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Federal commission profile
Mid-Atlantic Regional Commission
- Established
- January 2025 (Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2024, enacted as part of Public Law 118-272)
- Statute
- Title 40 of the U.S. Code, § 15735 (Subtitle V, regional economic and infrastructure development)
- Region
- All counties in Delaware, plus counties in Maryland and Pennsylvania not already served by the Appalachian Regional Commission
- Focus
- Infrastructure and energy, conservation, workforce, and business development
- Status
- Authorised but not yet operational; no appropriation received
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Commission is one of the two newest federal regional commissions, created in law at the very start of 2025. As of early 2026 it existed only on paper: no federal co-chair had been nominated and no money had been appropriated, so the commission had not begun operating.
Why it was created
The mid-Atlantic contains prosperous areas but also pockets of rural and post-industrial distress that fell outside the reach of the existing commissions. When Congress reauthorised the wider regional-commission system in the 2024 economic-development reauthorisation, it used the same legislation to create two entirely new commissions, this being one of them, extending the federal–state model into parts of the mid-Atlantic that lacked one.
What it would cover
Its region is defined to include all of Delaware together with the counties of Maryland and Pennsylvania that are not already served by the Appalachian Regional Commission — carving out the Appalachian counties so the two bodies would not overlap. Its intended focus mirrors the newer commissions: infrastructure and energy investment, environmental and natural-resource conservation, workforce training, and support for business development and entrepreneurship.
Authorised, but not yet standing
It is important to be precise about status. Creating a commission in statute authorises it to exist and, in this case, authorises a funding ceiling — but it does not by itself provide any money, nor does it install the leadership the body needs to function. As of early 2026, this commission had neither a nominated federal co-chair nor an appropriation, so it had not convened or made any grants. It is best described as authorised but not yet operational.
Funding and status
The 2024 reauthorisation set an authorised ceiling of $40 million a year for each of the multi-state commissions through the later 2020s, but provided no direct appropriation for this new body, which had received no funding as of early 2026. Whether and when it becomes active will depend on a future appropriation and the confirmation of a federal co-chair, so its status should be re-checked against current congressional research rather than assumed.