Please read this and act now on this important request!
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider the FY2013 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill, which funds the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). The bill will be debated on the House floor today, May 8 and Wednesday, May 9.
Rep. Michaud’s (D-ME) office plans to offer an amendment to increase the overall funding for EDA, similar to the successful amendment he offered in FY2011 that restored $80 million to EDA. The amendment had tremendous bipartisan support and it passed 305 to 127. This year, the House has proposed to cut EDA’s FY2013 budget by $38 million dollars (down to $219 million).
At the same time, there is conflicting legislation from Rep. Pompeo (R-KS) to eliminate the EDA in its entirety.
UEDA is working with our partners in the innovation and economic development community to urge the House to restore the $38 million to the EDA budget. I want to encourage you to contact your member of the House of Representatives and encourage them to vote in favor of the Michaud amendment. You can find a copy of a sample letter on the UEDA website. I encourage you to personalize the letter with information on how the EDA has impacted your community.
We are urging UEDA members and community to:
- STRONGLY SUPPORT the Michaud (D-ME) amendment to restore a proposed $38 million cut to the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
- STRONGLY OPPOSE the Pompeo (R-KS) amendment to ELIMINATE the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
I would like to point out that the House version of the EDA budget does not include $25 million for Regional Innovation Programs that the President requested and the Senate included. This item will be discussed at the Innovation Coalition fly-in on May 23, where participants will be encouraging members to advocate for this flexible pool of funds. If you haven’t registered for the fly-in, you can do so here.
Sincerely,
Rich Overmoyer
Executive Director