34 U.S.C. § 12182 — Provision of assistance

This section has two lettered parts, (a) and (b).

(a) Authority. The Secretary of Health and Human Services can give community development corporations nonrefundable lines of credit. These lines of credit help the corporations start, keep running, or grow revolving loan funds. The money from those funds must go toward projects that create business and job opportunities for low-income, unemployed, or underemployed people, and that improve quality of life in urban and rural areas.

(b) Revolving loan funds. The Secretary must set up a competitive process for reviewing applications for these lines of credit. To be eligible, an applicant must be a community development corporation^*; must submit an application with a strategic investment plan describing the target area's economy, the businesses it will help, and how that help will affect low-income, underemployed, and unemployed people in the target area^*; must show it has past experience developing low-income housing or community and business projects, with a record of results; and must have already lined up local matching support -- in cash, in kind, or through letters of credit or commitment -- at least equal to the amount it's requesting. As an exception, the Secretary can lower that local matching requirement to as little as 25 percent of the requested credit line, if the Secretary decides that's appropriate under section 12186.