Hal Rogers: “Woman, my district has historically lagged behind others in the Commonwealth and in the Nation, which is why I have made…”

“Woman, my district has historically lagged behind others in the Commonwealth and in the Nation, which is why I have made the economic development of rural Kentucky my top priority since coming to Congress. Creating jobs in a mountainous region without sufficient roadways or suitable water infrastructure might seem an insurmountable challenge, but I've always encouraged my constituents and community leaders to ``plan their work and work their plan.'' With the help of EDA, this is what we've done in southern and eastern Kentucky. The Economic Development Administration is one of the few entities in our Federal Government uniquely qualified to address the needs of communities with chronically high unemployment or facing enormous setbacks due to natural disasters. EDA's grants, awarded in a competitive fashion, leverage over $10 from the private sector for every Federal dollar invested and are targeted at facilities that are essential for private industry to remain or locate in these underachieving areas. As a result of these targeted investments in water systems, workforce training centers, intermodal facilities or broadband networks, struggling communities around the country have seen the creation of some 314,000 jobs in the last 7 years. I wholeheartedly concur with the sponsor of the amendment that the role of the Federal Government isn't to create jobs, but instead, to create the conditions favorable for private sector job creation.…”