Kaine on funding for Appalachian Regional Commission

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine offered comment on the move in the Senate to cut funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“Today I voted against an amendment to the Energy & Water appropriations bill to cut all funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Over the past five years, ARC has used approximately $365 million to leverage nearly ten times as much in private investment in things like infrastructure, education incentives, and job-creating economic development in Appalachia. This has helped reduce the number of high-poverty counties in Appalachia by two-thirds since 1960. There’s obviously still a lot of economic hardship in this region, but this amendment would have axed one of the key parts of the solution. I appreciate that the Senate rejected this unwise idea on an overwhelming 25-71 bipartisan vote.”