Special District Grant Accessibility Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7525) to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to agencies requiring special districts to be recognized as local government for the purpose of Federal financial assistance determinations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7525, which establishes a definition in law for special districts and clarifies that special districts are eligible to receive Federal financial assistance.

Many Americans receive essential services through special districts, units of local government authorized under State law to deliver specific services to communities. There are approximately 35,000 special districts across the country in every single State.

Some examples of special districts are ambulance service districts, drainage districts, emergency service boards, and flood control districts, to name a few. These special districts provide critical services to mostly rural communities across the Nation.

The Office of Management and Budget already recognizes special districts as units of local government, similar to townships or villages, yet special districts often struggle to compete for or access Federal funding.

The Special District Grant Accessibility Act works to solve this problem and ensures that special districts are on equal footing with other units of local government. This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to Federal agencies, emphasizing how special districts should be recognized as a unit of local government.

This legislation is supported by the National Special Districts Coalition.

I thank Representative Fallon and Representative Pettersen for their work on this important bipartisan bill, which impacts nearly every congressional district in our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to emphasize that special districts are eligible for Federal financial assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7525.

The Special District Grant Accessibility Act is a bipartisan measure that takes a positive step forward toward ensuring that Federal policy better reflects the complexities of local governments and how they work.

Congress confronted these complexities when it acted to send aid to local governments during the coronavirus pandemic. This included committee Democrats' historic work with the Biden-Harris administration to provide $350 billion in direct financial assistance to more than 30,000 governments across the country, the vast majority of which were small local governments, and many of whom received significant assistance for the first time.

This bill would provide further clarity around special districts, a special unit of local government. According to the National Special Districts Coalition, there are roughly 35,000 such special districts across the Nation that play an important role in delivering essential government services, like wastewater treatment and fire protection, to millions of Americans.

Special districts have reported challenges when trying to access Federal funding opportunities and have indicated that a unified Federal definition of ``special district'' would help clarify how entities can best assist local communities through Federal assistance programs.

To address these concerns, H.R. 7525 would codify a definition of the term and direct OMB to clarify how Federal agencies can recognize special districts as units of local government for the purpose of being eligible for Federal grants and other Federal assistance.

Congress and the Federal Government must continually work to ensure Federal assistance programs are authorized, funded, and implemented to best address the needs of local communities. This should include careful consideration of the intricacies of local governments and a rigorous commitment to ensuring Federal assistance promotes equal opportunity for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate subcommittee Chairman Pat Fallon and Representative Brittany Pettersen for their excellent bipartisan work and support of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Pettersen).

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 7525, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner), my good friend, for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7525, the Special District Grant Accessibility Act, introduced by myself and my colleague, Representative Pettersen, from the Centennial State of Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, special districts are a type of local government authorized by State law, which deliver specialized services to specific communities that would otherwise not be provided. In rural areas, for instance, special districts may provide fire protection, mosquito control, ambulatory services, et cetera. Special districts also occur in urban areas and can provide airport, road, and transit services.

According to the National Special Districts Coalition, as my colleague from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) said, there are about 35,000 special districts in the country, and they are in every State.

In Texas, we have over 3,300 special districts providing all manner of government goods and services. Yet, as these lesser-known units of government, special districts have struggled to consistently access Federal financial assistance.

H.R. 7525 would remedy that and would emphasize that special districts are units of local government and are, therefore, eligible for Federal financial assistance by establishing a definition in law for special districts and requiring the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to Federal agencies, as well as grant-issuing agencies.

This bill also requires an OMB report to Congress on the agency's implementation and conformity to the guidance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Pettersen and the bipartisan coalition of Members who cosponsored this bill, and I encourage a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Special District Grant Accessibility Act, and I thank my colleague, Representative Fallon, for his leadership and bipartisan collaboration on this bill. I also thank the advocates who raised this concern with our office and give a huge shout-out to my team for doing the work to get it to this point.

Special districts are local governments that are created by the people for a community to deliver specialized services. There are 35,000 special districts across the country, and this includes providing services ranging from drinking water and wastewater management to healthcare, transit, natural resource conservation, and much more.

This bipartisan bill will ensure Federal policies better reflect the complexities of local government by creating a Federal definition. I didn't realize that there were so many barriers at the local level to actually drawing down those Federal funds when it comes to community block grants, childcare services, and even transportation needs.

We also saw significant barriers when it came to the pandemic and the ARPA funding that was going down to help support communities through that difficult time. We know that this is a very important and small step forward, but it is going to make a big difference for people across Colorado and the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for the following Roll Call votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call No. 177. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass as Amended, H.R. 719, The Information Quality Assurance Act, I would have voted YEA; and

Roll Call No. 178. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, H.R. 7525, the Special District Grant Accessibility Act, I would have voted