John Katko: “Over the past several years, the Northern Border Regional Commission has provided vital resources to economically…”

“Over the past several years, the Northern Border Regional Commission has provided vital resources to economically distressed communities along the northern border of New England and New York. Each year, the commission selects a number of projects through a competitive process that are aimed at spurring economic development, improving infrastructure, and increasing access to health care among other things. This region, like many other communities in our country, has experienced severe economic challenges in recent years. Mills and factories have closed, populations of States are static or have declined in some areas, and some industries are particularly hard-hit, like the nuclear industry, and the change in market dynamics related thereto. For example, the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant is closed. The FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in my district is closing and putting out of work 600 individuals with very high-paying jobs in an economically distressed community. This commission provides a smart, efficient, and targeted way of spurring economic development across this region. My amendment would increase the appropriation level in this bill from $5 million to $8 million in order to maintain the vital work of this commission. This increase is fully offset by a decrease in funding for the Energy Information Administration.…”