.R.

8853.

The new authorizations we are requesting are also essential to the President's Legacy of Parks program. That program will involve the combined use of our own Open Space Land authority and the Land and Water Conservation Fund of the Department of the Interior. It would center upon a greatly expanded effort to provide parks and open spaces in the urban areas where some 70 percent of our population now lives, with particular attention to the low-income areas of our cities where the ordinary pressures of daily living are so intense. Given the funds, a real start can be made toward making available the swimming pools and other outdoor recreation facilities that are so lacking yet so needed in these areas. To a very large extent we can use land already in public ownership that can readily be converted to park and recreation uses.

Also meriting early action is a bill-H.R. 5778, introduced by Mr. Widnall and 17 other members of this Committee-which would expand our authority with respect to title I home improvement loans that aid in the preservation or restoration of historic structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This legislation was recommended by the President in his Message on the Environment. It would add a new tool that could be employed in local efforts to preserve and restore structures that are important to our historic heritage and that may also be priceless assets for programs of neighborhood conservation. It is, moreover, a tool

that is particularly designed to support private action and private investment, thus helping to spread further the limited public funds available for historic and architectural preservation.

I have already discussed title VI of H.R. 9688 on community development block grants, title IX on planning and management, and other specific features. I would like to return very briefly to the bill as a whole.

I believe it very helpful that your Committee and the three study panels have carried your difficult task this far and this well. The panel reports and the bill are addressed to the most basic and difficult problems of housing and community development. Recognition is given to the problems of housing production and conservation, of neighborhood preservation and renewal, and to the range of inter-related problems of urban decay and urban growth that have affected all our communities-rural, urban and suburban. The three panels have produced recommendations, all of which deserve serious consideration. Many are in need of much further study, as the three panels were the first to recognize, and as indicated in the analysis I am submitting.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development welcomes the opportunity to work with your Committee in your consideration of this bill. That completes my prepared testimony on the legislation.

SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1971 The first section of the bill would provide that upon enactment it may be cited as the Community Development Act of 1971.

TITLE I-URBAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Section 101. Short title

This section would provide that this title may be cited as the "Urban Community Development Revenue Sharing Act of 1971".

Section 102. Statement of findings and purpose

This section would set forth the following Congressional findings:

(1) The Nation's welfare requires an improved system of Federal assistance for community development which will preserve and enhance the physical and social environment and improve the quality of life in the Nation.

(2) The delivery of effective community development programs and activities is essentially a local responsibility and there is a need to strengthen the capacity of units of general local government and States to deal with community problems relating to development, revitalization, and growth.

(3) The effectiveness of community development would be improved by making resources for such purposes available to units of general local government and States to use with broad discretion in evaluating their community development needs and allocating resources to meet those needs.

(4) The Federal Government should make available to units of general local government and States a wide range of assistance and support to improve the effectiveness of community development activities.

The section would declare the purpose of this title to be the establishment of a system of sharing Federal revenues, designed to promote sound and equitable community development, revitalization, and growth. The Federal assistance would be provided in support of community development activities which contribute to:

(1) Improving the quality, organization, and accessibility of public services for all citizens;

(2) The elimination and prevention of urban slums, blight, and deterioration;

(3) Economic and desirable land uses;

(4) The provision of housing, particularly for low and moderate income individuals and families, sufficient to meet community needs and appropriately located in relation to community and commercial facilities and job opportunities;

(5) The development of properly planned community facilities and public improvements;

(6) The preservation or restoration of properties and areas of special value for historic reasons;

(7) The conservation and enhancement of both the natural and urban environment;

(8) The provision of adequate recreational opportunities; and

(9) Increased order and efficiency in community development and revitalization through the application of well-considered priorities to the investment of Federal, State, and local resources.

