,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahbd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ah1 #bjag ,mr4 ,mc,connell introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works ,a ,,bill ,to reform the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission ,reform ,act4 #b4 ,findings 7a7 ,headquarters ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 regional commissions1 such as the ,delta ,regional ,authority1 the ,denali ,commission1 and the ,northern ,border ,regional ,commission1 are each headquartered in their respective region2 7#b7 headquartering regional commissions within the region affected is a sensible approach to ensure that the commissions are housed in more affordable locations than the ,district of ,columbia1 thereby reducing administrative overhead and making the commissions closer and more accountable to the people the commissions were designed to serve2 7#c7 the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission 7referred to in this ,act as the ,commission7 is not headquartered in ,appalachia but in ,washington1 ,,dc2 and 7#d7 the headquarters of the ,commission should be relocated from the ,district of ,columbia to a more affordable location in the ,appalachian region so that it is closer and more accountable to the people the ,commission was designed to serve4 7b7 ,performance ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 the ,commission was created to help foster economic opportunity and close health and educational disparities in a geographic region of the ,united ,states beleaguered by persistent poverty and high unemployment2 7#b7 the ,commission remains the sole ,federal agency focused singularly on economic revitalization in the ,appalachian region2 7#c7 in #aiih1 ,congress charged the ,commission with addressing the needs of severely and persistently distressed areas of the ,appalachian region and focusing special attention on the areas of greatest need2 7#d7 the ,commission has long been criticized for its shortcomings in fulfilling this mission1 including in-- 7,a7 a #aiii study titled ,mountain ,money3 ,federal ,tax ,dollars ,miss the ,mark in ,core ,appalachia by ,mark ,ferenchik and ,jill ,ripenhoff for the ,columbus ,dispatch2 and 7,b7 a #bjjh book titled ,uneven ,ground3 ,appalachia ,since #aide by ,ronald ,d4 ,eller2 7#e7 in #bjjd1 the ,office of ,management and ,budget noted the importance of the ,commission focusing efforts on ''' targeting assistance to areas of distress2 7#f7 in #bjag1 ,citizens ,against ,government ,waste characterized the programming of the ,commission as duplicative and called for drastic reductions in the budget of the ,commission2 7#g7 in #bjag1 the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 citing a ,government ,accountability ,office study1 concluded that the ,commission should be abolished1 and that conclusion was reflected in the fiscal year #bjah budget request submitted by the ,president2 7#h7 these recent actions reflect a growing chorus that the ,commission should be reformed2 and 7#i7 therefore1 given the long-recognized shortcomings of the ,commission1 the long-standing criticism of the ,commission1 and the need to ensure its optimal performance1 the time has arrived for the ,commission to be reformed4 7c7 ,persistent poverty ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 using #aifj data1 the ,commission 7which was created in #aife7 concluded that there were #bad distressed counties in the ,appalachian region2 7#b7 in #bjag1 according to the ,commission1 there are #hd distressed counties in the ,appalachian region1 reflecting the areas of most persistent poverty in the region2 and 7#c7 therefore1 the ,commission should be reformed to focus its attention on the areas of most persistent poverty in the region4 7d7 ,area development funding for distressed counties ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 according to the study by the ,columbus ,dispatch referred to in subsection 7b77#d77;,a71 of the #bb1afi grants issued by the ,commission from fiscal year #aiff through fiscal year #aiih1 none of the #e counties that received the most ,commission funding was considered distressed1 and more than #a_/d of all ,commission spending during that period went to ,states with few1 if any1 distressed counties2 7#b7 according to author ,ronald ,d4 ,eller in #bjad1 the ,commission policies have concentrated resources in a select few growth centers in the ,appalachian region1 expanding services to the poor and growing the mountain middle class1 but doing little to alter conditions in the most rural distressed counties or to address systemic political or economic inequalities throughout ,appalachia2 7#c7 until #aiie1 the ,commission allocated up to #bj percent of its area development grants for use in distressed counties2 7#d7 following instructions given to the ,commission by the ,committees on ,appropriations of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives in #aiie1 this allocation was increased by the ,commission to #cj percent2 7#e7 section #g4e7;c7 of the ,code of the ,commission 7as in effect on the date of enactment of this ,act7 reflects this #aiie policy change and states that the ,commission will allocate up to #cj percent of ,commission area development funds for use in distressed counties1 even though1 according to the ,commission's public representations1 economic conditions in distressed areas of the ,appalachian region have not greatly improved since the #aifjs2 7#f7 given the persistent levels of poverty in the distressed counties in the ,appalachian region1 more area development funding and emphasis should be devoted to those counties2 and 7#g7 therefore1 the allocation described in paragraph 7#c7 should be increased to #fj percent4 7e7 ,grant expenditures ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 section #adebd7;d7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 provides that not less than #ej percent of the amount of grant expenditures the ,commission approves shall support activities or projects that benefit severely and persistently distressed counties and areas2 7#b7 given the persistent levels of poverty in the distressed counties in the ,appalachian region1 more grant expenditures and emphasis should be devoted to those counties2 and 7#c7 therefore1 the #ej percent threshold in section #adebd7;d7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 should be increased to #fj percent4 #c4 ,mission of the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission ,section #adcja of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking subsection 7a7 and inserting the following3 7a7 ,establishment and mission 7#a7 ,establishment ,there is an ,appalachian ,regional ,commission 7referred to in this chapter as the ,commission74 7#b7 ,mission ,the mission of the ,commission shall be to focus primarily on poverty reduction and economic development in areas in the ,appalachian region with the most persistent poverty4 4 #d4 ,headquarters of the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission 7a7 ,in general ,section #adcja of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7g7 ,headquarters ,the headquarters of the ,commission shall be located in the ,appalachian region4 4 7b7 ,implementation ,the ,federal ,cochairman of the ,commission shall take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the amendment made by subsection 7a74 #e4 ,grant expenditures ,section #adebd7;d7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking #ej percent and inserting #fj percent4 #f4 ,area development funds for distressed counties ,section #adebf7;b7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,in program and and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,in program and 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,area development funds 7,a7 ,in general ,of the funds made available for each fiscal year for the ,area ,development ,program of the ,commission1 the ,commission shall allocate not less than #fj percent for projects in counties for which a distressed county designation is in effect under this section4 7,b7 ,methodology ,the methodology for determining whether a county is designated as a distressed county under subsection 7a77#a77;,a7 shall be the methodology in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the ,appalachian ,regional ,commission ,reform ,act4 7#c7 ,report ,the ,commission shall submit an annual report that describes the allocation of funds1 in dollar amounts and percentage of total appropriations1 for the ,area ,development ,program to counties described in paragraph 7#b7 to-- 7,a7 the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,b7 the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,c7 the majority leader of the ,senate2 7,d7 the minority leader of the ,senate2 7,e7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,f7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 7,g7 the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,h7 the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate4 4