[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2117-E2118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION AND LONG BEACH--A TRUE 
                        PARTNERSHIP FOR PROGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I am a resident of the city of Long Beach, CA. 
In 1974, then Mayor Wade asked a number of us to form an Economic 
Development Corporation in order to turn the city around.
  The Economic Development Administration [EDA] provided an original 
grant of $750,000 in the 1970's which was leveraged into a title IX 
grant of $7.65 million.
  This amount was later leveraged into more than $200 million in 
private funding for the large urban renewal program which changed the 
face of downtown Long Beach in the 1970's and 1980's. The result was 
new hotels, new businesses, a major world trade center, an expanded 
convention facility.
  EDA's help meant jobs.
  EDA funds also contributed to roadway improvements to allow further 
renewal of the downtown and shoreline areas of Long Beach.
  In the words of City Manager James Hankla and Jerry Miller, deputy 
city manager, the EDA has been the most responsive agency in the 
Federal Government in helping Long Beach address the impact of three 
major base closings through the Defense adjustment program.
  EDA provided half of the funding--$6 million--for the parking 
facilities critical to one of Long Beach's premier attractions, the 
recently opened Aquarium of the Pacific. This project has been a 
cornerstone of the city's recovery

[[Page E2118]]

plan following the closing of three major Navy facilities in the 
1990's--naval hospital, naval station, and naval shipyard. With the 
loss of the Navy, thousands of jobs were lost. Beginning in March 1988, 
and the end of the cold war, 400,000 jobs in aerospace were lost in Los 
Angeles County alone. With 450,000 residents, Long Beach is the second 
largest city in the county.
  EDA has also provided $3 million to help establish the California 
State University, Long Beach Research Park on land formerly belonging 
to the Long Beach Naval Station. So the newer technologies will grow in 
place of the old thanks to the EDA which agreed with the community's 
vision.
  EDA has helped provide funding to perform feasibility studies of 
bridges as part of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Project. That is 
the major intermodal in the Nation.
  The Economic Development Administration is a proven vehicle to bring 
together Federal and local government, small and large business, so 
that the end result is a better community which provides opportunities 
for residents and visitors alike. EDA means a better future.

                          ____________________