To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of General Services to give preference to high unemployment areas in selecting sites for the construction of public buildings and in leasing space to accommodate Federal agencies.

September 24, 2003

Mr. GOODE (for himself and Mr. BOUCHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of General Services to give preference to high unemployment areas in selecting sites for the construction of public buildings and in leasing space to accommodate Federal agencies.

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 `High Unemployment Area Assistance Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, 3,127,000 net private sector jobs have been lost since January 2001;

(2) the national unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July 2003;

(3) certain industries and geographical areas have borne a disproportionate share of the job loss and unemployment;

(4) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2,406,000 net manufacturing sector jobs have been lost since January 2001; and

(5) unemployment in many manufacturing intensive areas exceeded 10 percent in July 2003.

SEC. 3. PREFERENCE FOR LOCATING PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AREAS.

Section 3306 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(d) PREFERENCE FOR HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AREAS- In selecting sites for the construction of public buildings and in leasing space to accommodate Federal agencies, the Administrator shall give preference to areas in which, for the most recent 12-month period for which data is available, the unemployment rate exceeds the national average by 2 percentage points or more, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.'.

END