CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE
July 8, 1969
Page 18556
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, today the Senate took an important step forward in regional economic development by passing the Appalachia and Regional Development Act of 1969.
Under the able leadership of the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. RANDOLPH), the chairman of the Public Works Committee, and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. MONTOYA), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, the Senate has strengthened the Appalachia Commission's ability to deal with the critical problems of economic underdevelopment which persist in that area, and has increased the powers of the other title V Commissions to deal with similar problems in their regions.
Although public attention has not been as concentrated, the poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment of the New England, Ozarks, Upper Great Lakes, Coastal Plains, and Four Corners regions have created hopelessness and despair for too many of the people of those regions. Congress recognized these conditions in the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, and the five title V Commissions were created in 1966 and 1967.
On the basis of the experience of the Appalachia experiment, Congress felt that the same principles could be applied to other regions of the Nation which suffered from economic underdevelopment.
In amendments to title V enacted in October of 1967, the Congress provided the commissions with authority to initiate supplemental grant programs to enable them to begin on a modest scale the important task of spurring their regional economies. In addition, the Congress directed the commissions to develop comprehensive long-range economic plans which would define regional needs and priorities and serve as the basis for the development of programs addressed to those needs. During the past 2 years the commissions have made substantial progress in complying with that congressional directive, and have developed specific programs and projects to carry out their development plans.
Mr. President, in the title V of the Public Works and Economic Development Act the Congress laid the foundation for a new form of cooperation between the Federal Government and the States through which their combined resources could be brought to bear on problems which are regional in nature, but relate directly to national goals and objectives. The regional commissions -- consisting in each instance of the Governors of the States involved and a Federal co-chairman -- have the responsibility for administering and implementing this cooperative venture.
The long-range plans developed by the regional commissions, when approved by the Secretary of Commerce, represent agreement by both Federal and State governments on what needs to be done and the apportionment of responsibilities for doing it. Now the regional commissions need authorization to carry out their plans in accordance with the objectives of the Congress in the enactment of title V of the Public Works Act, and the bill passed this morning provides that authority.
Earlier in the session I introduced alternative legislation to S. 1072. This bill (S. 1090), cosponsored by more than 30 of my colleagues, recommended several important changes in the authority of the regional commissions. Although all of these changes were not accepted by the committee, several of them are among the significant provisions in the legislation passed by the Senate today.
The discretion of the Secretary of Commerce in providing funds to the regional commissions has been limited. The committee felt that the preservation of the independence of the commissions was important, and I hope that this will encourage the commission to function as responsible regional organizations.
The addition of "demonstration projects and training programs" to the activities which may be funded under section 505 of the act -- technical assistance -- will give the commissions the latitude in program development necessary to the innovative development of the regions.
The supplemental grant authority of section 509 has been broadened to allow the commissions to make supplemental grants where there are not sufficient funds under existing categorical aid programs for the Federal share. This "first dollar" money will increase the commissions' ability to deal with regional problems by eliminating the middleman when funds are in otherwise short supply.
The committee also recognized that some of the title V commissions are progressing at a faster rate than others in developing the plans and capabilities to administer the large amounts of funds which the act envisions. Therefore, the committee recommended separate authorizations for each of the commissions. I hope that one of the important effects of this decision will be an increased independence of the commissions from the Department of Commerce.
I congratulate the Senate for its recognition of the pressing economic problems faced by these five regions. The increased assistance provided in the legislation passed today will pay its own way by developing in these five regions the self-sufficiency and imagination which can eliminate hopelessness and despair.