Joel Hefley: “Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering today will abolish the Economic Development Administration. I have offered…”

“Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering today will abolish the Economic Development Administration. I have offered similar amendments to abolish the EDA in the past and, I have to say, it is not easy--it is hard on friendships. People say mean things about you. In the past, my amendments have been opposed by representatives from across the political spectrum. Each has his or her own experience of how the EDA helped bail out a certain community. I do not dispute that. I am certain the EDA has had many successful projects. I am also certain the EDA has had many failures--in my district and elsewhere. Potemkin's villages had a more lasting economic impact that some EDA projects. The debate today is not about the EDA assistance in rebuilding a dock, or revitalizing a neighborhood. The debate today is whether, with a Federal debt of $4 rac{1}{2} trillion and deficits that are expected to rise through the year 2000, the EDA is the best use of the taxpayer's dollar. With that in mind, let me make two points about the EDA. First, the EDA's influence on the economy is highly overrated. On a good month, the U.S. economy will create, all by itself, more long-term jobs than the EDA has created in its 28-year history.”