Political Quotes

“I join him in strong opposition to the Klug amendment, which threatens the very substantial progress that we are making in the Appalachian region in our effort to become a part of the American economic mainstream. Since 1965, the Appalachian Regional Commission has been a major force in our economic progress, enabling the construction of industrial parks, water systems, wastewater systems, access roads to those industrial parks, in many instances shell buildings. We are growing economically as a consequence of what the Appalachian Regional Commission is doing. Libraries have been built, schools in our region have become more capable and have expanded their course offerings, enabling the people in our area to have access to the same kind of instruction that students in the more financially fortunate parts of the country have long had access to. Factories have opened and new jobs have been created. But we still have a very long way to go. In my district in the southwestern part of Virginia, unemployment rates in some of our counties are in excess of 20 percent. The ARC is a very important part to our answer to that set of problems, and it is a wise investment in the future of our regional economy and the economy of the Nation as a whole.”