ARC Invests Over $3.4 Million in the First District

 Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas released the following statements after ARC announced Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) grants totaling $3,499,305 awarded to the First District of Tennessee:

“The Appalachian region is unique and faces many challenges unlike those in other areas of the United States. Many communities like those across East Tennessee have been negatively impacted by job losses in coal mining. These POWER grants help to provide new opportunities, education, training and leadership programs for those affected by this change. I thank ARC for its efforts investing in our region, and the work of the grantees to give new hope and new opportunities to the next generation of East Tennesseans,” said Congressman Roe.

“I congratulate these organizations for being FY 2019 POWER grantees, and commend them on the leadership they have shown in their community,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas. “POWER grants are playing a critical role in supporting coal-impacted communities in the Appalachian Region as they diversify economies, invest in growth-oriented infrastructure, train a next-generation workforce, and ingrain resiliency and hope into their local fabric. Projects like this help ensure a prosperous future for Appalachia.”

Note: ARC is an economic development agency comprised of 13 state governors and one federal co-chair working as a partnership between the states, the 420 counties of the Appalachian region and the federal government. ARC’s POWER initiative congressionally funds projects in communities that have been impacted by the job loss in coal-related mining and operations. Read more information about the POWER initiative here.

The following is the list of grantee’s in the First District of Tennessee:

  • Northeast State Community College: $1,566,927
  • East Tennessee Development District: $727,815
  • Holston Electric Cooperative: $862,017
  • Erwin Utilities: $342,646

Congress appropriated $165 million for ARC in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, and President Trump’s budget requests $165 million for ARC again for FY 2020. Congressman Roe led a letter submitted to the Committee on Appropriations with 16 bipartisan colleagues in support of Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations earlier this month. View the full letter submitted here.