On September 12, 2019, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2020 Energy & Water Development Appropriations bill which includes $175 million for ARC. Within this appropriation, the Committee Report specifies $83 million for Area Development ARC’s base program with $10 million specifically for high-speed broadband in Northern, North Central, and Central Appalachia; $50 million for POWER; $16 million for workforce development in Southern and South Central’s automotive and aviation sectors; $16 million for basic infrastructure improvements in Central Appalachia’s economically distressed counties; and $10 million for a regionally competitive pilot initiative to address the substance abuse crisis in Appalachia.

The full Senate is expected to take up the bill later this month.