Rep. Mike Kelly: Opportunity Zones Are Working, and Erie Remains a Nationwide Model

Statement

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and the Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing focusing on the impact of the federal Opportunity Zones program. Erie Downtown Development Corporation (EDDC) CEO John Persinger was among the witnesses testifying before the committee. Opportunity Zones in downtown Erie have been considered a model for other cities nationwide. Opportunity Zones are working to bring key investment dollars to high poverty, low income communities. Although Democrats used the hearing to criticize Opportunity Zones as a law carved out by Republicans to serve as a tax haven for the rich, investment in bipartisan Opportunity Zones has far surpassed other community development tax credits. Through 2019, about $29 billion has reached areas of need.

"The bipartisan Opportunity Zone tax incentive allows greater investment in local communities to help lift Americans out of poverty and strengthen small businesses," Kelly said in prepared remarks. "That is the truth about Opportunity Zones. And keep in mind, we are still incredibly early in the process of implementing this new tax incentive. And we only have partial data from the year prior to IRS implementation of the policy. Much has changed since then. But the limited data that we do have is pointing to success."

"Congress should study why Opportunity Zones are working in Erie, Pennsylvania,
when decades of other Federal policies have failed or underperformed, and assess how, going
forward, more legislation can be crafted like Opportunity Zones, so that people who live in
communities similar to Erie have the flexibility to attract investment to meet their community
needs," Persinger said.

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