out the years here in the Senate the Representatives of the States of New England-I would say both parties-I can remember even the late President Kennedy and his efforts and the efforts of Senator Saltonstall and others to try to get something moving for New England. I am sure that has been repeated in the House by those who have testified here today. I think we should pay tribute to Senator Muskie's efforts in this committee. I think those of us who live in the Appalachian region have found that the Appalachian Commission does work and it is a good blend of State and Federal authority and responsibility. So, I am just glad to see that this work is starting in the New England region. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Cooper. I ask the privilege, in effect, of supplementing what you have said with reference to the Appalachian Commission. We will go into this thoroughly, of course, in our hearings which begin on January 24 and run through for 3 days, perhaps longer. Yesterday, in discussing in the Senate the legislation which created the Appalachian Commission and which served as a model for the other regional commissions authorized by the Economic Development Act, I stated, and I quote: When one speaks of creative Federalism, one looks to the Appalachian Development Program as a prototype. And that is what Senator Cooper is saying and you will hear the story in hearings later this month of what has been done, but I go further and say: This program is designed to engender, foster and facilitate local self-help for a region which has been too long deprived of the rich growth which many other regions of the country have enjoyed. It is a cooperative program and the States, through their Governors who are members of the commissions, are equal partners in this creative federalism. It is my hope, I think shared by members of this committee who gave such intensive study to the original act, that we shall see the benefits achieved by local initiative, in partnership with the Federal Government. I also emphasize that I do not consider the Federal Government as the senior partner. I consider the Federal Government as an equal partner with the States in all of these commissions which are brought into being. Senator Jordan? Senator JORDAN. Mr. Chairman, I had the pleasure yesterday of visiting with Mr. Linnehan. I, of course, had a copy of the biographical sketch on him and had gone over that very thoroughly. I enjoyed my visit with him and I am pleased with the interview I had with him and, of course, he is well qualified for this job. I, of course, had my thinking strengthened by the two distinguished Congressmen and his distinguished Senator from his State this morning and I am sure were he not ably fitted for this job, these gentlemen would not testify on his behalf. I shall support his nomination gladly. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator. Senator BOGGS. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman. Senator MONTOYA. Mr. Chairman, I want to echo and endorse very highly what has been said about Mr. Linnehan by my former colleagues in the House and by Senator Kennedy. He is an extremely able and competent individual and will bring talent to this position. I have known John very well for several years. I first knew him and worked with him when I was a Member of the House and he a special assistant at the Small Business Administration. As members of this committee know, John's work as SBA's congressional liaison officer was of an extremely high caliber. His prompt attention to our requests for information on SBA's activities and diligent work in promoting SBA's many valuable programs made me feel that SBA and Members of Congress were very fortunate to be able to utilize John's services. During the past 2 years his work at the National Association of Home Builders as director of governmental affairs has brought him into contact with us many times. His performance in keeping us aware of the state of the Nation's homebuilding activities has been on the same high level. I am confident he will do an outstanding job in this new and very important position. I certainly want to endorse him very highly and I shall vote for his confirmation. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Montoya. Senator Gruening, you were not present when Senator Kennedy spoke and the Senators' letters were read from the region, and the Representatives, Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Boland, testified. Senator GRUENING. I am acquainted with Mr. Linnehan and I shall be very happy to vote for his confirmation. The CHAIRMAN. Ladies and gentlemen, and members of the committee, we are privileged today at this first session of our committee in the 90th Congress to have present with us our newest member, Senator William B. Spong, Jr., of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Senator Spong, we welcome you to this committee. We are gratified that you are here this morning for the first hearing during the 90th Congress. We feel it most appropriate not only to welcome you as a member of the committee-we will do this later in another way-but to have you present and have you participate, if you so desire, as the other Senators. Senator SPONG. Thank you, Senator. I have nothing further to say at this time. The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, we thank you very much. We will call Mr. Linnehan now. John, I am very formal, but I call you John. Just tell us about your qualifications as you see them. Make any statement you feel will be helpful to the members of this committee in connection with the pending matter. Gentlemen, Mr. Linnehan. STATEMENT OF JOHN J. LINNEHAN Mr. LINNEHAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I am most appreciative of the kind words that all of you have had to say and I am also most appreciative of the fine letters that have been received by this committee from other New England Senators. I also want to thank my Senator, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massa chusetts, for coming here this morning and for making a statement in behalf of my confirmation. I also want to thank my good friends, Congressman O'Neill and Congressman Boland, of Massachusetts, for their words this morning; and also for the statement that Congressman O'Neill entered in the record in behalf of our beloved Speaker of the House, John McCormack, of Massachusetts. Gentlemen, I have a statement that I would like to read into the record. If I may, Mr. Chairman, it is fairly brief. I appear before this committee today as the President's nominee to serve as the Federal cochairman of the New England Regional Commission. As you know, the commission was designated by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to title V of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965. I am a native of New England, born and educated in Haverhill, Mass. I graduated from Tufts University in 1954. Until 1962, I was engaged in private business in Haverhill. From 1962 to 1965, I served as special assistant for congressional relations to the Small Business Administrator. At present I am the director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Home Builders, the trade association of the homebuilding industry. It is a great privilege for me to be considered for this most important position. The opportunity it presents to contribute to the well-being of more than 10 million American residents in the six New England States is both unique and consistent with our best traditions. Unique