WASHINGTON, March 13, 2002—President Bush has signed into law an historic five-year reauthorization of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The president signed S. 1206 in the Oval Office on Tuesday, March 12.

Never before has ARC been reauthorized for as long as five years. This is also only the second reauthorization of the agency in the past two decades. "It's a great day for the Appalachian Region," said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Jesse L. White Jr. "By strengthening Appalachia, the entire country is made stronger. Reauthorization is particularly key to our local and state partners. It's a declaration by the federal government that Appalachia's counties and communities will have a strong partner in their efforts to develop, to grow new businesses and create jobs, to build highways and critical infrastructure, to improve schools, and to generally improve the quality of life that every American deserves. That's what reauthorization of ARC means to the Appalachian Region."

"ARC has made a tremendous difference in east Tennessee and throughout the Appalachian Region," said ARC States' Co-Chairman Don Sundquist, governor of Tennessee. "But its work is not done. Our energies today are focused on the economically distressed counties. And thanks to the president and Congress, we can continue to press ahead. ARC brings a spirit of hopefulness to Appalachia's small communities and rural areas. And in this era of performance-based budgeting, the president, with his signature on the Commission's reauthorization, is recognizing ARC's cost-effectiveness and value."

The ARC reauthorization bill contains the following key provisions:

• Reauthorizes ARC's area development (nonhighway) programs through fiscal year 2006. The bill provides an authorization level of $88 million annually for FY 2002 through 2004; $90 million in FY 2005; and $92 million in FY 2006 in support of infrastructure investments, health care, and local leadership development in the Region. The bill also maintains ARC support for the Region's multi-county planning and development agencies (local development districts).
• Authorizes a new telecommunications program with four main goals: improving affordable access to advanced telecommunications; providing education and training in the use of telecommunications and technology; developing programs to increase the readiness of businesses to engage in electronic commerce; and supporting entrepreneurial opportunities for businesses in the information technology sector.
• Establishes an Interagency Coordinating Council on Appalachia.
• Requires that at least half of ARC's project dollars go to activities that benefit the Region's economically distressed counties and areas.
• Authorizes an entrepreneurship initiative to encourage entrepreneurial education, improve access to debt and equity, develop a network of business incubators, and help communities in crafting strategies for small-business creation in various sectors of the economy.
• Authorizes a new Regional Skills Partnership program to encourage collaboration among businesses, educational institutions, state and local governments, and labor organizations to improve the job skills of workers in specific industries.
• Adds four new counties to the Region (Hart and Edmonson Counties in Kentucky, and Panola and Montgomery Counties in Mississippi).