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105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1429
To reauthorize and amend the Appalachian Regional Development Act of
1965.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 24, 1997
Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. KIM, and Mr. TRAFICANT)
(all by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To reauthorize and amend the Appalachian Regional
Development Act of 1965.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of
1997’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed
in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision,
the reference shall be considered to be made to a section
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or other provision of the Appalachian Regional Develop-
ment Act of 1965 (40 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.).
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) ELIMINATION OF GROWTH CENTER REQUIRE-
MENT.—Section 2 (40 U.S.C. App. 2) is amended by de-
leting the sixth sentence of subsection (a).
(b) 1997 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—Section 2 (40
U.S.C. App. 2) is further amended by deleting subsection
(b) and substituting the following:
‘‘(b) The Congress further finds and declares that,
while substantial progress had been made in fulfilling
many of the objectives of this Act, rapidly changing na-
tional and global economies over the past decade have cre-
ated new challenges for rural areas throughout the Nation
and especially for the Appalachian region. It is, therefore,
also the purpose of this Act to assist Appalachia to become
a region with an educated and trained work force, healthy
people, a sound physical infrastructure, a dynamic eco-
nomic base, and the local and regional capacity to be eco-
nomically self-sustaining. In carrying out this Act, the
Commission shall be an advocate for and partner with the
people of Appalachia and shall seek to achieve a viable
and self-sustaining economy for the region in accordance
with the following principles:
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‘‘(1) The most valuable investment that can be
made in the region is in its people.
‘‘(2) Entrepreneurial economies that focus on
high-value-added goods and services offer the best
future for many parts of the region.
‘‘(3) Strategies and objectives should take into
consideration participation in the global economy.
‘‘(4) Economic development should be commu-
nity-based and should emphasize local decision mak-
ing.
‘‘(5) Commission investments should take ad-
vantage of technology and telecommunications appli-
cations.
‘‘(6) The Commission shall promote an atmos-
phere of open and productive communication among
all stakeholders in the Region.
‘‘(7) The Commission shall focus special atten-
tion on the areas of greatest need.’’.
SEC. 3. MEETINGS.
(a) ANNUAL
MEETING
REQUIREMENT.—Section
101(a) (40 U.S.C. App. 101(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following: ‘‘The Commission shall conduct at
least one meeting each year with the Federal Co-Chairman
and at least a majority of the State members present.’’.
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(b) 
ADDITIONAL
MEETINGS
BY
ELECTRONIC
MEANS.—Section 101 (40 U.S.C. App. 101) is amended
as follows:
(1) In subsection (a), as amended by subsection
(a) of this section, by adding at the end the follow-
ing: ‘‘The Commission may conduct such additional
meetings by electronic means as the Commission
considers advisable, including meetings to decide
matters requiring an affirmative vote.’’
(2) In subsection (c) by striking ‘‘to be
present’’ at the end of the fourth sentence.
(c) DECISIONS
REQUIRING
A
QUORUM.—Section
101(b) (40 U.S.C. App. 101(b)) is amended by striking
the third sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘No deci-
sion involving Commission policy, approval of State, re-
gional, or subregional development plans or implementing
investment programs, any modification or revision of the
Appalachian Regional Commission Code, any allocation of
funds among the States, or the criteria for the designation
of counties as distressed or economically strong under sec-
tion 226 may be made without a quorum of State mem-
bers.’’.
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SEC. 
4. 
AUTHORIZATIONS 
FOR 
ADMINISTRATIVE 
EX-
PENSES.
Section 105(b) (40 U.S.C. App. 105(b)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $3,645,000 for
fiscal year 1998 and such sums as may be necessary
for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002. Such
sums shall remain available until expended.
‘‘(2) EXPENSES OF THE FEDERAL CO-CHAIR-
MAN.—Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1), not to exceed $1,225,000 for fiscal
year 1998 and such sums as may be necessary for
each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002 shall be
available for expenses of the Federal Co-Chairman,
the Federal Co-Chairman’s alternate, and the Fed-
eral Co-Chairman’s staff.’’.
SEC. 5. COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES.
Section 106(2) (40 U.S.C. App. 106(2)) is amended
by striking ‘‘the salary of the alternate to the Federal Co-
Chairman on the Commission as provided in section 101’’
and inserting ‘‘the maximum rate for the Senior Executive
Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code,
including any applicable locality-based comparability pay-
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(b) FEDERAL GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAMS DEFINED.—
The first sentence of section 214(c) (40 U.S.C. App.
