42 U.S.C. § 5301 : US Code - Section 5301: Congressional findings and declaration of purpose

Search 42 U.S.C. § 5301 : US Code - Section 5301: Congressional findings and declaration of purpose

(a) Critical social, economic, and environmental problems facing
Nation's urban communities
The Congress finds and declares that the Nation's cities, towns,
and smaller urban communities face critical social, economic, and
environmental problems arising in significant measure from -
(1) the growth of population in metropolitan and other urban
areas, and the concentration of persons of lower income in
central cities;
(2) inadequate public and private investment and reinvestment
in housing and other physical facilities, and related public and
social services, resulting in the growth and persistence of urban
slums and blight and the marked deterioration of the quality of
the urban environment; and
(3) increasing energy costs which have seriously undermined the
quality and overall effectiveness of local community and housing
development activities.
(b) Establishment and maintenance of viable urban communities;
systematic and sustained action by Federal, State, and local
governments; expansion of and continuity in Federal assistance;
increased private investment; streamlining programs and
improvement of functioning of agencies; action to address
consequences of scarce fuel supplies
The Congress further finds and declares that the future welfare
of the Nation and the well-being of its citizens depend on the
establishment and maintenance of viable urban communities as
social, economic, and political entities, and require -
(1) systematic and sustained action by Federal, State, and
local governments to eliminate blight, to conserve and renew
older urban areas, to improve the living environment of low- and
moderate-income families, and to develop new centers of
population growth and economic activity;
(2) substantial expansion of and greater continuity in the
scope and level of Federal assistance, together with increased
private investment in support of community development
activities;
(3) continuing effort at all levels of government to streamline
programs and improve the functioning of agencies responsible for
planning, implementing, and evaluating community development
efforts; and
(4) concerted action by Federal, State, and local governments
to address the economic and social hardships borne by communities
as a consequence of scarce fuel supplies.
(c) Decent housing, suitable living environment, and economic
opportunities for persons of low and moderate income; community
development activities which may be supported by Federal
assistance
The primary objective of this chapter and of the community
development program of each grantee under this chapter is the
development of viable urban communities, by providing decent
housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic
opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.
Consistent with this primary objective, not less than 70 percent of
the aggregate of the Federal assistance provided to States and
units of general local government under section 5306 of this title
and, if applicable, the funds received as a result of a guarantee
or a grant under section 5308 of this title, shall be used for the
support of activities that benefit persons of low and moderate
income, and the Federal assistance provided in this chapter is for
the support of community development activities which are directed
toward the following specific objectives -
(1) the elimination of slums and blight and the prevention of
blighting influences and the deterioration of property and
neighborhood and community facilities of importance to the
welfare of the community, principally persons of low and moderate
income;
(2) the elimination of conditions which are detrimental to
health, safety, and public welfare, through code enforcement,
demolition, interim rehabilitation assistance, and related
activities;
(3) the conservation and expansion of the Nation's housing
stock in order to provide a decent home and a suitable living
environment for all persons, but principally those of low and
moderate income;
(4) the expansion and improvement of the quantity and quality
of community services, principally for persons of low and
moderate income, which are essential for sound community
development and for the development of viable urban communities;
(5) a more rational utilization of land and other natural
resources and the better arrangement of residential, commercial,
industrial, recreational, and other needed activity centers;
(6) the reduction of the isolation of income groups within
communities and geographical areas and the promotion of an
increase in the diversity and vitality of neighborhoods through
the spatial deconcentration of housing opportunities for persons
of lower income and the revitalization of deteriorating or
deteriorated neighborhoods;
(7) the restoration and preservation of properties of special
value for historic, architectural, or esthetic reasons;
(8) the alleviation of physical and economic distress through
the stimulation of private investment and community
revitalization in areas with population outmigration or a
stagnating or declining tax base; and
(9) the conservation of the Nation's scarce energy resources,
improvement of energy efficiency, and the provision of
alternative and renewable energy sources of supply.
It is the intent of Congress that the Federal assistance made
available under this chapter not be utilized to reduce
substantially the amount of local financial support for community
development activities below the level of such support prior to the
availability of such assistance.
(d) Consolidation of complex and overlapping Federal assistance
programs into consistent system of Federal aid
It is also the purpose of this chapter to further the development
of a national urban growth policy by consolidating a number of
complex and overlapping programs of financial assistance to
communities of varying sizes and needs into a consistent system of
Federal aid which -
(1) provides assistance on an annual basis, with maximum
certainty and minimum delay, upon which communities can rely in
their planning;
(2) encourages community development activities which are
consistent with comprehensive local and areawide development
planning;
(3) furthers achievement of the national housing goal of a
decent home and a suitable living environment for every American
family; and
(4) fosters the undertaking of housing and community
development activities in a coordinated and mutually supportive
manner by Federal agencies and programs, as well as by
communities.