Letter to President Obama follows first appropriation of $1.5 million to NBRC

Rep. Peter Welch and fellow House members from northern New England and New York today called on President Obama to fully fund the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) in his upcoming fiscal year 2011 budget.

“The NBRC is perfectly primed to provide the economic boost northern Vermont and neighboring states need. By funding local economic development projects throughout the region, we can not only jumpstart local economies but lay the groundwork for long-term investment in the region,” Welch said.

On November 11, 2009, the White House nominated Sandford Blitz as the first federal co-chairman of the NBRC, which was recently appropriated $1.5 million to begin operations. The NBRC was created by legislation co-authored by Welch and passed into law in the summer of 2008.

The NBRC is charged with investing in the economic development of the most distressed areas of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and parts of upstate New York. Vermont’s Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Orleans counties are among 36 counties included in the organization’s jurisdiction.

“As your Administration and Congress work to reverse the damage of the current economic recession, it is imperative that we allocate federal resources to promote economic development in the most effective way possible,” wrote the delegation Monday in a letter to President Obama. “As the authors and cosponsors of language authorizing the Northern Border Regional Commission, we strongly believe in its regional approach to economic development and ability to make targeted investments that will combat poverty, address the systemic barriers that prevent increased investment and economic growth throughout our states and improve the quality of life for residents.”

Also signing the letter were Reps. Michael Michaud, Paul Hodes, Michael Arcuri, Bill Owens, Chellie Pingree and Carol Shea-Porter.