,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bdcg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ai1 #bjac ,mr4 ,fattah introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development to establish a national program to create jobs and increase economic development by promoting cooperative development4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,creating ,jobs ,through ,cooperatives ,act4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,that ,federal policy can promote cooperative development1 which demonstrably has the following benefits for communities located in such areas3 7,a7 ,advancing local economic stability4 7,b7 ,increasing local circulation of capital1 thereby increasing economic multipliers and the impact of community investment to spur locally oriented economic growth4 7,c7 ,developing1 attracting1 and anchoring new productive capital in low-income communities4 7,d7 ,expanding investment opportunities and asset creation for low- and moderate-income ,americans4 7#b7 ,cooperatives operate in all #ej ,states and across all sectors of the ,united ,states economy1 including industries such as energy1 telecommunications1 food distribution1 insurance1 credit unions1 agriculture1 health1 housing1 and wholesale and retail purchasing and distribution 7#c7 ,there are #bi1jjj cooperatives in the ,united ,states that account for more than #c trillion in assets1 over #ejj billion in total revenue1 #be billion in wages and benefits1 and nearly two million jobs 7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to establish a ,federal program that will create jobs and increase economic development by promoting cooperative development4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,cooperative development ,the term cooperative development means technical assistance provided for the purpose of-- 7,a7 providing financial forecasting1 feasibility analysis1 business planning1 and other preparatory activity to ensure that a cooperative organization1 or organizations that are in the process of establishing such an organization1 are grounded in sound business practices2 7,b7 assisting with establishing incorporation documents1 bylaws1 and policies that ensure that cooperative organizations-- 7i7 adhere to legal obligations of a local or ,state government or the ,federal ,government2 and 7ii7 are governed by transparent and agreed-upon rules2 7,c7 educating1 with respect to how cooperative organizations function-- 7i7 board members1 management1 and employees of cooperative organizations2 7ii7 local communities affected by such organizations and the general public2 and 7iii7 professionals involved in cooperative development2 7,d7 providing organizational planning for cooperative organizations1 including board meetings and board development1 and strategic planning2 7,e7 hosting networking activities and conferences involving cooperative organizations1 entities that work with such organizations1 and professional organizations that engage in cooperative development2 7,f7 providing professional development of professionals involved in cooperative development by offering training focused on cooperative development2 and 7,g7 providing administrative and operational set-up of cooperative organizations4 7#b7 ,cooperative organization ,the term cooperative organization means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic1 social1 and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise4 7#c7 ,eligible project area 7,a7 ,in general ,the term eligible project area means an area located within-- 7i7 a census tract that is defined as low- or moderate-income by the ,bureau of the ,census of the ,department of ,commerce2 7ii7 a population census tract that is treated as a low-income community under section #de;,d7e7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 or 7iii7 subject to subparagraph 7,b71 an area that-- 7,i7 is adjacent or close to an area that meets the requirements of either clause 7i7 or 7ii72 and 7,,ii7 is given special approval by the ,secretary to be classified as an eligible project area4 7,b7 ,limitation ,the ,secretary shall limit the number of projects funded under this ,act that are located in an area described in subparagraph 7,a77iii74 7#d7 ,local cooperative development center ,the term local cooperative development center means a nonprofit organization1 college1 or university1 or a group of such organizations1 colleges1 or universities1 with expertise in establishing and developing cooperative organizations4 7#e7 ,program ,the term program means the ,national ,cooperative ,development ,program established under section #d4 7#f7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development1 or the ,secretary's designee4 #d4 ,national ,cooperative ,development ,program 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development shall establish a program to be known as the ,national ,cooperative ,development ,program to carry out the purpose described in section #b7;b74 7b7 ,assistance for cooperative development 7#a7 ,uses ,the ,secretary shall use amounts made available for the program for-- 7,a7 providing grants to local cooperative development centers1 to carry out activities that promote cooperative development1 that are selected for such grants under paragraph 7#c77;,b72 7,b7 partnering with one or more financial institutions to-- 7i7 establish a revolving loan program that will provide loans to cooperative organizations to undertake cooperative