because New England's proud history, sense of identity, and record of effective regional cooperation promise continued sound economic progress. Consistent because this new vehicle for regional cooperation, patterned closely after the Appalachian Regional Commission, is in the best tradition of joint Federal-State action often expressed in the term "creative federalism." Through the use of interstate compacts and agreements, New England has pioneered in seeking regional approaches to problems that cross State boundaries. Such organizations as the New England Board of Higher Education, the New England Interstate Water Control Commission, and the New England Conference for Correctional Commissions provide continuing evidence of a desire to develop common approaches to problems of education, water control, and correctional institutions. They represent only a few of the regional compacts and conferences we have had in New England. Regional cooperation is also being carried on through the work of the New England Governors' Conference and the New England Senators' Conference. Through frequent consultations, the region's six Governors and the region's 12 Senators develop common approaches to important regional issues. These ongoing activities provide valuable insights into the complex problems involved in promoting and achieving overall economic development. The Commission expects to benefit greatly from all of these experiences. The law authorizing the creation of the New England Regional Commission continues the experiment in regional economic development begun in 1965 in the Appalachian region. It recognizes that the problems of economic decline ignore city, county, and State boundaries and defy the well-intended solutions of single units of government. It recognizes that the resulting regional problems demand comprehensive approaches developed through the effective cooperation of Federal, State, and local units of government. I firmly believe that the Federal-State partnership embodied in the formation of the New England Regional Commission promises continued and accelerated growth not only for the six New England States but for the entire Nation. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to assist in fulfilling its promise, and I thank the committee for allowing me to appear this morning and to make this statement. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, John. In that issue of the Congressional Record to which I referred I Iwould like to read this further statement. As we conceived and established our original commission, we thought of it as a partnership of the States involved in the Appalachian section of the country with the Federal Government, and it was designed, and we feel that this region or any other region is designed, as I quote: "to assist the region in meeting its special problems, to promote its economic development, and to establish a framework for joint Federal and State efforts toward providing the basic facilities essential to its growth and attacking its common problems and meeting its common needs on a coordinated and concerted regional basis." Now, Mr. Linnehan, do you subscribe to that philosophy? The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, sir. Are there questions or comments of the nominee? Senator JORDON. I have no questions and I am very happy to approve this nomination and will vote for confirmation. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Muskie? Senator MUSKIE. No, Mr. Chairman, I have no questions. I know that Mr. Linnehan understands fully the purposes and objectives of the legislation under which the appointment is being made. I have had ample opportunity over the past months to discuss our goals with him. I know he understands them and I see no reason to burden the record further on that score. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Senator Cooper? Senator COOPER. I would just like to ask this question: Section 505 of the act provides for regional planning. Do you contemplate that that will be the first work of your commission, or has any substantial progress been made in planning by the States working together? Mr. LINNEHAN. Senator Cooper, I would anticipate that one of the first objectives of the New England Commission would be to examine and see exactly what is in progress or in hand at the present time regarding New England, its present planning, and its projections for the future. All of us know, as Senator Muskie has said earlier in his statement, that many steps have been taken by various groups in New Englandthe Governors' Conference and the Senators working together, in planning for New England. I think the Commission should first know what has been done and then to assemble and develop the necessary future planning required. Senator COOPER. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Senator Boggs? Senator BOGGS. Mr. Chairman, I certainly have been impressed with the testimony before the committee this morning, the presentations that have been made, and by Mr. Linnehan's own statement. I want to congratulate you, Mr. Linnehan, on this very challenging appointment and take this opportunity to wish you every success. Mr. LINNEHAN. Thank you, Senator Boggs. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Gruening? Senator GRUENING. No questions. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Jordan? Senator JORDAN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to add I am thoroughly familiar with the Appalachian Regional Commission, because my State is a part of it. I know the great good that can come from it and it has already come to North Carolina and West Virginia and all those States that are included in it. I feel that Mr. Linnehan is well qualified and able to bring the same results to the New England States. I wish you the very best of luck and I shall support your nomination. Mr. LINNEHAN. Thank you, Senator. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Montoya, do you have further comment? Senator MONTOYA. I have nothing further. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Spong? Senator SPONG. I have no questions. Senator MUSKIE. Mr. Chairman, I think it might be well to include in the hearings at this time title V of the act, the mandate under which we act here. The CHAIRMAN. Yes, that will be included. Thank you for calling that to our attention. (The extract from Public Law 89-136 follows:) Public Law 89-136 89th Congress, S. 1648 August 26, 1965 AN ACT To provide grants for public works and development facilities, other financial assistance and the planning and coordination needed to alleviate conditions of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment in economically distressed areas and regions Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965". SEC. 501. The Secretary is authorized to designate appropriate "economic development regions" within the United States with the concurrence of the States in which such regions will be wholly or partially located if he finds (A) that there is a relationship between the areas within such region geographically, culturally, historically, and economically, (B) that with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii, the region is within contiguous States, and (C) upon consideration of the following matters, among others, that the region has lagged behind the whole Nation in economic development: (1) the rate of unemployment is substantially above the national rate; (2) the median level of family income is significantly below the national median; |