Appalachian-area partners pushing for continued federal funding
By J.D. Davidson
The Center Square
Officials from Ohio and Kentucky have joined more than 80 other government officials, nonprofit leaders and advocates urging Congress to keep funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission that could be cut by President Donald Trump’s discretionary budget funding proposal.
Trump released the funding plan in May that would trim the ARC’s money by 93% from $200 million in recent years to $14 million for fiscal year 2026.
“In recent years, Appalachia has built incredible momentum towards a multi-industry economy that provides good jobs that take good care of the communities around us,” a letter from the officials to members of Congress reads. “The ARC has been instrumental in driving forward this potential. Reductions to its programs pose a risk to innovative initiatives in workforce development, community revitalization, and American-made resilient energy.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, Congress continues to work through 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government have now been drafted, while only one has passed the House.
The most recent rash of bills, released recently, determines fiscal year 2026 funding levels for multiple departments and agencies, touching everything from the State Department’s foreign aid programs to the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical cleanup programs.
The ARC is not among the funding bills currently released. The House Subcommittee on Energy and Water was scheduled to mark up the ARC’s bill July 7, but that meeting was postponed.
Still, government leaders and nonprofit organizations throughout the 13-state, 432-county region continue to push the value of the organization that began in 1965.
“As a grant writer living here in the heart of eastern Kentucky, I’ve seen with my own eyes what ARC funding can do,” said Ruthie Caldwell, with Vision Grant LLC in Kentucky. “The ARC is one of the few federal programs that truly understands our region and meets us where we are. It helps us build a better future from the ground up. Cutting this funding now would undo so much of the progress our communities have worked so hard for. I hope Congress will continue to invest in Appalachia – we’re worth it, and the work is far from done.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has made the state’s Appalachian region a budget priority for the past several years, pushing for economic development, infrastructure, health care and education money from the federal and state level.
“The ARC is a critical organization to those of us in Appalachian Ohio,” said Amesville, Ohio, Mayor Gary Goosman. "Funding for infrastructure, broadband, and informational services is key to our success."
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