[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1049 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1049
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to make
projects that directly or indirectly increase the accessibility of
child care eligible for certain grants, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2021
Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to make
projects that directly or indirectly increase the accessibility of
child care eligible for certain grants, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Affordable Child Care for Economic
Strategies and Success Act'' or the ``ACCESS Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 201 of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) planning, developing, or creating a project or
facility that will directly or indirectly increase the
accessibility of child care.''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ``or'' after the
semicolon at the end; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) increase the accessibility of child care;''.
(b) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to establish
criteria for whether, for purposes of section 201 of the Public
Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141), a
project directly or indirectly increases the accessibility of
child care.
(2) Considerations.--The criteria referred to in paragraph
(1) shall take into consideration the following:
(A) The availability, validity, and accessibility
of timely data.
(B) The extent to which a project contributes to
the financial security of a family.
(C) The extent to which a project addresses child
care needs in areas recognized as experiencing a child
care shortage.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PLANNING AND GRANTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
Section 203(b) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3143(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
``(4) formulating and implementing an economic development
program that includes systematic efforts--
``(A) to reduce unemployment and increase incomes;
or
``(B) to increase the accessibility of child
care.''.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 207(a)(2) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act
of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3147(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (J);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the following:
``(I) the planning, development, or creation of a
project or facility that will directly or indirectly
increase the accessibility of child care; and''.
SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES.
(a) In General.--Section 302(a)(3)(A) of the Public Works and
Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162(a)(3)(A)) is amended
by inserting ``(including by directly or indirectly increasing the
accessibility of child care)'' after ``promotes economic development
and opportunity''.
(b) Guidance.--In carrying out the amendment made by subsection
(a), the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, shall issue guidance on how to include the
accessibility of child care in a comprehensive economic development
strategy developed under section 302 of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3162).
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