II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 496 

To reauthorize and improve the program authorized by the Appalachian 

Regional Development Act of 1965. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2007 

Mr. VOINOVICH (for himself, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. WARNER, Mr. BYRD, Mr. 

LOTT, Mr. BROWN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BURR, Mr. 

CARDIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. SHELBY, and 

Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and improve the program authorized by the 

Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Appalachian Regional 

5 Development Act Amendments of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS; MAXIMUM 

7 COMMISSION CONTRIBUTION. 

8 (a) GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Section 

9 14321(a) of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking clause (i) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) the amount of the grant shall not 

4 exceed— 

5 ‘‘(I) 50 percent of administrative 

6 expenses; 

7 ‘‘(II) at the discretion of the 

8 Commission, if the grant is to a local 

9 development district that has a char10 ter or authority that includes the eco11 nomic development of a county or a 

12 part of a county for which a dis13 tressed county designation is in effect 

14 under section 14526, 75 percent of 

15 administrative expenses; or 

16 ‘‘(III) at the discretion of the 

17 Commission, if the grant is to a local 

18 development district that has a char19 ter or authority that includes the eco20 nomic development of a county or a 

21 part of a county for which an at-risk 

22 county designation is in effect under 

23 section 14526, 70 percent of adminis24 trative expenses;’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph 

2 (A) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), of the cost of any project eli5 gible for financial assistance under this section, 

6 not more than— 

7 ‘‘(i) 50 percent may be provided from 

8 amounts made available to carry out this 

9 subtitle; 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a project to be car11 ried out in a county for which a distressed 

12 county designation is in effect under sec13 tion 14526, 80 percent may be provided 

14 from amounts made available to carry out 

15 this subtitle; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a project to be 

17 carried out in a county for which an at18 risk county designation is in effect under 

19 section 14526, 70 percent may be provided 

20 from amounts made available to carry out 

21 this subtitle.’’. 

22 (b) DEMONSTRATION HEALTH PROJECTS.—Section 

23 14502 of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (2) 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.— 

2 Grants under this section for the operation (includ3 ing initial operating amounts and operating deficits, 

4 which include the cost of attracting, training, and 

5 retaining qualified personnel) of a demonstration 

6 health project, whether or not constructed with 

7 amounts authorized to be appropriated by this sec8 tion, may be provided for up to— 

9 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of the cost of that oper10 ation; 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of a project to be carried 

12 out in a county for which a distressed county 

13 designation is in effect under section 14526, 80 

14 percent of the cost of that operation; or 

15 ‘‘(C) in the case of a project to be carried 

16 out in a county for which an at-risk county des17 ignation is in effect under section 14526, 70 

18 percent of the cost of that operation.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) AT-RISK COUNTIES.—The maximum Com22 mission contribution for a project to be carried out 

23 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

24 is in effect under section 14526 may be increased to 

25 the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 70 percent; or 

2 ‘‘(B) the maximum Federal contribution 

3 percentage authorized by this section.’’. 

4 (c) ASSISTANCE FOR PROPOSED LOW- AND MIDDLE5 INCOME HOUSING PROJECTS.—Section 14503 of title 40, 

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (1) 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—A 

10 loan under subsection (b) for the cost of planning 

11 and obtaining financing (including the cost of pre12 liminary surveys and analyses of market needs, pre13 liminary site engineering and architectural fees, site 

14 options, application and mortgage commitment fees, 

15 legal fees, and construction loan fees and discounts) 

16 of a project described in that subsection may be 

17 made for up to— 

18 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of that cost; 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a project to be carried 

20 out in a county for which a distressed county 

21 designation is in effect under section 14526, 80 

22 percent of that cost; or 

23 ‘‘(C) in the case of a project to be carried 

24 out in a county for which an at-risk county desVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:17 Feb 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S496.IS S496

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1 ignation is in effect under section 14526, 70 

2 percent of that cost.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (1) 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

6 for expenses incidental to planning and obtaining fi7 nancing for a project under this section that the 

8 Secretary considers to be unrecoverable from the 

9 proceeds of a permanent loan made to finance the 

10 project shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) not be made to an organization estab12 lished for profit; and 

13 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

14 not exceed— 

15 ‘‘(i) 50 percent of those expenses; 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a project to be car17 ried out in a county for which a distressed 

18 county designation is in effect under sec19 tion 14526, 80 percent of those expenses; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a project to be 

22 carried out in a county for which an at23 risk county designation is in effect under 

24 section 14526, 70 percent of those ex25 penses.’’. 


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1 (d) TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY INI2 TIATIVE.—Section 14504 of title 40, United States Code, 

3 is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

6 cost of any project eligible for a grant under this section, 

7 not more than— 

8 ‘‘(1) 50 percent may be provided from amounts 

9 made available to carry out this section; 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 

11 in a county for which a distressed county designa12 tion is in effect under section 14526, 80 percent 

13 may be provided from amounts made available to 

14 carry out this section; or 

15 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 

16 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

17 is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent may be 

18 provided from amounts made available to carry out 

19 this section.’’. 

20 (e) ENTREPRENEURSHIP INITIATIVE.—Section 

21 14505 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 

22 striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

24 cost of any project eligible for a grant under this section, 

25 not more than— 


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1 ‘‘(1) 50 percent may be provided from amounts 

2 made available to carry out this section; 

3 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 

4 in a county for which a distressed county designa5 tion is in effect under section 14526, 80 percent 

6 may be provided from amounts made available to 

7 carry out this section; or 

8 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 

9 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

10 is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent may be 

11 provided from amounts made available to carry out 

12 this section.’’. 

