[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4205 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4205
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a loan
repayment program for certain architects, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2014
Mr. Perlmutter (for himself, Mr. Ross, Mr. Meeks, and Ms. Moore)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a loan
repayment program for certain architects, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Design Services Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. ARCHITECT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.
Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 5322. ARCHITECT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.
``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary may establish and carry out a
loan repayment program for eligible architects (in this section
referred to as the `loan repayment program') who provide eligible
design services on behalf of a Community Design Center.
``(b) Contract.--To be eligible to participate in the loan
repayment program, an eligible architect shall enter into a written
contract with the Secretary that contains--
``(1) an agreement under which--
``(A) the eligible architect agrees to provide
eligible design services on behalf of a Community
Design Center for a period of not shorter than 1 year;
and
``(B) the Secretary agrees to make payments on the
principal and interest of qualifying educational loans
of the eligible architect in an amount to be determined
by the Secretary for the period of time the eligible
architect provides such eligible design services;
``(2) a provision that any financial obligation of the
United States arising out of a contract entered into under this
subsection and any obligation of the eligible architect which
is conditioned thereon, is contingent upon funds being
appropriated for the loan repayment program under this section;
and
``(3) a statement of the damages to which the United States
is entitled under subsection (f) if the eligible architect
breaches the contract.
``(c) Eligible Design Services.--The term `eligible design
services' means research or design services as follows:
``(1) The design, including the preparation of construction
documents, of housing facilities, schools, health clinics,
libraries, community centers, and other public facilities
(except for buildings used for the general conduct of
government).
``(2) The development of comprehensive long-range community
development plans.
``(3) The development of plans for neighborhoods that are
appropriate for rehabilitation or conservation activities,
including neighborhoods that are blighted, deteriorated, or
deteriorating.
``(4) The preservation or rehabilitation of historic sites.
``(5) The design, including the preparation of construction
documents, of building retrofits for energy and water
efficiency and conservation improvements.
``(6) Assessment of the safety of structures that are in
disrepair or have been damaged as the result of natural or
manmade disasters.
``(7) The design of improvements that remove architectural
barriers which restrict the mobility of elderly individuals and
individuals with disabilities.
``(8) Plans for the redevelopment of traditional main
streets and business districts.
``(9) Other activities as the Secretary may determine.
``(d) Application.--The Secretary shall provide for an eligible
architect to submit an application to participate in the loan repayment
program to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require which shall include--
``(1) proof of employment by a Community Design Center for
a period of not less than 1 year;
``(2) a statement of the amount of compensation the
eligible architect will receive from the Community Design
Center; and
``(3) a contract entered into pursuant to subsection (b).
``(e) Selection.--The Secretary shall select, from applications
submitted under subsection (d), eligible architects to participate in
the loan repayment program.
``(f) Administration.--
``(1) Contracting authority.--The Secretary may enter into
a contract with another Federal agency to assist in the
administration of this program.
``(2) Breach.--
``(A) In general.--A contract described in
subsection (b) shall provide remedies for any breach of
such contract by an eligible architect, including
repayment or partial repayment of financial assistance
received with interest.
``(B) Amounts recovered.--Funds recovered under
this paragraph shall be credited to the account
available to carry out this section and shall remain
available until expended.
``(C) Waiver.--The Secretary may grant a waiver of
any repayment obligation for breach of contract in the
event of extreme hardship or extreme need, as
determined by the Secretary.
``(3) Amount.--The Secretary shall develop regulations to
determine the amount of loan repayment for 1 year of service by
an eligible architect. In making the determination, the
Secretary shall maximize the number of contracts that can be
provided under the program from the amounts appropriated for
such contracts.
``(4) Qualifying educational loans.--Loan repayments
provided under this section may consist of payments on behalf
of eligible architects of the principal and interest on
government and commercial loans received by the eligible
architect for attendance at an accredited masters program in
architecture, which loans were made for--
``(A) tuition expenses;
``(B) all other reasonable educational expenses,
including fees, books, technology, and studio expenses
incurred by the eligible architect; or
``(C) reasonable living expenses as determined by
the Secretary.
``(5) Repayment schedule.--The Secretary may contract with
an eligible architect's loan provider for the payment to the
loan provider, on behalf of the eligible architect, of the
amount of a loan repayment described in paragraph (3).
``(g) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
allow a Community Design Center to prepare building plans or
construction documents that do not comply with applicable State and
local laws and regulations related to building codes and permits.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section the following definitions shall
apply:
``(1) Community design center.--The term `Community Design
Center' means a non-profit organization operated and managed by
a licensed architect that conducts research and provides
eligible design services for community development projects.
``(2) Eligible architect.--The term `eligible architect'
means an individual who--
``(A) has completed an accredited masters program
in architecture; or
``(B) is an intern architect who has completed an
accredited masters program in architecture and is
enrolled in the Intern Development Program of the
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
``(3) State.--The term `State' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and any territory or
possession of the United States.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for carrying out this section such sums as may be
necessary, to remain available until expended.''.
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