To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a program enabling communities to better leverage resources to address health, economic development, and conservation concerns through needed investments in parks, recreational areas, facilities, and programs, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, …
Primary Purpose
Establishes a federal grant and loan program to fund the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of urban parks and recreational facilities, with a focus on underserved communities, veterans, at-risk youth, and environmental sustainability.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create a comprehensive federal funding mechanism for urban parks infrastructure through both direct grants to local governments and innovative financing tools (loans/loan guarantees) to leverage private investment."
Likely Beneficiaries
- Local governments in metropolitan areas seeking park infrastructure funding
- Urban residents in underserved communities lacking recreational facilities
- Veterans and military families through targeted recreation programs
- At-risk youth through crime prevention and recreation programs
- Construction and landscape architecture firms that build parks
- Private nonprofit recreation organizations
- State infrastructure financing authorities
- Private investors in parks infrastructure projects
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal taxpayers funding the appropriations and loan subsidies
- Local governments required to provide matching funds (30-50% of grant amounts)
- HUD required to establish and administer new grant and loan programs
- Grant recipients required to submit extensive reporting and recordkeeping
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A local government that is eligible for a grant under section 103(a), generally those located within a standard metropolitan statistical area.
Any city, county, town, township, parish, village, or any local or regional special district, such as a park district, conservation district, or park authority.
Indoor or outdoor parks, buildings, sites, or other facilities dedicated to recreation purposes and administered by public or private nonprofit agencies, with emphasis on public facilities readily accessible to residential neighborhoods. Excludes major sports arenas, exhibition areas, and conference halls used primarily for commercial sports, spectator, or display activities.
A community-based, nonprofit organization, corporation, or association organized for purposes of providing recreation, conservation, and educational services directly to urban residents on either a neighborhood or community-wide basis.
For Title II financing: corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, trusts, federal/state/local governmental entities, agencies, special purpose park and recreation districts, or State infrastructure financing authorities.
A secured loan made, or loan guarantee provided, under section 208.
A rating of BBB minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as assigned by a rating agency.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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