Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 3246, as amended, in fact does amend title 40, United States Code, to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development in the most severely and economically distressed regions of the Nation.

H.R. 3246, the Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007, authorizes two existing commissions and three new regional economic development commissions under a common framework of administration and management, and further provides a framework for good decisionmaking and planning. These commissions are designed to address problems of systemic poverty and underdevelopment in their respective regions.

The five commissions are: the Delta Regional Commission, the Northern Great Plains Regional Commission, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, the Southwest Border Regional Commission, and the Northern Border Regional Commission.

The bill models the administrative and management procedures for these five commissions after the highly successful Appalachian Regional Commission. The bill provides for a voting structure, provisions regarding staffing, conflicts of interest, local development districts, and other matters designed to produce a standard administrative framework.

By providing a uniform set of procedures, this bill provides 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 where it is most needed in our country.

The Northern Border Regional Commission, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and the Southwest Border Regional Commission have been proposed in legislation introduced in this and in previous Congresses and are designed to address problems of systemic poverty and underdevelopment in those regions. In addition, the Delta Regional Commission and the Northern Great Plains Commission would be authorized through this legislation.

H.R. 3246 authorizes funds for each commission to provide vital assistance for the development of our Nation's most chronically poor and distressed regions.

I would like to say a few words about the uniqueness of each of the new commissions being authorized by this bill. The Southwest Border Region includes all counties within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. This region contains 11 counties in New Mexico, 65 counties in Texas, 10 counties in Arizona, and seven counties in California, for a combined population of approximately 29 million residents.

According to research compiled by the Interagency Task Force on the Economic Development of the Southwest Border, 20 percent of the residents of this region of the Nation live below the poverty level. Unemployment rates are often as high as five times the national unemployment rate, and a lack of adequate access to capital has created economic disparities and made it difficult for businesses to start up in the region.

The Northern Border Region, stretching from Maine to New York, while abundant in natural resources and rich in potential, lags behind much of the Nation in its economic growth, and its people have not shared properly in the Nation's prosperity. The region's historic reliance on a few basic industries and on agriculture has failed to provide a diverse enough economic base for a vigorous self-sustained growth. In the belt of counties along the northern border from Maine through New York, 12.5 percent of the population lives in poverty; median household incomes is about $6,500 below the national average; unemployment through layoffs in traditional manufacturing industries is persistent; and the population grew only by 0.6 percent between 1990 and 2000 while the U.S. population rose by 13.2 percent, showing significant out-migration and loss of young people in the northern border region.

The southeastern portion of the United States, encompassing the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, is an area which has seen poverty rates well above the national average, coupled with record unemployment. The region has also experienced natural disasters at a rate two to three times greater than any other region in the United States. The Southeast Crescent Authority authorizes a local-State-Federal partnership to lift citizens in this geographic area out of poverty and create jobs.

With the Federal allocation of funding, SECA seeks to funnel monies to programs which address one or more of the following criteria for the community betterment: infrastructure, education and job training, health care, entrepreneurship, and leadership development. Those communities with the greatest need will be targeted, and grants will be made according to the degree of distress.

This bill has very broad and very bipartisan support, Mr. Speaker; and the committee has held a series of hearings that has documented the needs that these economic development commissions would address.

I strongly support the bill, and urge passage of H.R. 3246.

Source