LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
President Bush Approves Five-Year ARC Reauthorization, Continuing Resolution Extending ARC Funding
On October 8, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008 (S. 496), which reauthorizes the Appalachian Regional Commission for five years, through September 30, 2012.

The provisions of the legislation, which are effective immediately, include annual authorization levels of $87 million for fiscal year (FY) 2008; $100 million for FY 2009; $105 million for 2010; $108 million for FY 2011; and $110 million for FY 2012. The legislation requires the annual designation of economically “at risk” counties and permits ARC to fund up to 70 percent of the cost of projects it funds in those counties. The measure also creates a new economic and energy development initiative to fund activities in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and conventional energy resources through the use of advanced technologies that reduce emissions such as greenhouse gasses.

Additionally, the bill adds 10 new counties to the Appalachian Region: Ashtabula, Mahoning, and Trumbull Counties in Ohio; Metcalfe, Nicholas, and Robertson Counties in Kentucky; Lawrence and Lewis Counties in Tennessee; and Henry and Patrick Counties in Virginia. The bill also mandates that any earmarks come out of the recipient state’s allocation; it continues ARC’s existing programmatic authorities; and it maintains the role of the local development districts.

In other news, legislation continuing ARC’s funding into FY 2009 was approved on September 30, 2008, when President Bush signed the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 110-329). The law funds ARC’s nonhighway programs at the FY 2008 level of $73 million through March 6, 2009.

NEWS BRIEFS
President's FY 2009 Budget Request for ARC is Released
President Bush's fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget request for ARC was released February 4, 2008. The budget requests $65 million for ARC’s community and economic development programs.

FY 2009 Performance Budget Justification (PDF format–1.6 MB)

ARC Releases Energy Blueprint for Appalachia
ARC Co-Chairs Anne B. Pope and Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher announced the release of Energizing Appalachia: A Regional Blueprint for Economic and Energy Development October 12, 2006, at the ARC fall conference in Pikeville, Kentucky. The Blueprint, developed through a process that included research, regional roundtables, and the creation of an Energy Advisory Council comprising representatives from the energy offices of each of the 13 Appalachian states and the local development districts, provides a strategic framework for the creation of energy-related job opportunities through the stimulation of sustainable energy production, efficiency, and innovation efforts in the Appalachian Region. The Blueprint focuses on promoting energy efficiency; increasing the use of renewable energy resources; and developing conventional energy resources, especially advanced clean coal.

Project Seeks Donation of New Encyclopedia of Appalachia to Schools in Appalachian Region
A new donation program is helping Appalachian schools obtain their own copies of the first-of-its kind Encyclopedia of Appalachia.

The encyclopedia, published in March 2006 by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University, is a comprehensive work on the Region's land, people, economics, cultural traditions, and institutions. It contains over 2,000 entries edited by scholars recognized in their fields.

The Encyclopedia-in-Schools Project, sponsored by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services and the University of Tennessee Press, will help make the encyclopedia available to intermediate and high schools in Appalachia through individual and business donations. Purchased in lots of 25 or more, the books will be discounted and provided to school libraries.

Priority is given to schools in counties designated as economically distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission. However, donors may elect to donate copies of the encyclopedia to schools in other Appalachian counties.

TESTIMONY
Full text of legislative testimony given by ARC officials.