Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Resilient Communities Act of 2023”.
Resilient Communities Act of 2023
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Resilient Communities Program to provide communities impacted by trade with grants for economic development, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Resilient Communities Program
Award of grants— The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a program to be known as the Resilient Communities Program under which the Secretary may award grants to eligible recipients representing affected communities—
to encourage the continued production of certain goods in those communities, including the employment of individuals involved in the production of those goods; or
for the conduct of economic development in those communities.
Uses of funds—
Subsequent grants— An eligible recipient awarded a grant under subsection (a) may use the amount of the grant to award subsequent grants to covered domestic producers in affected communities.
Priority— An eligible recipient in an affected community shall prioritize the award of subsequent grants under paragraph (1) to covered domestic producers that are determined by the eligible recipient to be most likely to increase production and employment at a facility of the covered domestic producer located within the affected community as a result of the grant provided.
Economic development— If there is no covered domestic producer in an affected community, an eligible recipient representing that community that is in receipt of a grant under subsection (a) shall use the amounts awarded under that grant for economic development within that community.
Resilient Communities Fund—
Establishment— There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund (to be known as the “Resilient Communities Fund”), consisting of—
amounts transferred to the trust fund under paragraph (2); and
any amounts that may be credited to the trust fund under paragraph (3).
Transfer of amounts—
In general— The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the trust fund established under paragraph (1), from the general fund of the Treasury, for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, an amount equivalent to the amount received into the general fund during that fiscal year and attributable to duties collected pursuant to an antidumping or countervailing duty order under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.).
Frequency of transfers— The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer amounts required by subparagraph (A) to be transferred to the trust fund established under paragraph (1) not less frequently than quarterly.
Investment of amounts—
Investment of amounts— The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such portion of the trust fund established under paragraph (1) as is not required to meet current withdrawals in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States.
Interest and proceeds— The interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the trust fund established under paragraph (1) shall be credited to and form a part of the trust fund.
Availability of amounts in trust fund— Amounts in the trust fund established under paragraph (1) shall be available to the Secretary of Commerce, as provided in advance in an appropriations Act, to award grants to eligible recipients under subsection (a).
Definitions— In this section:
Affected community— The term affected community means an area in which a domestic producer or worker located in that area has experienced an injury from trade.
Covered domestic producer— The term covered domestic producer means a domestic producer who can provide recent evidence of any of the following:
A significant idling of production facilities, plant closings, or underutilization of productive capacity of the producer.
The inability of the producer to carry out production operations in the United States at a reasonable level of profit.
A decline in sales or market share, higher or growing inventory, or a downward trend in production, profits, wages, productivity, or employment of the producer.
Difficulty of the producer in generating adequate capital to finance the modernization of plants, property, or equipment in the United States.
The inability of the producer to maintain existing levels for research and development.
Domestic producer— The term domestic producer means a United States person that produces a good within the United States.
Economic development— The term economic development means—
improving workforce development;
building public infrastructure;
improving access to health care, social services, healthy food, or education;
complying with environmental standards set forth by the Federal Government;
building affordable housing; or
expanding access to broadband.
Eligible recipient— The term eligible recipient means a political subdivision of a State in which an affected community is located.
Injury from trade— The term injury from trade means—
an injury that has been determined to have occurred by the United States International Trade Commission—
in the course of an investigation by the Commission into dumping or subsidization under section 701 or 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 and 1673); or
under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252(b));
with respect to a domestic producer or a worker at a workplace of that producer, the Secretary of Commerce determines that—
a significant number or proportion of the workers at that workplace have become totally or partially separated, or are threatened to become totally or partially separated; and
the sales or production, or both, of that producer have decreased absolutely at that workplace;
imports of articles or services like or directly competitive with articles produced or services supplied by that producer at that workplace have increased;
imports of articles like or directly competitive with articles into which one or more component parts produced by that producer at that workplace are incorporated have increased;
imports of articles like or directly competitive with articles that are produced using services supplied by that producer at that workplace have increased; or
imports of articles incorporating one or more component parts produced outside the United States that are like or directly competitive with imports of articles incorporating one or more component parts produced by that producer at that workplace have increased; and
the increase in imports described in item (bb) contributed importantly to the separation or threat of separation by workers at that workplace and to the decline in the sales or production of that producer at that workplace; or
there has been a shift by that producer to a foreign country in the production of articles or the supply of services like or directly competitive with articles that are produced or services that are supplied by that producer at that workplace; or
that producer has acquired from a foreign country articles or services that are like or directly competitive with articles that are produced or services that are supplied by that producer at that workplace; and
the shift described in item (aa)(AA) or the acquisition of articles or services described in item (aa)(BB) contributed importantly to the separation or threat of separation by workers at that workplace; or
any other trade-related injury to a domestic producer or worker as determined by the Secretary of Commerce.