Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 5.djvu/840

 112 STAT. 3598 PUBLIC LAW 105-393 —NOV. 13, 1998 "Sec. 507. Notification of reorganization. "TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS "Sec. 601. Powers of Secretary. "Sec. 602. Maintenance of standards. "Sec. 603. Annual report to Congress. "Sec. 604. Delegation of functions and transfer of funds among Federal agencies. "Sec. 605. Penalties. "Sec. 606. Employment of expediters and administrative employees.. "Sec. 607. Maintenance and public inspection of list of approved applications for fina ncial assistance. "Sec. 608. Records and audits. "Sec. 609. Relationship to assistance under other law. "Sec. 610. Acceptance of certifications by applicants. "TITLE VII—FUNDING " Sec. 701. General authorization of appropriations. "Sec. 702. Authorization of appropriations for defense conversion activities. "Sec. 703. Authorization of appropriations for disaster economic recovery activities. 42 USC 3121. " SEC. 2. 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 unemplo3mrient and increasing incomes, there continue to be areas suffering economic distress in the form of high unemploy- ment, 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 Act, 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.

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