214(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘on or before December
31, 1980,’’.
(c) LIMITATION ON COVERED ROAD PROJECTS.—
The second sentence of section 214(c) is amended by in-
serting ‘‘authorized by title 23, United States Code’’ after
‘‘road construction’’.
SEC. 9. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA.
(a) CONSIDERATIONS.—Section 224(a) (40 U.S.C.
App. 224(a)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon
at the end of paragraph (1) the following: ‘‘or in a severely
and persistently distressed and underdeveloped county or
area’’.
(b) OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS.—Section 224(a) is
further amended by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and
adding the following: ‘‘and (6) the extent to which the
project design provides for detailed outcome measure-
ments by which grant expenditures may be evaluated.’’.
(c) REMOVAL OF LIMITATIONS.—Section 224(b) (40
U.S.C. App. 224(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—No financial assistance made
available under this Act may be used to assist establish-
ments relocating from one area to another.’’.
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SEC. 10. DISTRESSED AND ECONOMICALLY STRONG COUN-
TIES.
Part C of title II (40 U.S.C. App. 221–225) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 226. DISTRESSED AND ECONOMICALLY STRONG
COUNTIES.
‘‘(a) DESIGNATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after
the effective date of the Appalachian Regional Develop-
ment Act Amendments of 1997, and annually thereafter,
the Commission, in accordance with such criteria as the
Commission may establish, shall—
‘‘(1) designate as ‘distressed counties’ those
counties in the region that are the most severely and
persistently distressed and underdeveloped; and
‘‘(2) designate two categories of economically
strong counties, as follows:
‘‘(A) ‘competitive counties’ which shall be
those counties in the region which are ap-
proaching economic parity with the rest of the
Nation; and
‘‘(B) ‘attainment counties’ which shall be
those counties in the region which have attained
or exceeded economic parity with the rest of the
Nation.
‘‘(b) DISTRESSED
COUNTIES.—In program and
project development and implementation and in the alloca-
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tion of appropriations made available to carry out this Act,
the Commission shall give special consideration to the
needs of those counties for which a distressed designation
is in effect under this section.
‘‘(c) FUNDING PROHIBITION
FOR PROJECTS LO-
CATED IN ECONOMICALLY STRONG COUNTIES.—
‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE COUNTIES.—Except as pro-
vided by paragraphs (3) and (4), assistance under
this Act will be limited to no more than 30 percent
of project cost for a project located in a county for
which a competitive county designation is in effect
under this section.
‘‘(2) ATTAINMENT COUNTIES.—Except as pro-
vided by paragraphs (3) and (4), no funds may be
provided under this Act for a project located in a
county for which an attainment county designation
is in effect under this section.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibitions estab-
lished by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply
to—
‘‘(A) projects on the Appalachian develop-
ment highway system authorized by section
201;
‘‘(B) local development district administra-
tive projects authorized by section 302(a)(1); or
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‘‘(C) a multicounty project that includes a
county or counties designated as ‘competitive’
or ‘attainment’ under this section provided all
participating counties share in the costs and
benefits of the project.
‘‘(4) WAIVER.—The prohibitions established by
paragraphs (1) and (2) may be waived by the Com-
mission for a particular project upon a showing of
one or more of the following:
‘‘(A) The existence of a significant pocket
of distress in the part of the county in which
the project is located.
‘‘(B) A significant decline in economic con-
ditions affecting the county which is not re-
flected in current designation data.
‘‘(C) The existence of a significant poten-
tial benefit from the project in areas of the re-
gion outside the designated county.’’.
SEC. 11. GRANTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS; AVAILABILITY
OF AMOUNTS.
Section 302(a) (40 U.S.C. App. 302(a)) is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting
‘‘The Commission’’; and
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(2) in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) by striking
‘‘to the Commission’’ each place it appears.
SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR GEN-
ERAL PROGRAM.
Section 401 (40 U.S.C. App. 401) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘In addition to the appropriations authorized by sec-
tion 105 for administrative expenses and by section 201(g)
for the Appalachian development highway system and
local access roads, there is authorized to be appropriated
to the Commission to carry out this Act $71,355,000 for
fiscal year 1998 and such sums as may be necessary for
each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002. Such sums shall
remain available until expended.’’.
SEC. 13. EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATE.
Section 405 (40 U.S.C. App. 405) is amended by
striking ‘‘1982’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.
SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall
take effect October 1, 1997.
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