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1 1 (February 28, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesqz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 Updated February 28, 2025 Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Authorization During the 118th Congress, the Economic Development Reauthorization Act (EDRA, P.L. 118-272) reauthorized seven federal regional commissions and authorities (FRCAs) and established two new FRCAs-the Mid- Atlantic Regional Commission (MARC) and the Southern New England Regional Commission (SNERC). During the 117th Congress, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) also authorized a new FRCA, the Great Lakes Authority (GLA). The GLA received its first appropriation in FY2024. However, the GLA, MARC, and SNERC are not currently operational. Although appropriations are necessary for their full activation, they are also insufficient without additional steps. This In Focus describes potential additional steps that may be necessary for an FRCA to achieve full formation, and potential policy options for Congress should it consider creating new FRCAs. ackground on the Federal Regona Commissions and Authorities FRCAs) Ten FRCAs have been authorized by Congress to address instances of major economic distress in geographically defined socio-economic regions. Congress authorized the first FRCA, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in 1965. Additional commissions and authorities were founded in 1998 (the Denali Commission), 2000 (the Delta Regional Authority, or DRA), and 2002 (the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority, or NGPRA). Three commissions-the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC), and the Southwest Border Regional Commission (SBRC)-were authorized in 2008. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) amended 40 U.S.C. §15301(a) to establish the GLA in December 2022, and the Economic Development Reauthorization Act (P.L. 118-272) further amended 40 U.S.C. §15301(a) to establish the MARC and the SNERC in January 2025. Six of the ten entities-the ARC, DRA, Denali Commission, NBRC, SBRC, and SCRC-receive annual appropriations and have federal co-chairs in place. The MARC, NGPRA, GLA, and SNERC are currently inactive as they do not have federal co-chairs in place. Additionally, the MARC and the SNERC have not received appropriations and the NGRPA last received appropriations in FY2005. The authorizing legislation for the ARC, DRA, GLA, MARC, NBRC, NGPRA, SBRC, SCRC, and SNERC requires a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed federal co-chair. The Senate confirmed the SCRC's and SBRC's first federal co-chairs in December 2021 and December 2022, respectively, allowing the commissions to convene and begin other activities. As of February 2025, there are no confirmed co-chairs for the GLA, NGPRA, MARC, and SNERC. The FRCAs established after the ARC-with the exception of the Denali Commission-are all broadly modeled after the ARC's structure. The structure includes a federal co- chair, appointed by the President with Senate confirmation, and the member state governors, of which one is elected by the governors as state co-chair. The authorizing legislation for the Denali Commission requires that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce appoint a federal co-chair. FRCA Funding, FY2022-FY2024 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42) provided annual appropriations for ARC, Denali Commission, DRA, GLA, SCRC, SBRC, and NBRC. Table 1 summarizes funding amounts for the seven federal regional commissions that have received appropriations in FY2024, along with the year authorized. Table I. Recent FRCA Funding (millions of dollars) Year Appropriations Authorized FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 GLA FY2023 - - $5.0 SBRC FY2008 $3.75 $5.0 $5.0 SCRC FY2008 $10.00 $20.0 $20.0 NBRC FY2008 $185.00 $40.0 $41.0 DRA FY2000 $180.10 $31.0 $31.1 Denali FY 1998 $90.10 $17.0 $17.0 ARC FY 1965 $395.00 $400.0 $400.0 Sources: Appropriations figures tabulated from, P.L. 117-58, P.L. 117-103, P.L. 117-328, and P.L. 118-42. Notes: FY2022 amounts include appropriations provided in the Infrastructure Investment and jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58). The IIJA provided $200 million in advance appropriations for the ARC in each fiscal year from FY2022 through FY2026. Appropriations are a first step toward the full formation and operation of FRCAs. Several additional steps must be completed before a commission or authority can be fully convened and active. These steps include, broadly 1. The presidential appointment and Senate confirmation of a federal co-chair, and potentially an alternate federal co-chair; 2. The convening of the FRCA, including the federal co-chair and the member state governors; 3. Organizational development of the FRCA, which includes the development of bylaws, hiring of a

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