Empowerment Zone Enhancement Act of 1998
Empowerment Zone Enhancement Act of 1998 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act with respect to additional grants to: (1) provide for grant funding for additional empowerment zones; (2) set the amount of such grants for zones in urban ($10 million) and rural ($4 million) areas, as well as the timing of such grants (ten years of one-year grants); (3) provide funding for such grants; (4) authorize the use of grants to fund revolving loan funds and similar arrangements to make loans, guarantees, financial services, or related activities more accessible to residents, institutions, organizations, or businesses; (5) require environmental review by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (urban areas) and the Secretary of Agriculture (rural areas); and (6) require the lead implementing entity for an empowerment zone to establish a performance measurement system.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.