Section 103. Definitions

Subsection (a) would define certain terms as follows:

(1) "Unit of general local government" would mean any city, municipality, county, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State; a consortium of such units of general local government recognized by the Secretary; and the District of Columbia;

(2) "State" would mean any State of the United States; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Guam; and the Virgin Islands;

(3) "Metropolitan areas" would mean the standard metropolitan statistical areas, as established by the Office of Management and Budget;

(4) "Metropolitan cities" would mean cities within metropolitan areas which are central cities of metropolitan areas, as defined and used by the Office of Management and Budget, or which are cities having a population of 50,000 or more;

(5) "Population" would mean the total resident population based on data compiled by the United States Bureau of the Census and referable to the same point or period in time;

(6) "Amount of poverty" would mean the number of persons (or alternatively, the number of families and unrelated individuals) whose incomes are below the poverty level, as determined pursuant to criteria provided by the Office of Management and Budget, and based on data referable to the same point or period in time;

(7) "Amount of overcrowding" would mean the number of housing units with 1.01 or more persons per room based on data compiled by the United States Bureau of the Census and referable to the same point or period in time;

(8) "Extent of housing deficiencies" would mean the number of housing units lacking some or all plumbing facilities based on data compiled by the United States Bureau of the Census and referable to the same point or period in time; and

(9) "Secretary" would mean the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Subsection (b) would provide that where appropriate, the definitions in subsection (a) shall be based on the most recent data compiled by the United States Bureau of the Census and the latest published reports of the Office of Management and Budget on the date of enactment of this Act and 90 days prior to the beginning of each subsequent fiscal year. The Secretary would be authorized to change or otherwise modify the definitions in order to reflect any change or modification made subsequent to such date by the United States Bureau of the Census or the Office of Management and Budget.

Section 104. Community development activities eligible for assistance

This section would set forth the activities for which special revenue sharing payments may be used.

Subsection (a) would provide that community development activities may

include:

(1) Acquisition of real property (including interests therein) which is blighted or inappropriately developed, needed for public facilities, historic preservation, beautification, conservation, recreation, the guidance of urban development, or for other public purposes;

(2) Relocation payments and assistance for those displaced by community development activities;

(3) Clearance, demolition, removal, and rehabilitation of buildings and improvements (including financing rehabilitation of privately owned properties when incidental to other activities);

(4) Provision of public works, facilities, and site or other improvements; (5) Elimination, by code enforcement and other means, of harmful physical conditions constituting a danger to public health and safety; and

(6) Disposition (by sale, lease, donation, or otherwise) of acquired real property or its retention for public purposes.

Subsection (b) would provide that community development activities may also include the types of activities for which Model Cities supplemental grants are authorized.

Section 105. Authorization of appropriations

This section would authorize to be appropriated without fiscal year limitation such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year to carry out this title... Section 106. Allocation and distribution of funds

Subsection (a) would provide that at least 80 percent of the amounts provided from appropriations authorized by section 105 for any fiscal year shall be allocated by the Secretary for special revenue sharing for all metropolitan areas, as provided by subsection (b).

Subsection (b) (1) would provide that each metropolitan area shall be allocated an amount which bears the same ratio to the allocation for all metropolitan areas as the average of the ratios between:

(1) The population of the metropolitan area and that of all metropolitan areas;

(2) The amount of poverty in the metropolitan area and that in all metropolitan areas;

(3) The amount of overcrowding in the metropolitan area and that in all metropolitan areas; and

(4) The extent of housing deficiencies in the metropolitan area and that in all metropolitan areas.

Subsection (b)(2) would provide that from the amount allocated to each metropolitan area, each metropolitan city within that area shall be distributed special revenue sharing payments, in an amount which bears the same ratio to the allocation for all metropolitan areas as the average of the ratios between:

(1) The population of the metropolitan city and that of all metropolitan areas;

(2) The amount of poverty in the metropolitan city and that in all metropolitan areas;

(3) The amount of overcrowding in the metropolitan city and that in all metropolitan areas; and

(4) The extent of housing deficiencies in the metropolitan city and that in all metropolitan areas.

Subsection (b)(3) would provide that the remainder of the allocation for each metropolitan area shall be distributed by the Secretary as special revenue sharing payments to units of general local government within that metropolitan area, taking into consideration such factors as population, amount of poverty, amount of overcrowding, extent of housing deficiencies, and other social and fiscal factors prevailing in the metropolitan area. Any portion of the remainder of the allocation for each metropolitan area undistributed at the end of the fiscal year in which it was allocated would remain available for use within that metropolitan area.