13 (f) REGIONAL SKILLS PARTNERSHIPS.—Section 

14 14506 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 

15 striking subsection (d) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

17 cost of any project eligible for a grant under this section, 

18 not more than— 

19 ‘‘(1) 50 percent may be provided from amounts 

20 made available to carry out this section; 

21 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 

22 in a county for which a distressed county designa23 tion is in effect under section 14526, 80 percent 

24 may be provided from amounts made available to 

25 carry out this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 

2 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

3 is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent may be 

4 provided from amounts made available to carry out 

5 this section.’’. 

6 (g) SUPPLEMENTS TO FEDERAL GRANT PRO7 GRAMS.—Section 14507(g) of title 40, United States 

8 Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

10 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) AT-RISK COUNTIES.—The maximum Com13 mission contribution for a project to be carried out 

14 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

15 is in effect under section 14526 may be increased to 

16 70 percent.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. ECONOMIC AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT INITIA18 TIVE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 145 of 

20 subtitle IV of title 40, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 14508. Economic and energy development initia23 tive 

24 ‘‘(a) PROJECTS TO BE ASSISTED.—The Appalachian 

25 Regional Commission may provide technical assistance, 


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1 provide grants, enter into contracts, or otherwise provide 

2 amounts to individuals or entities in the Appalachian re3 gion for use in carrying out projects and activities— 

4 ‘‘(1) to promote energy efficiency in the Appa5 lachian region to enhance the economic competitive6 ness of the Appalachian region; 

7 ‘‘(2) to increase the use of renewable energy re8 sources, particularly biomass, in the Appalachian re9 gion to produce alternative transportation fuels, elec10 tricity, and heat; and 

11 ‘‘(3) to support the development of conventional 

12 energy resources, particularly advanced clean coal, in 

13 the Appalachian region to produce alternative trans14 portation fuels, electricity, and heat. 

15 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

16 cost of any project eligible to be funded by a grant under 

17 this section, not more than— 

18 ‘‘(1) 50 percent may be provided from amounts 

19 made available to carry out this section; 

20 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 

21 in a county for which a distressed county designa22 tion is in effect under section 14526, 80 percent 

23 may be provided from amounts made available to 

24 carry out this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 

2 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

3 is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent may be 

4 provided from amounts made available to carry out 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to sub7 section (b), grants provided under this section may be pro8 vided— 

9 ‘‘(1) entirely from amounts made available to 

10 carry out this section; or 

11 ‘‘(2) from amounts made available to carry out 

12 this section, in combination with amounts made 

13 available under other Federal programs or from any 

14 other source. 

15 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law limiting a Federal share of the cost of 

17 a project under any other Federal program, amounts 

18 made available to carry out this section may be used to 

19 increase that Federal share, as the Commission deter20 mines to be appropriate.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

22 chapter 145 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 

23 by inserting after the item relating to section 14507 the 

24 following: 

‘‘14508. Economic and energy development initiative.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. DISTRESSED, AT-RISK, AND ECONOMICALLY 

2 STRONG COUNTIES. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION OF AT-RISK COUNTIES.—Section 

4 14526 of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘, at6 risk,’’ after ‘‘Distressed’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (a)(1)— 

8 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

9 subparagraph (C); 

10 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

12 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) designate as ‘at-risk counties’ those 

15 counties in the Appalachian region that are 

16 most at risk of becoming economically dis17 tressed; and’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 145 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 

20 by striking the item relating to section 14526 and insert21 ing the following: 

‘‘14526. Distressed, at-risk, and economically strong counties.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 14703 of title 40, United 

24 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 14703. Authorization of appropriations 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the amounts made 

3 available under section 14501, there are authorized to be 

4 appropriated to the Appalachian Regional Commission to 

5 carry out this subtitle— 

6 ‘‘(1) $95,200,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

7 ‘‘(2) $98,600,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

8 ‘‘(3) $102,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

9 ‘‘(4) $105,700,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

10 ‘‘(5) $109,400,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

11 ‘‘(b) TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY INI12 TIATIVE.—Of the amounts made available under sub13 section (a), the following amounts may be used to carry 

14 out section 14504: 

15 ‘‘(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

16 ‘‘(2) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

17 ‘‘(3) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

18 through 2011. 

19 ‘‘(c) ECONOMIC AND ENERGY INITIATIVE.—Of the 

20 amounts made available under subsection (a), the fol21 lowing amounts may be used to carry out section 14508: 

22 ‘‘(1) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

23 ‘‘(2) $12,400,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

24 ‘‘(3) $12,900,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

25 ‘‘(4) $13,300,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

26 ‘‘(5) $13,800,000 for fiscal year 2011. 


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1 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 

2 subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 

3 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Funds approved by 

4 the Appalachian Regional Commission for a project in an 

5 Appalachian State pursuant to a congressional directive 

6 shall be derived from the total amount allocated to the 

7 State by the Appalachian Regional Commission from 

8 amounts made available to carry out this subtitle.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 

10 Section 14704 of title 40, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

12 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 The amendments made by this Act take effect on Oc14 tober 1, 2006. 

Æ 


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