To increase the waiver requirement for certain local matching requirements for grants provided to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

March 11, 2003

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To increase the waiver requirement for certain local matching requirements for grants provided to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 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. WAIVER OF LOCAL MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.

(a) WAIVER OF CERTAIN MATCHING REQUIREMENTS- Section 501 of the Act entitled `An Act to authorize certain appropriations for the territories of the United States, to amend certain Acts relating thereto, and for other purposes', approved October 15, 1977 (48 U.S.C. 1469a; 91 Stat. 1164) is amended--

(1) in the last sentence of subsection (d), by striking `by law'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, each department or agency of the United States shall waive any requirement for local matching funds (including in-kind contributions) that the insular area would otherwise be required to provide for any grant as follows:

`(1) For a grant requiring matching funds (including in-kind contributions) of $500,000 or less, the entire matching requirement shall be waived.

`(2) For a grant requiring matching funds (including in-kind contributions) of more than $500,000, $500,000 of the matching requirement shall be waived.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 601 of the Act entitled `An Act to authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes', approved March 12, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 1469a note; 94 Stat. 90), is amended by striking `, and adding the following sentence' and all that follows through `Islands.'.

(c) STUDY- Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall complete and submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate the results of a study of the implementation of the amendments made by subsection (a).

END