Undoubtedly the provisions of these bills as now written might benefit some area where the hardship has been of short duration. However, I honestly think that for many of the areas I am acquainted with the solution offered in this legislation is not the answer. The prior lien of the Government loan alone would be an impossible handicap to a community who might have to raise a portion of its 65-percent share by means of a bond issue. However, be that as it may, my reason for making a statement is to suggest an amendment to Senate bills 104 and 1433 that would make possible a constructive means of helping a community to help itself by advancing some risk capital to develop its natural resources. The particular resource I have in mind is water. There is ample proof that the development of this resource in areas where water has been the limiting factor to further economic development of the territory has paid off and industry has moved in when the assets of the area were favorable, and sometimes even without Federal subsidy to encourage them. Lack of developments to store and control the flow of water is the biggest limiting factor to the economic growth of south-central Illinois, which is one of the most severely economically depressed areas of the country. Several large industries and many smaller ones who wanted to locate here went elsewhere because of lack of dependable water. We must pay freight on our coal to ship it elsewhere to generate power, then build expensive high-tension lines to ship the electricity back because there is no dependable water to make steam. The concept of Federal participation in developing water resources is as old as the Nation and has served as the key factor in the development of many of our major industrial areas. Development of rivers and harbors has been a function of the Army Corps of Engineers ever since their founding. Federal participation in irrigation projects started the Reclamation Service in the Imperial Valley and continued through the arid sections of the West until it has made many million arid acres bloom. Federal participation in flood control started with levees on the Mississippi. The concept broadened to include headwaters dams such as those on the Muskingum and elsewhere throughout the country. Through the Soil Conservation Service there is Federal participation for soil erosion control and flood prevention back at the starting place of floods through Public Law 566. Federal participation in power production came to its ultimate in the Tennessee Valley, where not only hydroelectric power was developed, but steam plants as well. Federal participation in water developments where municipal water supply was an important feature and many more lesser projects has ample precedent if the city of Los Angeles' use of the Hoover Dam may be cited. Finally, Federal participation because of recreation has been authorized through the Forest Service, the Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Federal allocations to the States through the Dingel-Johnson and Pittman-Robertson Acts. We have in south-central Illinois railroads, highways, hospitals, schools, labor, power (and indefinite potential power if we had water), billions of tons of coal, plus gas and oil, but only very limited water storage. A shortage of good reservoir sites and risk capital are mainly responsible for the lack of water. Unfortunately, no one use of water will make a big enough direct financial return of the type collectible by a private concern to interest private capital in developing the one good reservoir site in the area. The same is true when any one of the Federal agencies is approached. They go back to the limited objectives of their particular agency and say, "We cannot justify the project on the basis of our limited field of interest, therefore we cannot help you.” Yet, if each agency could participate jointly in proportion to the benefits of its particular interest, there would be more than adequate justification for the type of project which we are proposing to develop. The depressed area of south-central Illinois would soon disappear, not because of the temporary jobs offered by the immediate construction, but by the industry that needs water to process the coal, gas, oil, corn, wheat, soybeans, and other raw materials we have into useful products. Our local government has created a conservancy district which has the power to raise money through local taxes and bond issues, but at the outside limit it is unable to raise more than 10 percent of the estimated cost of the project. Our State legislature has already made possible preliminary engineering surveys and cost estimates for us. Our Governor has implied State cooperation which might eventually amount to a fair proportion of the cost if we could arrange for the remaining funds. Since the idealized interagency cooperation just mentioned seems quite remote, I would like to ask this committee to incorporate the follow91201-57-pt. 1-58 ing amendment to its Area Assistance Acts, S. 104 and S. 1433. This would permit certain areas to remove the basic limiting factors of industrial development, and private enterprise could take over, build factories, provide the jobs, pay taxes to support the Government and wages to support the families now on relief. A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO S. 104 AND S. 1433 GRANTS FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES (a) The Administrator may conduct studies of needs in the various redevelop ment areas throughout the United States for, and the probable cost of, land acquisition or development of public facility usage, and the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of useful public facilities within such areas, and may receive proposals from any State, or political subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or private or public organization or association representing any redevelopment area, or part thereof, relating to land acquisi tion or development of public facility usage, and the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of public facilities within any such area. Any such proposal shall contain plans showing the project proposed to be undertaken, the cost thereof, and the contributions proposed to be made to such cost by the entity making the proposal. The Administrator, in consultation with such entity, is authorized to modify all or any part of such proposal. (b) The Administrator, pursuant to a proposal received by him under this section, may make grants to any State, or political subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or private or public organization or association representing any redevelopment area, or part thereof, for land acquisition or development for public facility usage, and the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of public facilities within a redevelopment area, if he finds that (1) the project for which financial assistance is sought will provide more than a temporary alleviation of unemployment or underemployment in the redevelopment area wherein such project is, or will be, located, and will tend to improve the opportunities in such area for the successful establishment or expansion of industrial or commercial plants or facilities; (2) the entity requesting the grant purposes to contribute to the cost of the project for which such grant is requested in proportion to its ability so to contribute; and (3) the project for which a grant is requested will fulfill a pressing need of the area, or part thereof, in which it is, or will be, located, and there is little probability that such project can be undertaken without the assistance of a grant under this section. The amount of any grant under this section for any such project shall not exceed the difference between the funds which can be practicably obtained from other sources (including a loan under other sections of this Act) for such project, and the amount which is necessary to insure the completion thereof. (c) The Administrator shall by regulations provide for the supervision of the carrying out of projects with respect to which grants are made under this section so as to insure that Federal funds are not wasted or dissipated. (d) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $50,000,000 for the purpose of making grants under this section. TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, Re Area development hearings Hon. PAUL DOUGLAS, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR: May I request that you include the following tabulated material relevant to the full consideration of the above problem in the hearings. Sincerely, SOLOMON BARKIN. |