[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 21 (Monday, February 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E264-E265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        APPALACHIAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 5, 2007

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, today I, together with Ranking Member 
Mica, Economic Development Subcommittee Chairwoman Norton, Subcommittee 
Ranking Member Graves, and many Members who represent communities of 
the Appalachian region, introduce the Appalachian Regional Development 
Act Amendments of 2007. This bipartisan bill improves the programs 
authorized by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 and 
reauthorizes the Appalachian Regional Commission for five years through 
FY 2011.
  I am proud to sponsor this bill, which builds on more than four 
decades of economic development successes through job creation in some 
of the Nation's most disadvantaged yet deserving communities. I have 
witnessed first-hand the triumph that is possible when the Federal 
Government joins in partnership with states, localities, economic 
development districts, and private businesses to break the cycle of 
crippling and pervasive poverty. It is an economic certainty that job 
deficiencies reduce the tax base, which reduces the ability of 
governments to provide public infrastructure, which further reduces the 
ability to create and attract new industries. Generating jobs must 
therefore continue to be our top priority in communities suffering 
economic distress, particularly in Appalachia.
  The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was created by the 
Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-4) to address 
economic issues and social problems of the Appalachian region as a part 
of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program. Congress 
created the ARC in 1965 to assist the Appalachian region ``in providing 
the infrastructure necessary for economic and human resource 
development, in developing the regions' industry, in building 
entrepreneurial communities, in generating a diversified regional 
economy and in making the region's industrial and commercial resources 
more competitive in the national and world markets.''
  As a regional economic development agency, ARC's primary function is 
to support development of Appalachia's economy and critical 
infrastructure to provide a climate for industry growth and job 
creation. ARC includes all or part of 13 States: Alabama, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
  Historically, the Appalachian region has faced high levels of poverty 
and economic distress resulting from geographic isolation and 
inadequate infrastructure. Since its creation in 1965, ARC has 
administered a variety of programs to aid in the development and 
advancement of the region, including the creation of a highway system, 
enhancements in education and job training, and the development of 
water and sewer systems.
  ARC's funding and projects have contributed significantly to 
employment, health, public works, and general economic development 
improvements in the region. The regional poverty rate has been reduced 
by almost one-half. High school graduation rates have doubled, and the 
percentage of Appalachian students now completing high school is 
slightly above the national average. The infant mortality rate has been 
cut by two-thirds, and ARC funds have helped build more than 400 health 
facilities serving four million people in Appalachia.
  ARC projects have also helped to construct 2,496 miles of new 
Federal-aid highways. In the last five years alone, ARC-funded 
infrastructure projects have resulted in the creation or retention of 
136,000 jobs, and over 183,000 households have reaped the benefits of 
clean water and sanitation facilities.
  Yet, our work to ensure the economic viability and vitality of the 
communities that are part of the ARC is far from finished. 
Approximately one-fifth of ARC's counties remain in a state of economic 
distress. One-fourth of Appalachia's counties have a poverty rate that 
is more than 150 percent of the national average. Additional Federal 
investments are necessary to build upon the progress made to date.
  Specifically, this bill directs ARC to designate as ``at-risk 
counties,'' which are counties in the Appalachian region that are most 
at risk of becoming economically distressed; establishes the maximum 
Federal share for Appalachian Regional Commission non-highway grant 
amounts for designated at-risk counties as 70 percent; authorizes 
additional appropriations to the Commission through FY 2011 to carry 
out Appalachian regional development; and extends, for five years, the 
termination date of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 
(with exceptions for the Appalachian development highway system and 
certain definitions).
  During the 107th Congress, the House passed the Appalachian Regional 
Development Reauthorization Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-149), which built 
upon past successes of the Appalachian Regional Commission, made 
several amendments to existing law, and extended the authorization for 
an additional five years.
  ARC's authorization expired at the end of FY 2006. During the 109th 
Congress, the Committee's bipartisan leadership introduced

[[Page E265]]

H.R. 5812, a bill reauthorizing ARC through FY 2011. Although the 
Senate passed S. 2832 to reauthorize the ARC, the Senate-passed bill 
did not include the anti-earmarking provision of H.R. 5812. The House 
did not pass S. 2832 and no further action was taken on H.R. 5812. This 
bill includes the anti-earmarking provision that I insisted upon in the 
109th Congress.
  The ARC, and the critical investments that it provides, are far too 
important for further delay. Congress should show its commitment to the 
people of Appalachia by getting this bill to the President's desk early 
in the 110th Congress.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bipartisan bill to 
reauthorize the Appalachian Regional Commission.

                          ____________________