Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007

Floor Speech

REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - October 04, 2007)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 704, I call up the bill (H.R. 3246) to amend title 40, United States Code, to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development in the most severely economically distressed regions in the Nation, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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Mr. OBERSTAR. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007 reauthorizes two existing commissions and establishes three new commissions. The two existing commissions, one, the Delta Regional Commission, was created through the appropriation process, and the Northern Great Plains Regional Commission was established some time ago, but we establish three new regional economic development commissions: The Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, the Southwest Border Regional Commission, and the Northern Border Regional Commission.

The purpose of the regional commission approach to economic development is a recognition that economic difficulties don't stop at political dividing lines, county lines, State lines, that they transcend our political boundaries, that the economic development problems are grouped by region. By economy, if you will.

Some years ago, we had the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission linking the upper peninsula of Michigan, the upper counties of Wisconsin and the northern tier of Minnesota. They had in common forestry, wood, wood fiber industries, fisheries, travel/tourism and Great Lakes ports connected to the international economy through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Projects conceived by the Upper Great Lakes Commission were to be linked to the commonality of regional economic difficulties the three States experienced. The same with Appalachia coal; the attendant difficulties of the coal sector of our economy stretched across State boundaries and linked the entire Appalachian region with their forestry difficulties as well and also with their need for surface transportation development. That is the principle that is extended to the three new commissions, the Southeast Crescent, the Southwest Border and the Northern Border Commission.

The Delta Regional Commission is one that has unique problems, exacerbated and at the same time underscored by the tragedy of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. All of the counties, or I should say most of the counties, and parishes in Louisiana, in that region suffered common economic problems. Creating an economic development structure on a regional basis will join the resources and the forces of these States, the counties and the parishes, to bring forth new ideas that will benefit not just one community, not just one parish, but a commonality of parishes, a commonality of counties and a commonality of the States.

In this legislation, we establish a structure, a common framework for administration and management modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission but also modeled after the difficulties we experienced in previous regional economic development commissions in the sixties and seventies and early eighties. We need standard procedures. We need a voting structure. We need standard procedures for staffing, standards that establish conditions under which conflicts of interest can be evaluated and avoided. Commonality establishment of local economic development districts, a consistent method for distributing economic development funds, a uniform set of procedures that will apply to all of the commission, and, finally, with commonality then we can have uniform evaluation standards of the results of these commissions. And it will be the purpose of our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to hold intensive oversight hearings as these commissions get under way with their work, they are funded, and we will want to hold them accountable, we will want to see their record of success, and I am quite confident, given the grassroots-up nature of establishment of planning and mission of these commissions, that there will be great success stories.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, I express my great appreciation to Mr. Mica, the ranking member of the full committee, and especially to Mr. Graves, who devoted so much time to the hearings, to the diligent effort within the committee of shaping and crafting this bill.

In the matter of adding counties that were not in the original commissions' proposals, we adhered to a very strict principle, that is, the additions had to conform with unemployment rate significantly above national average, per capita income rates that were significantly below national average rates, and out-migrations. In all cases, the counties recommended by the gentleman from Missouri, the parishes by the gentleman from Louisiana, and the gentleman from Mississippi all conformed when we got updated census information.

Mr. Speaker, I think we have here a splendid structure, one in which we can achieve accountability, one in which there already is success. In a report the committee received just this morning from the Delta Regional Commission on cumulative projects over the last year, the leveraging ratio is 16 to 1. That is for every $1 the commission invested in projects within the region, $16 additional in private sector and non-Federal funds have been invested. That is an extraordinary success ratio, and we want to ensure that that success will continue and will be extended to all of the commissions.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and ask for a resounding affirmative vote for this legislation.

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Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, it is well known, has been debated many times in this body, that a motion to recommit that uses the term ``promptly'' is simply a motion to kill the bill by sending it back to committee, where it will take weeks to then return it to the House floor. Why an initiative to try to kill this legislation would be offered is puzzling to me, since there was no opposition to the legislation in subcommittee, full committee.

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago when the bill was debated on the suspension calendar, no one rose in opposition to the bill. There was no opposition raised to the legislation this afternoon. So the motion to recommit on the merits of the term ``promptly'' is clearly an effort to send it back to committee, kill the bill.

But I point out, since the gentleman offering the motion referred to initiatives by the Democratic majority to have accountability, on page 17 of the bill, section 15-306, Personal Financial Interests, conflicts of interest, we address the issue of personal conflict of interest, of integrity of personnel employed by the commission in either the Federal co-chairman's office or the State co-chairman's office, and establish very clear obligations for reporting and excluding of such activity. Furthermore, under general Federal legislation, lobbying by a Federal Government agency of the Congress is not permitted.

So this is a non sequitur motion. It does not accomplish anything except the purpose of sending the bill back to committee and, in effect, killing it by delay. Again, I repeat, there was no opposition registered. When the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure considered this bill in subcommittee, in full committee markup, when it came to the floor under suspension of the rules, nor was there any opposition today, why there would be a motion of this nature to kill the bill is beyond me.

Furthermore, there are restraints, very explicit language on personal financial interest, conflict of interest not allowed; and, in general, Federal law, Federal agencies are prohibited from retaining a lobbyist, to pay expenses for lobbying.

Mr. Speaker, this is a transparent effort to try to kill the bill rather than deal with it on its merits. So I oppose the motion to recommit with instructions.

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