Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007

Floor Speech

REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - September 17, 2007)

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Mr. HODES. Mr. Speaker, I join Congressman Michaud in expressing thanks to Chairman Oberstar and other members of the Transportation Committee.

I rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007. This bill includes the Northern Border Regional Development Commission Act, the first bill I introduced as a Member of Congress, a bill with bipartisan support, and for which I extend a special thanks to Congressman Michaud, who has shown extraordinary leadership in the northern border region for economic development.

Mr. Speaker, parts of my home State of New Hampshire, and especially the beautiful region known as the North Country, have taken an economic beating and are struggling to recover. A staggering number of jobs have been lost. We have watched as plants closed and our young people disappeared to places that offer more opportunity. New Hampshire's North Country has suffered repeated economic body blows, and for the people who live there, it's getting harder and harder to get by.

I get up to the North Country quite frequently, and have spoken with hardworking folks with the drive to improve their neighborhoods, but whose communities have been ignored by the Federal Government for years.

If you were to pick up the paper today, Mr. Speaker, you would see pictures of the smokestacks of once thriving pulp mills coming down, having been subject to explosives.

Because of the challenges New Hampshire's North Country face, and the sincere desire of the people there to turn things around and to create new jobs and new investments, there's a compelling case for leveraging Federal investment in the region. In fact, the northern border region, or the ice belt, which includes the northernmost counties of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, has higher unemployment, a higher percentage of people living in poverty, and lower household income than the rest of the Nation.

The commission created in this bill would be charged with investing Federal resources for economic development and job creation in the most distressed counties in that northern border region.

By design and purpose, this bill follows the successful regional development models created in the mid 1960s to improve the economic standing of targeted regions in the South. Based on this successful model, the commission would create a unique Federal-State partnership charged with promoting development through regional planning, technical assistance and funding of projects aimed at encouraging economic prosperity.

The bill works like this: Community development districts and other nonprofits are encouraged to bring project ideas to the commission from the local level. This bottom-up, grassroots approach insures that actions reflect both local needs and regional economic development goals. It also insures that States have a deciding voice in what investment is made within their borders.

With a proposed budget of $40 million per year, the Northern Border Regional Development Commission can help meet a range of local needs. Whether the need is agricultural development, land and forestry conservation to maintain productive traditional uses, investment in transportation infrastructure, alternative and renewable energy or health care facilities, this commission will play a key role in investing in the region's economy.

The bill says, if you're willing to work hard and play by the rules, we're here to help you get ahead. The communities in the northern border region deserve effective government working for them. The Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act is an important first step toward providing good-paying jobs, economic opportunity and revitalized communities.

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