Letter to the Hon. Tom Carper, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Hon. Shelly Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee - Schumer, Gillibrand lead effort to reauthorize and secure a critical increase in funding for the Northern Border Regional Commission -- to accelerate pandemic recovery, job creation, housing and childcare expansion, & infrastructure investment throughout Upstate New York

Letter

Dear Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Capito,

As the Committee prepares reauthorization legislation for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the regional commissions and authorities the Committee oversees, we request that you include the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) Reauthorization Act of 2022 in the base bill. This bipartisan legislation would extend authorization for the NBRC through fiscal year 2031, while making additional reforms to encourage business retention and economic development in distressed counties in the Northern Forest region. We appreciate your past support of the NBRC, and request your partnership in strengthening federal and state efforts to spur job creation and development in our states.

Established in the 2008 Farm Bill, the NBRC is a federal-state partnership that provides infrastructure and economic development in 60 rural counties in northern New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Maine. Since its inception, the NBRC has provided grants to employment-generating projects that have helped reduce poverty, unemployment and outmigration in the region. In the last year alone, the NBRC's State Economic and Infrastructure Development grant program provided over $18.5 million in funding to 44 projects spanning across all four NBRC states. In addition, the NBRC furthered its partnerships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the EDA, awarding nearly $6 million to economic development projects and providing another year of funding for capacity building among each NBRC state's outdoor recreation economy functions. Signifying its consistently growing role in fostering economic and community development in the region, the Commission also initiated new partnerships with the Health Resources & Services Administration and statewide broadband agencies.

Continued federal investment in the NBRC is critical to encouraging economic development and job growth in our communities, particularly as these communities work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, we urge you to include the NBRC Reauthorization Act of 2022, which would enhance the impact of the Commission to better leverage federal resources in the Northeast. This includes providing new authorizations for critically needed infrastructure and community development grants that support access to quality healthcare services, strengthen and adapt public infrastructure against the impacts of climate change and promote the production of housing to meet economic development and workforce needs across the region.

Thank you for your consideration. The grant investments from the NBRC have significantly improved the infrastructure and quality of life for many residents in our states. We look forward to working with you to continue the success of the Commission and the great work that it does.