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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 3121. Findings and declarations
(a) Findings
Congress finds that -
(1) while the economy of the United States is undergoing a
sustained period of economic growth resulting in low unemployment
and increasing incomes, there continue to be areas suffering
economic distress in the form of high unemployment, low incomes,
underemployment, and outmigration as well as areas facing sudden
economic dislocations due to industrial restructuring and
relocation, defense base closures and procurement cutbacks,
certain Federal actions (including environmental requirements
that result in the removal of economic activities from a
locality), and natural disasters;
(2) as the economy of the United States continues to grow,
those distressed areas contain significant human and
infrastructure resources that are underused;
(3) expanding international trade and the increasing pace of
technological innovation offer both a challenge and an
opportunity to the distressed communities of the United States;
(4) while economic development is an inherently local process,
the Federal Government should work in partnership with public and
private local, regional, and State organizations to ensure that
existing resources are not wasted and all Americans have an
opportunity to participate in the economic growth of the United
States;
(5) in order to avoid wasteful duplication of effort and to
limit the burden on distressed communities, Federal, State, and
local economic development activities should be better planned
and coordinated and Federal program requirements should be
simplified and made more consistent;
(6) the goal of Federal economic development activities should
be to work in partnership with local, regional, and State public
and private organizations to support the development of private
sector businesses and jobs in distressed communities;
(7) Federal economic development efforts will be more effective
if they are coordinated with, and build upon, the trade and
technology programs of the United States; and
(8) under this chapter, new employment opportunities should be
created by developing and expanding new and existing public works
and other facilities and resources rather than by merely
transferring jobs from one area of the United States to another.
(b) Declarations
Congress declares that, in order to promote a strong and growing
economy throughout the United States -
(1) assistance under this chapter should be made available to
both rural and urban distressed communities;
(2) local communities should work in partnership with
neighboring communities, the States, and the Federal Government
to increase their capacity to develop and implement comprehensive
economic development strategies to address existing, or deter
impending, economic distress; and
(3) whether suffering from long-term distress or a sudden
dislocation, distressed communities should be encouraged to take
advantage of the development opportunities afforded by
technological innovation and expanding and newly opened global
markets.
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