James Oberstar: “In the matter of adding counties that were not in the original commissions' proposals, we adhered to a very strict…”

“In the matter of adding counties that were not in the original commissions' proposals, we adhered to a very strict principle, that is, the additions had to conform with unemployment rate significantly above national average, per capita income rates that were significantly below national average rates, and out-migrations. In all cases, the counties recommended by the gentleman from Missouri, the parishes by the gentleman from Louisiana, and the gentleman from Mississippi all conformed when we got updated census information. Mr. Speaker, I think we have here a splendid structure, one in which we can achieve accountability, one in which there already is success. In a report the committee received just this morning from the Delta Regional Commission on cumulative projects over the last year, the leveraging ratio is 16 to 1. That is for every $1 the commission invested in projects within the region, $16 additional in private sector and non-Federal funds have been invested. That is an extraordinary success ratio, and we want to ensure that that success will continue and will be extended to all of the commissions.”