development2 and 7ii7 develop other loan programs and financial products that can be accessed by cooperative organizations2 and 7,c7 carrying out any other activities that the ,secretary deems necessary to the furtherance of the purposes of this ,act4 7#b7 ,allocation of amounts ,the ,secretary shall allocate not less than #ej percent of the amounts made available for the program for grants under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 to local cooperative development centers4 7#c7 ,grants to local cooperative development centers 7,a7 ,grants ,the ,secretary may make grants1 pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a77i71 to local development centers selected under this paragraph1 and shall enter into grant agreements with such centers selected and provide grants in accordance with such agreements4 ,each grant agreement for a local development center shall provide for a grant for at least one fiscal year and may provide for grants for a period not to exceed #c fiscal years4 7,b7 ,selection ,the ,secretary shall select1 through a competitive process1 local cooperative development centers to receive grants pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a77i74 7,c7 ,criteria for selection ,in selecting local cooperative development centers to receive such grants1 the ,secretary shall take into consideration the following3 7i7 ,the technical capacity of the center to carry out eligible projects4 7ii7 ,the ability of the center to deliver technical assistance4 7iii7 ,the capacity and commitment of the center to offering cooperative development4 7iv7 ,whether the center can provide matching funding of at least #ae percent of grant amounts provided under the program to the center4 7v7 ,the record of the center in developing successful cooperative organizations4 7vi7 ,the ability of the center to have a positive economic impact on an area through job creation or retention1 affordable housing creation1 or wealth creation4 7vii7 ,such other considerations as the ,secretary may consider appropriate4 7#d7 ,failure to meet performance targets ,if the ,secretary determines that an entity awarded funds under the program has not met the performance targets established pursuant to subsection 7e71 is not making reasonable progress toward meeting such measures1 or is otherwise in violation of a grant agreement entered into pursuant to paragraph 7#c77;,c7 of this subsection1 the ,secretary may-- 7,a7 withhold financial assistance under this ,act until the performance measures are met2 or 7,b7 in the case of a grant made pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,a71 terminate the grant agreement4 7c7 ,other activities ,under the program1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 develop and provide technical assistance1 educational1 and other materials to assist local cooperative development centers that are receiving funds under the program to develop cooperative organizations2 7#b7 monitor and evaluate the performance of such local centers2 7#c7 provide guidance1 information on best practices1 and technical assistance to communities seeking to establish cooperative organizations2 7#d7 establish the eligibility criteria for projects to be carried out using assistance provided under this ,act2 and 7#e7 develop program and reporting guidelines4 7d7 ,performance targets ,the ,secretary shall establish performance targets for the program1 which shall include1 at a minimum1 a requirement that a significant percentage of projects funded under the program shall involve cooperative organizations that are women- or minority-owned4 #e4 ,reports 7a7 ,by local cooperative development centers and financial institutions ,for each grant that a local cooperative development center or financial institution receives pursuant to section #d7;b77#a77;,a71 the local center or institution shall submit to the ,secretary1 not later than the expiration of the #ab-month period after initial receipt of such grant amounts1 a report that includes-- 7#a7 identification of the total amount of such grant amounts that have been expended2 7#b7 a description of the activities undertaken by such local center or institution with such grant amounts2 and 7#c7 other information as the ,secretary may require4 7b7 ,by the ,secretary ,not later than #c years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for each year assistance is provided under this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,congress a report that includes-- 7#a7 identification of the number of cooperative organizations created using amounts made available under this ,act2 7#b7 best practices from the local cooperative development centers that are awarded grants under this ,act and the economic benefits to the local communities that such centers serve resulting from such use of funds2 7#c7 an evaluation of compliance with the performance targets established pursuant to section #d7;d72 7#d7 case studies featuring select cooperative development organizations that benefitted from the program2 and 7#e7 any additional information1 including statistics1 that would help promote future cooperative development4 #f4 ,regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall issue regulations necessary to carry out this ,act4 #g4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out the ,national ,cooperative ,development ,program1 to remain available until expended1 #be1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjac through #bjag4