Subsection (c) would provide that any other funds available for any fiscal year to carry out this title shall be available for distribution by the Secretary as special revenue sharing payments to units of general local government and States for community development activities subject to such terms and conditions as he may prescribe. It would also provide that until such time as a metropolitan city is eligible to receive funds and carry out community development activities, or in the event that a metropolitan city refuses to accept such funds, the revenue sharing payments which it would have received would be added to the funds available for distribution by the Secretary under this subsection.

Subsection (d) would authorize without fiscal year limitation (in addition to appropriations authorized by section 105) such sums as may be necessary for distribution by the Secretary under subsection (c) to cities having a population of less than 50,000.

Subsection (e) would provide that all computations and determinations by the Secretary under this section shall be final and conclusive.

Section 107. Payments to recipients

This section would provide that community development special revenue sharing payments shall be made to the recipients at such intervals and in such installments as the Secretary may determine, taking account of the objective that the time elapsing between the transfer of funds from the United States Treasury and the disbursement thereof by a recipient be minimized. The Secretary would be required to prescribe regulations, with the concurrence of the Director of the Office

of Management and Budget, for the purpose of avoiding an inordinate rise in Federal outlays in fiscal years 1972, 1973, and 1974 resulting from concurrent disbursements pursuant to (a) obligations incurred under the statutory provisions replaced by this title, and (b) revenue shared under this title.

Section 108. Statements of community development activities

This section would provide that prior to the receipt of any community development funds for any fiscal year commencing with fiscal year 1973 (and at least two months prior to the beginning of the appropriate fiscal year), each recipient of funds under this title must publish and make available to the Secretary (and, in the case of recipient units of general local government, to the Governor of the State in which they are located, as well) a statement of community development objectives and projected uses of funds. The purpose of such statement would be to permit public examination and appraisal of community development activities carried out under this title, to enhance the public accountability of recipients of shared Federal revenues, and to facilitate coordination of activities at different levels of government. The statement would have to reflect the degree to which activities assisted under this title relate to State and areawide programs and activities for community development.

Section 109. Records, audit, and reports

Subsection (a) would provide that all revenue shared with recipients for community development activities must be properly accounted for as Federal funds. Subsection (b) would require each recipient to (1) use such fiscal and accounting procedures as may be necessary to assure (i) proper accounting for payments received by it and (ii) proper disbursement of such amounts; (2) provide to the Secretary, on reasonable notice, access to, and the right to examine any books, documents, papers, or records as he may reasonably require; and (3) make such reports to the Secretary as he may reasonably require.

Section 110. Recovery of funds

Subsection (a) would provide that if the Secretary determines after giving reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing that a recipient has failed to comply substantially with the provisions of this title, he shall refer the matter to the Attorney General of the United States with a recommendation that an appropriate civil action be instituted; or notify the recipient that if corrective action is not taken within 60 days from the date of such notification, revenues shared with it will be reduced in the same or succeeding fiscal year by an amount equal to the amount of funds which were not expended in accordance with the provisions of this title; or take such other action as may be provided by law.

Subsection (b) would provide that when a matter is referred to the Attorney General, he may bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court for such relief as may be appropriate, including injunctive relief.

Subsection (c) (1) would provide that any recipient which receives notice of reduction of revenues shared may, within 60 days after receiving such notice, file with the United States Court of Appeals for the Circuit in which such recipient is located or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a petition for review of the Secretary's action. The petitioner would be required to transmit copies of the petition to the Secretary and to the Attorney General of the United States, who would represent the Secretary in litigation.

Subsection (c) (2) would provide that no objection to the action of the Secretary may be considered by the Court unless such objection has been urged before the Secretary.

Subsection (c) (3) would provide that the Court shall have jurisdiction to affirm or modify the action of the Secretary or to set it aside in whole or in part. The findings of fact by the Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, would be conclusive. The Court could order additional evidence to be taken by the Secretary, and to be made part of the record. The Secretary could modify his findings of fact or make new findings by reason of the new evidence and file with the Court his recommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside of his original action.

Subsection (c) (4) would provide that the jurisdiction of the Court shall be exclusive and that its judgment shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon writ of certiorari or certification.

Section 111. Nondiscrimination

This section would provide that shared revenues under this title shall be considered as Federal financial assistance within the meaning of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.