On the recordJuly 6, 1999
I think it does two things. Number one, it is available nationwide and not just where the empowerment zones or the community development banks are or where there has to be a particularly committed community banker who loves the community investment act. It's nationwide available. That's the first thing. That's a big deal. If you look at the one in New York we've got, it goes into Harlem, in the Bronx. There are probably a million people in New York City alone living in neighborhoods with unemployment rates above 10 percent, untouched by the empowerment zone. I don't know, maybe there's more. But at least a million. Mr. Brownstein. It broadens your reach.
Source
govinfo.gov