A LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION
Forming a plan and Gaining supportWest Virginia's representatives in Congress were urged by their constituents and inspired by the grassroots organizing that took place in parts of Appalachia to create a long-range plan to revive the economy of the region. Throughout the 1950s, the delegation worked with members from other Appalachian states including Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina to consider what legislation might prove most successful in addressing the problem. While each member and their constituencies had their own opinions, a consensus was reached that comprehensive economic redevelopment was necessary to pull Appalachia out of its post-industrial slump. The plans invariably incorporated infrastructure, job training, healthcare, conservation, education, and labor reform among other concepts to bring about economic reform that would elevate Appalachians to the socioeconomic levels of other Americans outside of the coalfields. However, many of these attempts were thwarted when the members tried to garner support from their congressional colleagues or from the executive branch.
The 1960 presidential campaign provided a significant boost for redevelopment efforts. With presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson both pledging to help West Virginians, the members of the delegation accordingly attached themselves to the candidates and lent their support. When John F. Kennedy won the election, the delegation seized their opportunity to introduce redevelopment legislation knowing that they now had the support of the executive branch and growing support among congressmen and senators. |
The Area Redevelopment ActMaude Elizabeth Kee, West Virginia’s first female representative in the U.S. Congress, developed a plan which combined elements of New Deal-era public works programs (like the Tennessee Valley Authority) with the Marshall Plan (the U.S. foreign aid program to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II). The bill provided low-interest federal loans to local economic commissions and businesses within federally-designated "distressed" areas. Her economic program was passed into law as part of the Area Redevelopment Act (ARA), signed by President Kennedy on May 1, 1961.
The ARA failed to bring about full economic recovery to Appalachia for many reasons. Despite efforts to create a separate agency to oversee ARA funding, the program was placed under the Secretary of Commerce. Selection of funding recipients tended to favor industries and businesses in urban areas, leaving the more rural Appalachian communities with little chance of securing major support. |
Within weeks of the passage of the ARA, West Virginia's congressional representatives were already seeking amendments and new programs to help further the impact and increase economic redevelopment in the region. Senators Byrd and Randolph urged the passage of a bill to add a civil works component to the ARA that would allow funds to be invested in major infrastructure improvements, such as highway construction.
Letters from Senator Byrd to President Kennedy outlining his push for public works funding.
Acknowledging that the ARA was not providing enough support to lift Appalachia from its economic depression, President Kennedy formed a special commission to study the region and draft a plan for legislation that would specifically address Appalachia's unique situation. The President's Appalachian Regional Commission began meeting in April 1963 and sent researchers throughout the region to observe the conditions in rural communities. Their findings identified a lack of training to equip Appalachians for new jobs, a lack of access to necessary social services, and a major loss of population as people left to find better opportunities as the region's mining industry began to collapse.
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The Appalachian regional development act
In 1964, with the commission report in hand, bolstered by President Johnson’s support, legislators crafted the Appalachian Regional Development Act. In the Senate, West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph and Kentucky Senator John Sherman Cooper led the charge for the bill as it navigated the committee process. Congressman Joe L. Evins of Tennessee took a similar role in the House of Representatives, chairing a special committee created to examine the Appalachia bill. Though a bill was passed by the Senate in 1964, it failed to reach the House floor in time for a vote before the conclusion of the 88th Congress. The bill was one of the first introduced in early-1965 during the 89th Congress. Passed in the Senate and House by wide margins, the legislation was signed into law by President Johnson on March 9, 1965.
The Appalachian Regional Development Act formalized the model of leadership established by President Kennedy, creating a permanent Appalachian Regional Commission made up of the governors of the eleven state and two presidential appointees. The commission receives appropriations from Congress which can be applied to projects identified by state and local government entities. The act focused on three major components of development viewed as critical to modernizing the region: infrastructure in the form of a new corridor highway system, improvement of educational institutions with an emphasis on vocational instruction, and the updating of healthcare facilities to modern standards
The Appalachian Regional Development Act formalized the model of leadership established by President Kennedy, creating a permanent Appalachian Regional Commission made up of the governors of the eleven state and two presidential appointees. The commission receives appropriations from Congress which can be applied to projects identified by state and local government entities. The act focused on three major components of development viewed as critical to modernizing the region: infrastructure in the form of a new corridor highway system, improvement of educational institutions with an emphasis on vocational instruction, and the updating of healthcare facilities to modern standards