Dec. 30, 2006
 
RAHALL REPORT: A New Year, A New Direction
 
From the desk of U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)
 
Washington, DC (HNN) -- As we celebrate the New Year, many of us will again resolve to better ourselves in some way, whether it be making more time for our health, more time for our families, or more time for our communities. It is fitting, then, that Congress, too, will be going in a new, improved direction.
 
It's a new direction West Virginians and the rest of the American people have demanded, and we will work to meet their expectations.
 
We will work in driving toward a new course in Iraq.
 
We will work to pass important homeland security recommendations.
 
We will work toward raising the minimum wage, cutting the rate on student loans, addressing the Medicare drug legislation that forbids the government from negotiating prices with drug companies and fulfilling the promises we've made to our veterans through a new GI Bill of Rights.
 
And we hope to get a good start on this agenda within the first 100 hours of the new Congress.
 
In the new Democratic Congress, West Virginia will have key roles: Sen. Byrd will again chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee; Sen. Jay Rockefeller will head the Senate Intelligence Committee; and I have been elected chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. This is not my honor, but rather, a tribute to all of you and to the people of West Virginia whom I have the privilege of serving in the Congress. The Natural Resources Committee is the birthplace in Congress of legislation affecting a broad range of activities, from our parks and national forests, to mining and oil and gas drilling, to our fisheries, and to our historic treasures.
 
When I take the gavel of the Natural Resources Committee, I intend to advance an agenda that will make West Virginians proud - an agenda of American Values.
 
Here in West Virginia, we are already going in the right direction, and 2007 is bright with potential as we work together to strengthen the three Ts which are the keys to our success -transportation, technology and tourism.
 
In 2007, I will continue to work as hard as I did in the 109th Congress for southern West Virginia's important transportation infrastructure projects, including the King Coal Highway, Route 10, the Coalfields Expressway, the Shawnee Parkway and the Z-Way in Beckley. It is important the State be a full partner with us in these efforts and provides a full and fair share of their State and federal resources, and I will continue to work with transportation officials in Charleston to prove that southern West Virginia's projects will bring a defined economic benefit to the region.
 
I have asked the Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University to conduct economic impact studies on the Beckley Z-Way and Coalfields Expressway. RTI currently is working diligently on those studies.
 
This is one of the many important projects RTI will be focused on in the coming year.
 
RTI is partnering with WVDOT on several research projects related to improving transportation infrastructure in West Virginia and is working closely with Norfolk Southern on the a new project of national significance, "the Heartland Corridor," which will bring to this region a new state-of-the-art Intermodal Facility at Prichard, West Virginia. RTI is also working closely with CSX to expand the award-winning rail track stability research program at Marshall.
 
In addition, through the National Maritime Enhancement Institute, RTI has formed a new advisory council to secure funding for feasibility studies on improving and enhancing the Port of Huntington and is working on a demonstration project and the testing of new software for use by emergency responders as they monitor navigation along the Nation's waterways. And just days ago, RTI announced a new initiative to expand ongoing GPS deployment efforts to assist the law enforcement agencies in acquiring and employing GPS technology. This initiative is being funded by a $493,000 COPS grant I helped secure last year.
 
Working together with the RTI and Marshall University in the New Year, we will harness the potential of the Ohio River, improve the transportation infrastructure of West Virginia and fulfill our shared vision of building jobs through transportation.
 
As a senior Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I will continue to oversee federal transportation policy. The Committee is scheduled to take up a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is an important bill for southern West Virginia's rural airports. I will work on this bill to ensure our rural airports remain competitive and receive the federal investments they need to prosper. Many of our rural airports are economic engines for the communities they serve and the FAA legislation on which I will be working is integral to their success.
 
In the area of technology, we will continue to build on an impressive first year for the Connected Technology Corridors Program, which I established last December. We've got 490,000 square feet of technology buildings 3,365 acres of business/technology parks now in place, under construction or in design. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We're rolling out DSL all over the Third District. In the southern coalfield counties, RTI and Southern WV Community and Technical College are coordinating the Southern Highlands Initiative to help stimulate economic development in the counties of Boone, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo and Wyoming. My commitment to the Southern Highlands Initiative includes helping to support the development of new industrial business parks to be located within each of our southern coalfield counties.
 
The tourism industry has much to look forward to as well. Recently, I was presented with a report on the 10-month study of southern West Virginia music, which was funded with a $97,000 development grant I secured. The findings of this study has made it abundantly clear that with more people visiting southern West Virginia such a facility would help educate visitors on West Virginia's diverse and unique culture. So we are moving ahead with this important project. This initiative, combined with $650,000 in federal funds for improvements to The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, $550,000 for the establishment of the Greenbrier Valley Visitors Center and other investments across southern West Virginia will keep our tourism industry booming well into the 21st century.
 
These are just a few examples of what is in store for West Virginia in the coming year. A spirit of optimism is flowing through the Mountain State as we begin the New Year and I am confident that greater things await us. As 2007 gets under way, I look forward to continuing my service to southern West Virginia and to each of you as your Representative in Washington.
 
Best wishes for a Happy New Year and a joyous and prosperous 2007.