[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 151 (Friday, October 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3246 REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND 
                 INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2007

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 3246, the Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act 
of 2007. I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Oberstar, 
for introducing this important legislation, as well as for his 
leadership on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation creates a comprehensive regional 
approach to economic and infrastructure development in some of the most 
severely economically distressed regions of our nation, authorizing 
$1.25 billion through Fiscal Year 2012 for two existing commissions and 
three new regional economic development commissions. It authorizes 
these five regional economic development commissions under a common 
framework of administration, providing a rubric for economic 
development planning.
  All five regional commissions will employ the model of the highly 
successful Appalachian Regional Commission, crafted in the 1960s to 
address persistent poverty in the Appalachian region. The Appalachian 
Regional Commission, through the several hundred projects it funds 
annually, has created thousands of new jobs, as well as improving local 
water and sewer systems, increasing school readiness, expanding access 
to health care, assisting local communities with strategic planning, 
and providing help and resources for new businesses. Crucially, this 
model combines targeting communities with greatest need with a unified 
framework of management and decision-making.
  Two of the five regional commissions authorized by today's 
legislation, the Delta Regional Commission and the Northern Great 
Plains Regional Commission, are existing entities that will be 
reauthorized by this legislation. The first of these, the Delta 
Regional Commission, was proposed by President Clinton in 1998, and is 
designed to strengthen the economic development of the chronically 
impoverished lower Mississippi River area. Included in this region are 
counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
  In addition to systemic poverty and underdevelopment, this region is 
particularly in need of support after the devastation of Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita. Hurricane Katrina resulted in more than 1,800 deaths, 
nearly 500,000 homes in Louisiana and Mississippi being destroyed or 
made uninhabitable, and about 1.5 million people being at least 
temporarily displaced from their homes. From housing to health care to 
education, the region remains in a state of crisis. Though this 
Congress has directed more than $6.4 billion in assistance to the 
victims of this disaster, we still have a great deal of work to do to 
rebuild these devastated communities.
  Other regions will also greatly benefit from this legislation. The 
Northern Great Plains Regional Commission encompasses all counties in 
Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as 
certain counties in Missouri. The Southeast Crescent Regional 
Commission consists of all counties in Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida that are not served 
by the Appalachian Regional Commission or Delta Regional Commission. 
The Southwest Border Regional Commission covers certain counties in 
Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. The Northern Border 
Regional Commission includes specified counties in Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
  For each of these commissions, this legislation establishes 
membership, voting structure, and staffing, as well as 
outlining conditions for financial assistance, authorizing grants to 
local development districts, and establishing an Inspector General for 
the commissions. It also includes additional provisions designed to 
produce a standard administrative framework. By providing a uniform set 
of procedures, this bill creates a consistent method for distributing 
economic development funds throughout the regions most in need of such 
assistance and ensures a comprehensive regional approach to economic 
and infrastructure development in the most severely distressed regions 
in the country.

  H.R. 3246 authorizes the appropriation of $1.25 billion from 2008-
2012 to establish these development commissions. It also directs the 
five regional commissions to award grants to state and local 
governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations to promote 
economic and infrastructure development. At least 40 percent of the 
authorized funds will be directed to grants to develop transportation, 
telecommunications, and other basic public infrastructure. Remaining 
funds will be used for other economic development activities, such as 
providing job training, improving public services, and promoting 
conservation, tourism, and development of renewable and alternative 
energy projects.
  Mr. Speaker, the Appalachian Regional Commission has had great 
success bringing about economic revitalization and improving the lives 
of many residents of the region. I believe that this legislation can 
make significant strides toward bringing similar development to five 
more regions of our nation. These commissions will stimulate struggling 
economies, and they will help strengthen communities by providing 
education and job training and supporting local entrepreneurship and 
leadership.
  In addition, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my 
colleagues, in the future, to work to extend coordinated economic 
development projects to some of our nation's urban areas. Many inner 
city areas of our country suffer from a level of economic distress 
similar to that felt by residents of the regions addressed by this 
bill, and I believe that we can do a great deal to assist the economic 
development of these urban areas as well.
  Mr. Speaker, this is extremely important legislation that will go a 
long way toward improving the quality of life for significant numbers 
of Americans. It will create prospects for the future and strengthen 
communities. I believe this is extremely important legislation for our 
nation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

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