Creating jobs in the communities of southern West Virginia has always been the center of my priorities as your Congressman. I am a firm believer that jobs are created through long-term, sustained development efforts that form a strong foundation on which to build jobs. The future of job creation in West Virginia means investment in Transportation, Technology and Tourism. These "three T's" have and will continue to improve our changing economy and strengthen our ties to the global economy.

Over the years, I have worked hand-in-hand with many communities, individuals, and agencies to build local infrastructure and create jobs in southern West Virginia. I am grateful to all who care so much about our state and work so closely with me on local development projects. One of the important spokes in the development and job creation wheel in southern West Virginia are various federal programs which, unfortunately, will cease to exist if the President's budget is fully implemented.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA), along with 16 other programs which have diligently served many of our communities in West Virginia are slated for elimination in the Administration's budget proposal.

The President's proposal breaks up the strong foundation of federal investment and actually eliminates the Community Development Block Grant program, the Economic Development Administration and several other programs. In doing this, the proposal would weaken communities severely. The proposal will create a new bureaucracy and new rules. This new office would be $2 billion short of the old programs funding level and this cut means millions less for crucial projects in West Virginia.

According to the National Association of Developmental Organizations, the proposed program would mandate unrealistic performance standards for distressed areas and it would severely weaken the federal government's role in helping to make distressed areas more attractive to private sector investors. This type of funding is crucial for southern West Virginia.

Recently, Economic Development Administration funding has helped make Wolf Creek Park in Fayette County functional by extending water and sewer lines and creating an access road so residents can take advantage of the area. Additionally, this week I announced that a new motorsports complex planned for Mingo County has been invited to submit a full application for funding to the EDA. These types of projects are job creators and the EDA has consistently supported southern West Virginia job creation through our local projects.

Specifically in Huntington, Community Development Block Grant funding has supplied firefighting trucks to the Huntington Fire Department to help protect residents and helped increase accessibility on sidewalks for people with disabilities to make our streets safer, just to name a couple of the many vital projects. The President's proposed changes would severely limit funding of current and future projects in West Virginia. Because of this, I have urged my colleagues to keep both the EDA and the CDBG programs intact and fully funded.

Keeping these programs has bipartisan support. I urge the President to reconsider these drastic cuts and program changes in community and economic development programs. I maintain that these programs are crucial to development in West Virginia and I will continue my efforts to ensure that we keep a strong federal partner in my push to create jobs and build local infrastructure in West Virginia through our ongoing community and economic development projects.