2½ per centum of such funds shall be set aside and shall be expended only for grants for public works projects under this chapter to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. None of the remainder of such funds shall be expended for such grants to such tribes and villages.

After the set aside required by paragraph (1) of this subsection, $70,000,000 shall be set aside and expended only for grants for any public works project the application for a grant for which was made under this chapter after July 22, 1976, and before December 24, 1976, and which application was not received, was not considered, or was rejected solely because of an error by an officer or employee of the United States. Any allocation made to an applicant pursuant to regulation shall be reduced by the amount of any grant made to such applicant under this paragraph.

After the set asides required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, 65 per centum of such funds shall be allocated among the States on the basis of the ratio that the number of unemployed persons in each State bears to the total number of unemployed persons in all the States and 35 per centum of such funds shall be allocated among those States with an average unemployment rate for the preceding twelve-month period in excess of 6.5 per centum on the basis of the relative severity of unemployment in each such State, except that (A) no State shall be allocated less than three-quarters of one per centum or more than 12½ per centum of such funds for local public works projects within such State, except that in the case of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, not less than one-half of one per centum in the aggregate shall be granted for such projects in all four of these jurisdictions, and (B) no State whose unemployment data was converted for the first time in 1976 to the benchmark data of the current population survey annual average compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall receive a percentage of such funds less than the percentage of funds allocated to such State under this chapter from funds appropriated to carry out this chapter prior to May 13, 1977.

In making grants under this chapter, the Secretary shall give priority and preference to public works projects of local governments.

In making grants for projects for construction, renovation, repair, or other improvement of buildings, the Secretary shall also give consideration as between such building projects to those projects which will result in conserving energy, including, but not limited to, projects to redesign and retrofit existing public facilities for energy conservation purposes, and projects using alternative energy systems.

In making grants under this chapter, the Secretary shall also give priority and preference to any public works project requested by a State or by a special purpose unit of local government which is endorsed by a general purpose local government within such State.

A project requested by a school district shall be accorded the full priority and preference to public works projects of local governments provided in paragraph (1).

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall not consider or approve or make a grant for any project for which any application was not submitted for a grant under this chapter on or before December 23, 1976.