Click here or on the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.),
Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today
participated in a hearing examining the U.S. Economic Development
Administration (EDA)’s programs. She questioned EDA Administrator Alejandra
Castillo, as well as a panel of local economic development professionals,
including West Virginia’s Region VII Planning and Development Council Executive
Director, Shane Whitehair.
HIGHLIGHTS:
COMPETITIVE GRANT
PROGRAMS: “I want to ask about the $3
billion that was released through the American Rescue Plan. As you said,
it was divided into six programs. One is the Build Back Better. You said it had
529 applications? I know ten of them are really good because they’re from West
Virginia…You’re taking a regional approach there which is different from the
way the $1.5 [billion] was distributed in the CARES Act. Why did you
decide to deviate from a traditional approach to a more regional for these
Build Back Better [programs], and also what is the timeline to have those?”
DEFINITION OF DISTRESSED
COMMUNITIES: “You mentioned in your
testimony that you would want to have in a reauthorization an update of
‘distressed’ priorities—new, updated priorities. You mentioned communities of
color and equity and other disadvantaged communities. I would imagine these
would be enhancements to what would be the traditional way EDA would assess a
‘distressed’ community. Distressed is distressed.”
HELPING COMMUNITIES APPLY
FOR EDA GRANTS: “I know in working
with projects throughout the state of West Virginia with the regional economic
development councils has been really, really good. But I also know there’s
frustration. There’s frustration you can’t get awarded, it doesn’t fit the
criteria. People get discouraged because they get rejected by EDA. Can you get
into that a little bit and how we can improve that?...What’s the hang-up on
these kinds of things?”
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