Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) introduced legislation to amend the Delta Development Act to expand the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) area to include Daviess, Hancock, and Ohio counties. This legislation will ensure that all counties within the Green River Area Development District (GRADD) are included under the DRA.
“I’m proud to introduce legislation to expand the Delta Regional Authority to include Daviess, Hancock, and Ohio counties,” said Congressman Guthrie. “My bill will expand economic opportunities for well over 100,000 Kentuckians residing in these three counties. Not only will this legislation provide pathways to update existing infrastructure, it will also open the door to exciting new economic development opportunities, enabling the region to continue to grow in the future.”
Background:
In 1988, the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1989 included language that created the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission (LMDDC), tasked with studying economic issues in the Delta and developing a ten-year economic development plan. As a direct outgrowth of the work and recommendations of the LMDDC, the DRA was formally established in the Delta Regional Authority Act of 2000.
The DRA has served as a formal framework for joint federal-state collaboration to promote and encourage the economic development of the lower Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. This authority serves economically distressed communities across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
DRA funds are used by communities across the region to invest in transportation and public infrastructure projects, critical workforce training and economic development programs.
Incorporating Daviess, Hancock, and Ohio counties into this authority, which are already a part of GRADD- that fulfills similar goals at the state level- will help to grow and sustain the economies of these Kentucky counties.
Full text of this legislation can be found here.
