Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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By Mr. McCONNELL:
S. 1824. A bill to reform the Appalachian Regional Commission, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr President, for decades, I have supported the Appalachian Regional Commission, or ARC, and its mission to invest in communities to strengthen economic growth throughout the Appalachian region.
As I have expressed before, however, I have grown frustrated by ARC's shortcomings. Last year, the Senate considered an amendment to abolish ARC entirely. I voted against that proposal because I believe that the Commission still serves an important purpose, but since that time I've been calling on ARC to clarify its clouded focus.
For instance, because of ARC's own rules, the most distressed counties in the region can only receive up to 30% of its area development funds. In other words, a substantial portion of the agency's resources--which should be focused on alleviating poverty--are intentionally directed away from the counties most in need of help.
This has been a criticism leveled against ARC for years. I believe that, if ARC serves a valid purpose today, then it is to assist the most impoverished counties in the region.
Moreover, while the other regional commissions are headquartered in the areas for which they're designed to serve, ARC maintains its primary office right here in Washington, D.C. An expensive office near Dupont Circle, far
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away from the people and the communities it serves, is not the right place for ARC.
Today, I will introduce legislation along with my friend and longtime ARC champion, Congressman Hal Rogers, to make desperately needed reforms at ARC. Our bill is designed to reform the Commission, to focus its mission on investing more in the poorest Appalachian communities, and to direct ARC's leadership to relocate the organization to the region it serves.
These common-sense reforms will help set ARC on a path toward fulfilling what should be its central mission--poverty alleviation--and delivering vital assistance to those who need it the most. I hope that all of my colleagues will join with me to move this legislation forward and provide necessary relief to communities in Appalachia.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
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