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Remarks Prepared For Delivery
Secretary Of Transportation Rodney E. Slater
Appalachian Summit- New Markets & New Opportunities
August 13, 1999
Huntington, West Virginia

It is indeed a pleasure to join you in West Virginia on this final day of the Appalachian Summit -- New Markets and New Opportunities. I am honored to be here in the home state of the eloquent orator, the Senior Senator from West Virginia, the Honorable Robert Byrd. Appalachia’s Native Son is a strong leader on transportation issues. I think back especially to the energy he devoted to passage of the landmark surface transportation legislation -- the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). Senator Byrd is a true champion for West Virginia and for the entire Appalachian Region.

Let me say, I am delighted to return to this breathtakingly beautiful region. Last May I had the pleasure of visiting with Governor (Paul) Patton and the people of Lexington, Kentucky during the Appalachian Intermodal Transportation Summit.

I came away from that conference with fresh ideas and a renewed commitment to connect the people of Appalachia to opportunity, to a better quality of life. I know I will take away similar commitments at the close of this summit.

Let me thank Deputy Secretary Saul Ramirez and Father Joseph Hacala of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for sponsoring this very timely Appalachian Summit with the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Labor, and Agriculture, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Let me also thank our host, Governor Cecil Underwood for the warm and hospitable welcome to Huntington, West Virginia.

Following on the success of President Clinton’s New Markets Tour, this summit will bolster the Administration’s efforts to develop solutions to address the very critical needs of the people of this great Appalachian Region.

Six and half years ago, President Clinton and Vice President Gore put in place a new economic strategy to successfully move the American people into the new century and the new millennium.

This Administration put our nation’s fiscal house in order, invested in our people and expanded trade in American goods and services. By making tough decisions, the American people have reaped rich rewards.

We have the longest peacetime expansion in our history, the lowest unemployment rate in more than four decades, and the highest home ownership rate ever.

Senator Jennings Randolph, sponsor of the Appalachian Regional Development Act, father of the Appalachian Regional Commission, would be so proud of this region’s great accomplishments.

It has been a challenge, but clearly progress is being made. Since 1993 some Appalachian counties have seen declines in the unemployment rate, per capita income is up and 77 percent of Appalachia’s 18-24 year-olds earn high school diplomas. And today, more than 80 percent of the Appalachian Highway System is now complete.

We are connecting communities to opportunity. As ARC Federal Co-Chairman Jesse White once said, "The Appalachianhighways are more than roads in the mountains -- they are very much a lifeline."

We’re almost home, but we still have miles to go. Promises have been fulfilled, yet much remain to be kept -- promises Senator Robert Kennedy made during his visit to Appalachia more than 30 years ago.

There are too many communities where unemployment is too high and opportunity is too scarce.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to widening the circle of prosperity to include those places in Appalachia that have yet to see and enjoy the same economic development and growth as the rest of the nation. The President’s New Markets Initiative highlights a new way to invest in these hard-pressed communities.

In the 1960s we discovered that government-directed programs alone cannot assure that every community is connected to America’s economic engine of growth.

In the 1980s we discovered that market forces alone are also insufficient to assure that economic advances benefit everyone, with "no one left out."

President Clinton’s and Vice President Gore’s new strategy -- "a third way" -- seeks to create a partnership between government and the private sector to assure that no region -- no community -- no one, is left behind as our nation enters a new era of prosperity.

Today’s conference brings together some of those public and private partners to develop solutions to connect the people of Appalachia to opportunity, to economic prosperity.

And the Department of Transportation is committed to supporting the President’s New Markets Initiative in Appalachia.

Working with Secretary Andrew Cuomo, Deputy Secretary Saul Ramirez and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Co-Chairman Jesse White and the Appalachian Regional Commission, Secretary Alexis Herman and the Department of Labor, Secretary Dan Glickman and the Department of Agriculture, as well as with other federal agencies and private partners, we will ensure that our programs are positioned to meet the needs of this region.

The Appalachian Highway System has been the foundation for growth in this region, but good highways are only part of the story. It is going to take more than just highways to bring true economic growth to rural communities across Appalachia. Ports, rails, bus and air service -- a true intermodal transportation system -- must be included in that story.

Our recently announced Rural Transportation Initiative provides for safety improvements and environmental protections important to the health and well being of rural residents. This initiative also strongly supports intermodal solutions.

In the next few months we will sponsor intermodal transportation planning sessions across the region and we welcome your participation.

Over the next five years we will spend nearly $2.25 billion to help connect rural Appalachia to economic opportunity. But I want to encourage you to look beyond highways.

We have made a commitment to fund major rail lines, airport expansion, transit development, and port development. TEA-21 provides substantial funding to build and improve rural transportation infrastructures and enhance services.

But it is only through active involvement in the surface transportation planning process that these resources can be effectively targeted to the transportation concerns of the people of the Appalachian Region.

Appalachia has few population centers large enough to support major airports and transparks. As a result, individual communities have few opportunities to become major transportation hubs. Therefore, regional cooperation is a must.

The economic growth and benefits of transportation projects are regional in scope. New ways of integrating the transportation needs of neighboring jurisdictions need to be identified and used. Working together -- both within and between states -- Appalachia can achieve the necessary momentum to maximize this area’s great potential.

I want to foster a regional conversation that will begin to identify solutions to Appalachia’s transportation challenges -- the need for safe and efficient transportation; for better links to major airports and ports; for increased intercity bus service; for improved rail service between rural and metropolitan areas.

My staff led several of the summit’s breakout sessions on the types of transportation grants and programs available to the people of Appalachia.

You heard about how intermodal connections for passenger and freight help the transportation system work better. You heard about the transportation planning process and why it is so vitally important for local participation to enhance access to Federal transportation funding.

You also heard about our access to jobs program and how transit can help connect people to jobs. And finally this morning, we talked about the Administration's Livability Initiative and how transportation programs can help make your communities more livable.

In a few moments I will have the opportunity to hear from you. I encourage you to look at these unique and innovative programs to see how they can work best for your communities. You know what works best for Appalachia and for its people.

Clearly transportation is about people. It gives support for community development and for business opportunity. It provides a way for people to reach jobs, education, healthcare, and commercial centers. Transportation is truly the tie that binds.

Let me close on this, I hope today’s summit will energize public and private transportation planners in the Appalachian Region to form regional collaborations and partnerships that can develop new and innovative ways to promote economic opportunity.

The Appalachian Summit can only be a success with your input. Government can not do it alone -- we look to partner with you to bring solutions to the people of Appalachia.

Working together, we can design meaningful and workable strategies that widen the circle of prosperity and give opportunity for the people of Appalachia to enjoy a better quality of life. I am confident that America's best days -- and the best days for rural America -- are yet to come.


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