Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) released the following statement on President Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC). The NBRC is critical in helping spur economic growth and community development projects in New Hampshire’s North Country and throughout rural parts of the Northeast:

“I’m deeply disappointed by President Trump’s proposal to completely eliminate the Northern Border Regional Commission,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “The NBRC is a crucial resource for rural communities in the Northeast and has helped promote economic development and create jobs right here in New Hampshire. In 2016 alone, the NBRC provided more than a million dollars to help business developers, homeless veterans and those suffering from substance use in the North Country and beyond. President Trump’s budget proposal would hit rural communities that can least afford it the hardest and jeopardize the economic progress that has been made in the North Country. Simply put, this budget proposal is wrong for the North Country, wrong for New Hampshire, and wrong for our country.”

Created by the 2008 Farm Bill, the Northern Border Regional Commission is a Federal-State partnership that is comprised of a Federal Co-Chair and the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. The Commission was established to organize federal funding towards specific state economic and community development projects in rural parts of the Northeast. The investments made by the NBRC have the direct impact of creating jobs, supporting community-oriented projects and attracting private investments that will help organizations and municipalities meet their funding objectives.

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