FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
October 10, 1997
No. OV-10
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the performance of the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) Program. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 1997, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The EZ/EC program was established by the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 93) (P.L. 103-66), and expanded by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34). Implementation began with a nominating procedure in January 1994. In December 1994, the Administration announced the designation of 104 EZs and ECs: 6 urban EZs, 3 rural EZs, 65 urban ECs, and 30 rural ECs. Additionally, since 1982, 41 States have established their own zones. Four States have terminated their programs, but 3,000 zones exist in 37 States.
Under OBRA 93, a qualifying small business in an EZ is eligible for an extra $20,000 in expensing, and employers are entitled to a 20 percent credit on the first $15,000 of wages paid to certain qualified employees. Expanded use of tax-exempt private activity bonds is available to both EZs and ECs.
Additionally, each urban EZ can receive up to $100 million and each rural EZ can receive $40 million in flexible Social Service Block Grants (SSBG) funds. Each EC can receive $3 million in SSBG funds over the 10-year life of the program. The funding is from Title XX, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, 20 new empowerment zones (15 urban and 5 rural) are to be designated under a second round of competition, using a somewhat expanded eligibility criteria. The bill also authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate two additional urban empowerment areas to receive the tax incentives authorized by the 1993 statute. Eligible businesses in the remaining 20 enterprise zones will be eligible for expensing, but not for a wage credit. The measure provides additional tax-exempt financing, but no SSBG funding for the 22 new zones.
H.R. 1031, introduced by Reps. J. C. Watts (R-OK) and Jim Talent (R-MO) would establish 100 renewal communities and provide tax incentives for businesses in renewal communities.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "In December 1994, the Administration announced the designation of 9 empowerment zones and 95 enterprise communities. While it may be early to fully evaluate the success of this program, it is time to start. With Congress considering legislation to establish 'renewal communities,' it is especially important that we identify benchmarks for success in the program that is already underway."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will examine the performance of the EZ/EC program, enacted by Congress in 1993 and expanded by the recently-enacted Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, November 11, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.