House Infrastructure Subcommittee Issues Testimony From Economic Development Administration
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Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of the
Since EDA's creation over 50 years ago, it has provided tens of thousands of catalytic grants to state and local governments, non-profits, economic development districts (EDDs), institutes of higher education, Tribal entities, and other organizations to help communities create jobs and generate private investment across the country. EDA grants support many of the country's most economically distressed areas including regions that are recovering from economic shocks, like those experienced by coal and nuclear power plant communities, or other communities impacted by the decline of an important industry.
EDA, through its organic statute, the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (PWEDA), provides targeted investments that address a range of economic development needs including research, planning, technical assistance, and construction and implementation projects. Using this flexible and comprehensive set of tools, EDA helps regions bounce back quickly from economic setbacks and position themselves for long-term, sustainable economic growth. The project examples below represent a range of the many notable successes as well as highlight the impact that these investments have made: - In 2015, EDA awarded a
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EDA is an agile and dynamic organization that has been able to successfully meet the needs of thousands of grantees facing a wide array of economic development challenges. EDA's success is a direct reflection of the strong partnerships we have built and maintained with a range of stakeholders including over 390 EDDs, 60 University Centers, and 50 Tribal partners. These partnerships reflect the bedrock principle that sustainable economic development should be locally driven and responsive to the varied needs of communities.
Since EDA was last authorized in 2004, the economic conditions that communities face have changed and evolved. Over the last seventeen years, new industries have emerged while other sectors have declined, regions have encountered and responded to devastating natural disasters, and we have all suffered the impacts of a global pandemic.
EDA has also evolved. The bureau has improved its business practices to be more responsive to its customers, launched new evaluation tools and economic models and, over the past four years, grown exponentially in size and budget. In 2017, EDA had an annual appropriation of
Notably, since our last reauthorization, EDA has been recognized for 1) our work in disaster recovery as the lead in economic recovery under the National Disaster Recovery Framework, 2) leadership in federal resource integration and collaboration, and 3) the creation of a robust regional innovation program that continues to grow as authorized by the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act.
What hasn't changed for the last 55 years is EDA's continued ability to rise to the challenge and ensure the funds entrusted to us are invested in an equitable, fair and impactful manner and that we are reaching the communities most in need of our assistance. We are proud of the bureau's accomplishments and believe that we can expand our work to assist distressed American communities especially in the current economic climate.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS AND ASSESSMENTS
EDA's investments are highly effective and generate significant impacts. As reported by
In many situations, EDA funds act as the primary catalyst for other funding - that is, without the support and funding of EDA, many projects would struggle to attract the necessary capital. EDA grants act as a signaling mechanism to validate the project and mobilize outside investment."
Looking at EDA infrastructure investments between 2000-2010,
Additionally, EDA recently concluded an internal assessment of infrastructure projects awarded between 2001 and 2015, using grantee reporting of the number of jobs created or retained as a direct result of EDA investments. The timeframe of 2001 to 2015 was used to allow us to focus our analysis on data reported at six years following an award (2021 being six years after 2015), which EDA has found to be its most informative timeframe following award in terms of projects being completed and response rates from grantees. This analysis showed that for every
ENSURING EFFECTIVENESS
While EDA has been exceedingly successful in implementing its programs, our rapid growth in recent years and the ever-shifting economic development landscape means we must constantly be reassessing how we meet the challenges of the future.
As noted above, over the past four years, EDA has increasingly been called on to play a prominent role in disaster recovery efforts, including two
We are also looking into ways to improve our ability to deliver economic development results in key growing sectors. One such example is broadband. In many rural or underserved areas there is often only one for-profit provider that is willing to install broadband because the profit margins are too low. As such, communities often have to be able to work these companies on commercially attractive terms to ensure broadband is constructed in their area and operated effectively afterward. EDA is looking into ways to help facilitate our ability to catalyze broadband adoption more effectively in needy communities. As mentioned earlier, PWEDA is now over 50 years old, and was conceived with the aim of delivering traditional infrastructure like roads, water, and sewer. As EDA looks toward the future, we must broaden our horizon with an eye toward 21st century technologies and sectors that our communities will need access to if they want to be competitive moving forward. To that effect, EDA has programs like Build2Scale, which builds regional economies through scalable startups by supporting entrepreneurship and company growth, access to capital, and technology commercialization; and, the STEM Talent Challenge, which creates and implements innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) apprenticeship models that expand regional workforce capacity to support innovation driven businesses.
Finally, throughout the last few disaster seasons and the pandemic, EDA's network of EDDs have shown their value in helping develop and adapt regional recovery plans to help communities build back stronger and more resilient, while also developing and managing key economic development projects in various jurisdictions. EDDs have been able to do this while often struggling to secure the local match required to participate in an EDA grant. As such, EDA is looking into ways to stabilize our EDD network to maximize their continued positive impact on EDA's work As we continue to assess how best to position EDA for future success, we look forward to working closely with our stakeholders, other Federal agencies and
CONCLUSION
Chairwoman Titus, Ranking Member Webster, thank you for the opportunity to address you today. EDA's accomplishments reflect our commitment to encourage collaborative regional economic development, promote innovation, cultivate entrepreneurship, build a well-qualified workforce, and position our economic development partners to be more resilient, agile, and competitive in the global marketplace. Restoring economic prosperity to all parts of the nation is an important priority of the Administration and EDA is well-positioned to leverage its strengths in furtherance of this goal. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
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