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Federal commission profile
Appalachian Regional Commission
- Established
- 1965, by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-4)
- Statute
- Codified at Title 40 of the U.S. Code, Chapter 143 (§ 14101 et seq.)
- Region
- 13 states, 423 counties — all of West Virginia plus parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia
- Focus
- Economic opportunity, infrastructure, workforce, and community development
- Status
- Active and funded
The Appalachian Regional Commission is the oldest and largest of the U.S. federal regional commissions, and the one most others were modelled on. Created in 1965 to address the persistent economic distress of the Appalachian region, it pioneered the federal–state partnership design that later commissions adopted.
Why it was created
By the early 1960s, Appalachia had become a national symbol of a region left behind: a vast, mountainous area stretching along the spine of the eastern United States where incomes, health, and infrastructure lagged well below the national average, even as the wider country prospered. The response was a new kind of institution — not a single federal agency imposing solutions from Washington, and not thirteen states acting alone, but a standing partnership between them, purpose-built to plan and invest across the whole region.
What it covers
The commission's footprint is defined by statute: a 13-state region of several hundred counties running from the southern tier of New York down to northern Mississippi. All of West Virginia lies inside it; the other twelve states contribute their Appalachian portions. The area encompasses tens of millions of residents across a mix of small cities, former coal and industrial communities, and deeply rural counties.
How it is governed
The commission embodies the federal–state partnership model in its purest form. Its members are the governors of all 13 states together with a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The states select one of their own governors to serve as the states' co-chair, a role that rotates. Because major decisions require agreement from both the federal side and the states, neither can simply override the other — the design forces cooperation.
On the ground, much of the work flows through a network of dozens of multi-county local development districts, which help communities prepare and manage projects. That two-tier structure — a regional commission setting strategy above, local development districts delivering close to communities below — is one of the model's most copied features.
What it funds
The commission invests its annual appropriation as grants across a familiar development toolkit: transportation and other basic infrastructure, water and sewer systems, business and workforce development, education, and community facilities. A recurring emphasis is targeting the most distressed counties within the region, and in recent years a dedicated initiative has directed support to communities hit hardest by the decline of the coal economy, helping them diversify into new industries.
Funding and status
The commission remains active and funded, with a Senate-confirmed federal co-chair. Its recent total annual funding has run at roughly $400 million, a figure that in recent years has combined its regular annual appropriation with additional multi-year infrastructure money. As with any appropriated body, the exact number shifts year to year, so the official budget documents are the place to confirm a current figure.