SCHUMER REVEALS: BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE & JOBS ACT CONTAINS AN INFUSION OF NEW FUNDING FOR THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION, A HUGE BOON FOR NY’S SOUTHERN TIER; ARC WILL RECEIVE $1 BILLION WHICH WILL SUPPORT ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CREATE JOBS, AND GROW THE UPSTATE NY ECONOMY

Senator Says Support For ARC Is More Important Than Ever To Assist Underserved Communities In Upstate New York Rebuild And Recover From The COVID Economic Crisis

Under Schumer-Negotiated Deal, ARC Receives An Increase In Its Annual Funding Compared To Previous Years, Including Dedicated Investment For High-Speed Internet Deployment

Schumer: Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act Will Directly Support Families, Communities, And Job Opportunities In The Southern Tier and Upstate New York 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that he negotiated in the Senate includes $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) over 5 years, increasing the budget to $200 million per year through 2026, including $20 million per year in dedicated funding to deploy high-speed internet across the region. Schumer said this investment would provide additional support for economic development, infrastructure, and workforce development programs to improve the quality of life and create new business growth and job opportunities across the Southern Tier and throughout Upstate NY.

“This huge injection of federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act we just passed in Congress will supercharge the Appalachian Regional Commission’s vital mission to boost the economy in Upstate areas like the Southern Tier,” said Senator Schumer. “Funding for the ARC will update aged infrastructure, boost quality of life, promote business growth, and create job opportunities for some of Upstate New York’s most rural and distressed counties.  As majority leader, I am proud to have secured this significant infusion of $1 billion in funding for the ARC that will allow them to support the Southern Tier like never before.”

In addition to the funding increase, Schumer said the bill also expands the ARC’s broadband deployment and adoption programs, including of $20 million a year in dedicated funding for broadband projects.

In 2020, the ARC invested nearly $6 million in New York’s 14 Appalachian counties. Over the last decade, the ARC has helped fund over $32 million in essential projects for Upstate NY, helping create or retain over 4,400 jobs. Projects have included expanded access to high-speed internet, projects to reduce energy costs, support for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and workforce training.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments, focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community, capacity, and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia. New York State receives an allocation of resources from the ARC each year to fund area development in NYS’s 14-county Appalachian Region. The New York counties are represented by one of three Local Development Districts: Southern Tier West (STW) based in Salamanca, NY and comprised of Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties; Southern Tier Central (STC) based in Corning, NY and comprised of Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties; and Southern Tier 8 in Binghamton, NY and comprised of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga and Tompkins counties.

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