Published September 1961 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
From the Office of UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD Room 342, Old Senate Office Building, Washington 25, D.C. Volume I -- Number 38 9-22-61 BYRD' EYE VIEW A Public Service Column by SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD LOCAL INITIATIVE IS HELD KEY TO AREA REDEVELOPMENT In every sense of the word, the Area Redevelopment Act is a “grass-roots" piece of legislation. The basic process by which it will operate places great responsibility on local initiative. After a local community is designated as a redevelopment area, local leaders must develop an over-all economic development program for the area which must be approved by the State in which the area is located, and which must be submitted to the Area Redevelopment Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce. When this over-all program is approved by the Area Redevelopment Administration, the local community will develop industrial and commercial projects consistent with the over-all economic development program and secure endorsement by the West Virginia Department of Commerce before submittal to the Area Redevelopment Administration for approval. Many areas already have active development groups. In most areas there are also numerous political subdivisions and jurisdictions. If redevelopment programs for the entire redevelopment area are to succeed, the various existing groups must work together in harmony with an over-all redevelopment organization that is representative of the area as a whole. Such an organization would serve as the prime mover, as well as the contact point, with the West Virginia Department of Commerce, and the Administrator of the Area Redevelopment Administration. The basic elements of an over-all economic development program include a review of the economic situation, a summary of the problems and needs, the economic potentials in light of resources, markets, and labor skills, economic development objectives, and most important, a program of action involving local, State, and Federal responsibilities. The over-all economic development program will vary from one area to another. The problems and needs of each area differ, and each redevelopment area• has a unique combination of physical environment, natural resources, human skills, available markets, and economic, social, and political institutions. Five broad types of assistance are available under the Area Redevelopment Act: 1. Loans for industrial and commercial projects 2. Loans and grants for public facilities 3. Technical assistance 4. Occupational training 5. Retraining subsistence payments Even the most enthusiastic supporters of area redevelopment legislation do not expect that the new program will solve all the chronic unemployment problems of all eligible areas. They do believe, however, that Federal assistance can materially help those communities and States willing to work hard for their own economic improvement. This is a long-range program of creative area economic redevelopment -- as distinct from a short-term, anti-recession program. --30--