Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011
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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I wish to speak to the bill before us on the Economic Development Administration.
I rise specifically to talk about the issue that is on the minds of all Americans; that is, the topic of jobs. Unemployment is far too high. My home State unemployment is very high, and that is before we count all the folks who are underemployed--those who have found some type of part-time work, but it is not enough to support their families.
We all know how worried Americans are about this. It goes to the heart of their financial foundations, the success of their families, and it should be our top focus.
The good news is that the bill before us creates jobs and stimulates the economy in our towns and regions that need help the most. Economic Development Administration assistance is targeted to both rural and urban areas experiencing high unemployment, low income, a natural disaster or other severe economic distress. It does this at a low cost and gets the most bang for our buck.
The bill encourages private sector investment. Indeed, for every $1 the government spends on these projects, we leverage $7 in private investment. That is terrific leverage for our national investment.
With national unemployment still above 9 percent and with extreme storms causing destruction around the Nation, our support in these regions matters now more than ever. Whether a town is recovering from a plant closure or a flood, it is critical that the community invest in planning for their new economic future. The kind of assistance provided by the Economic Development Administration is critical to promoting economic growth and job creation, particularly in small communities.
I wish to share an example from my home State in the town of Vernonia, OR. It is a small community in the northern part of our State that was devastated by heavy flooding in 2007. Similar to many of the rural communities that are helped by these grants, Vernonia is too small to have dedicated staff to help them rebuild the local economy, and that is where the EDA has a great role to play. Through two EDA programs, the Federal Government was able to step in and help by partnering with local governments and private business, and today Vernonia is doing much better. As the executive director of that area's economic development district said: ``We would be lost without the EDA.''
Take another example regarding the timber industry in Oregon, hit hard by declining demand because the housing market is in the ditch. The timber companies and their workers are struggling, but they have two things on their side: great workers and great natural resources. With the help of grants from the EDA, one of those lumber mills on the Klamath Reservation has been turned into a new biomass plant, producing green energy for the region, bringing new economic activity to the Klamath Reservation and creating and saving jobs for Oregonians.
Furthermore, the EDA can continue to help our timber companies and other similar businesses plan for the future and play a key role in helping communities by coordinating between private companies and the Forest Service. The EDA can help these companies project what timber contracts are likely to come down the road and how they can tailor their business model to grow accordingly.
EDA investments are a proven path to retaining or creating new private sector job opportunities and helping small businesses diversify or expand. In fact, from 2005 to 2010, EDA projects led directly to the creation of more than 300,000 jobs--and this doesn't even count the many thousands more jobs that were created by those seven private dollars for every public dollar.
Without question, the EDA represents an efficient and cost-effective way to help distressed regions overcome the challenges they are facing and build a new foundation for job growth in our communities.
I urge my colleagues to pass this bill and to put our country back on the path to creating jobs.
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