WASHINGTON – When the Navajo power plant closed in 2019, costing hundreds of jobs, a project funded by the Economic Development Agency helped ease some of the pain, Chris Fetzer said Wednesday. , said before the Senate Committee.

Fetzer, executive director of the Northern Arizona State Council of Government, joined other local officials from across the country in praising the program and calling for the fund’s “long-awaited” reauthorization. , even though everyone was explaining how to improve.

“EDA reauthorization is important, but long overdue.” Fetzer said He testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “EDA’s investment has resulted in countless successful projects and achievements in my area that would not have been possible without it.”

Senator Tom Carper (D.D.), chairman of the committee, said the administration has supported state and local governments in everything from workforce development to infrastructure, broadband to access to capital. .

But Mr. Carper said there is a great need to revamp the administration to reflect the needs of modern economic development. The last full relicensing was in 2004, three years before the iPhone was launched.

“Companies are experiencing new opportunities as well as new challenges, such as how to operate in a more sustainable way on a warmer planet,” Carper said in his book. opening statement. “Through reauthorization, we have the opportunity to modernize and improve EDA’s ability to drive further economic growth.”

This government was established in the 1960s with the aim of bringing employment and economic development to the country’s rural and impoverished areas. A division of the Department of Commerce, it claims to be the only federal agency dedicated solely to economic investment.

The program is strongly regionally oriented, as one eyewitness called “federalism at its best”, but funding requests are organized through regional economic development districts, which manage the subsidies received.

However, eyewitnesses public hearing, People from districts across the country said the government needed more money and streamlined operations to maximize the impact of program funding on underserved communities. Stated.

Fetzer also testified as president of the National Association of Development Organizations, calling for an increase in EDA funding to $3 billion. The agency’s 2023 budget is $1.6 billion, according to its website.

One of the biggest hurdles is the current requirement for local governments to contribute matching funds to receive subsidies from the government. Witnesses said many of the local governments were too small to be matched, reducing local government matching to 10% of planned grants and 20% of actual project funding, with the rest going to the federal government. asked lawmakers to pay for

“EDA’s current local match requirements for both planning grants and projects pose a significant barrier to entry for many communities in Arizona and throughout the country,” Fetzer said.

Delaware grant recipient Patricia Cannon agreed. She said the local match requirement is a burden to small, underserved communities that lack the financial resources to perform.

Witnesses also said that without additional staff to assist local stakeholders in navigating the often complex federal application process, areas most in need could be left behind. It asked for more funding for its operations.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins said, “EDA is available to small and medium-sized counties and more difficult counties seeking funding and approval to implement important projects that will enable their communities to thrive. It is imperative that such federal agencies provide strong technical assistance.” Florida.

Fetzer echoed this, saying many of the communities he works with “are not familiar with or do not have the expertise in applying for federal programs such as EDA grants.”organizations like NACOG It can “provide expertise and technical assistance to assist them (regional bodies) in identifying eligible projects and in preparing and submitting applications and the like.”

But despite all the problems, eyewitnesses said the program was worth the effort.

Fetzer noted that the EDA program is “called Assisting the Coal Community.” It was used while the Navajo power station was nearing closure. ”

He said the same fund is being used to prepare communities for the imminent closure of other coal-fired power plants in the region. This includes an effort to partner with Arizona State University to find new business uses for the Cholla power plant, which is scheduled to close in 2025, and is funded with an EDA grant.

“Today, our region is determined to use the lessons learned from the NGS closures to better anticipate similar scenarios in the future, and to consider future closures of the three remaining coal-fired power plants still in operation. We are working on proactive planning measures to be prepared, “in this region,” Fetzer said after Wednesday’s hearing.