ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT AS WE STATED EARLIER, MANY URBAN AND RURAL AREAS ARE UNDERGOING SERIOUS ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENTS RESULTING FROM GLOBAL AND NATIONAL CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY, MARKETS, AND CAPITAL BUT HAVING NEGATIVE REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. TO ASSIST THESE COMMUNI TIES TO ADJUST TO NEW, MORE PRODUCTIVE ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES REQUIRES SHORT-TERM INFUSIONS OF ASSISTANCE. WE ARE PLEASED THAT TWO OF THE BILLS--S. 724 AND 871--RECOGNIZE THE ADJUSTMENT PROCESS OCCURRING IN S.871 PERMITS CITIES WHICH ARE EXPERIENCING--OR ABOUT MANY CITIES. TO EXPERIENCE--A MAJOR DISLOCATION TO APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE IN ORDER TO TAKE REMEDIAL ACTION. S. 724'S STANDBY COUNTERCYCLICAL PROGRAM COULD ALSO BE HELPFUL IN ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT SITUATIONS. HOWEVER, WE BELIEVE A LOCAL RATHER THAN A NATIONAL TRIGGER FOR THE ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED IN RECOGNITION OF THE VASTNESS OF OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY AND THE THE UNEVEN IMPACTS OF CERTAIN ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. FURTHERMORE, IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH COUNTERCYCLICAL ASSISTANCE, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE TYPES OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED UNDER S. 871 AND S. 724 SHOULD BE THE SAME. THE BILLS CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED BY THIS COMMITTEE ARE AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN IMPROVING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S ROLE IN ASSISTING COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCING THE JOLTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND DISINVESTMENT DUE TO SHIFTS IN OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY. WE BELIEVE THE EMPHASIS, DESIGN, AND ASSISTANCE PROVIDED IN S. 871 SHOULD BE THE FOUNDATION FOR PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO LOCALITIES IN FACILITATING PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND EMPLOYMENT. IT CAN BE THE LINCHPIN FOR COORDINATING THE INFRASTRUCTURE, JOB TRAINING, AND RELATED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES EMBODIED IN THE OTHER THREE BILLS AS WELL AS PRIVATE AND OTHER PUBLIC RESOURCES IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH SOUND, SELF-SUSTAINING LOCAL ECONOMIES. ON BEHALF OF CUED, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU TODAY AND FOR YOUR EFFORTS TO SHAPE A FEDERAL PROGRAM WHICH RECOGNIZES THE ECONOMIC REALITIES OF OUR NATION'S COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU. National associatION 1700 K St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006 Area Code (202) 457-0710 RICHARD C HARTMAN, Executive Director STATEMENT OF RICHARD C. HARTMAN Executive Director of The National Association of Regional Councils ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REGIONAL COUNCILS BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS ON NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES April 12, 1983 Mr. Chairman, I am Richard C. Hartman, Executive Director of the National Association of Regional Councils. The National Association of Regional Councils represents about half of the nation's 600 substate regional councils of local governments. In the main, regional councils are agencies of local governments and operate under the direction of city and county elected officials. They fill a gap in our intergovernmental structure by dealing with problems that transcend jurisdictional boundaries and must be addressed on a regional basis. The basic responsibility of a regional council is to be an umbrella agency which facilitates regional coordination and management activities. Many regional councils also arrange for the implementation of regional policies. Mr. Chairman, as you know, many regional councils have been designated as economic development districts and function as metropolitan planning organizations designing programs and priorities for the investment of federally assisted highway and transit project funds. As you can see, Mr. Chairman, these and other coordination responsibilities put regional councils squarely in the middle of the infrastructure debate. As agencies working to help local governments meet their development priorities, regional councils are out front identifying the infrastructure needs of local communities. It is clear that this panel knows all too well the state of the nation's public facilities. The bills before the committee today illustrate that you have begun a much needed examination of steps the federal government can take to meet these pressing needs. Need For A National Economic Development Program NARC continues to support a national policy to facilitate economic development. An initial and necessary first step was the enactment of the Public Works and Economic Development Act. This has been a generally successful approach and should be a cornerstone of any new, broader national public facilities rebuilding effort. This is not to say, Mr. Chairman, that the EDA program created by PWEDA could not be improved. NARC believes it can be strengthened and made more effective. Therefore, we urge the Congress to pass S. 871, the Regional Economic Development Act of 1983, sponsored by Senator Mitchell (D-ME) of this distinguished panel. S. 871 takes the best of existing economic development programs and builds on them. It proposes to target assistance to areas of chronically high unemployment and low per capital income. In short, it seeks to improve a program that has been mostly successful but that has some drawbacks. S. 871 moves toward a more flexible federal approach to assisting local communities with their economic development needs. But S. 871 is more selective than the current national program; it attempts to ensure that federal resources are channeled to areas with the greatest need. Central to the bill, however, is the idea that needs are defined from the "bottom up" through a local development investment strategy for each community. The "action agenda" embodied in the local strategy is a blueprint for projects over several years, which identifies state and private funding sources, as well as federal assistance. This approach encourages communities to attack their problems in a coordinated, comprehensive manner. NARC has long advocated this approach. |