WASHINGTON, September 5, 2002—President Bush today nominated Anne B. Pope of Tennessee to be federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and Richard J. Peltz of Pennsylvania to be alternate federal co-chair.

Pope has served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance since 1999, and was previously the executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.

Peltz has served with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation since 1995 and currently serves as deputy secretary, overseeing the Bureau of Public Transportation and the Bureau of Municipal Services. He was previously district administrator for Congressman Bill Clinger, representative of the state's fifth congressional district. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Both positions require U.S. Senate confirmation.

The current ARC federal co-chair is Jesse L. White Jr. White began his service in February 1994 and is the longest-serving federal co-chair in the 37-year history of the Commission. Ella Wong-Rusinko last held the position of ARC alternate federal co-chair.

The current budget for ARC's area development programs is $71.3 million. In fiscal year 2002, the ARC-administered Appalachian Development Highway System received $645.6 million.