Legislative Update: Obama Administration Requests $95 Million for ARC for FY 2016 February 2015

On February 2, 2015, the Obama administration proposed a federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2016 that requests $95 million for ARC's community and economic development programs. This amount is an increase of $5 million from the Commission's FY 2015 funding level. The proposed funding for ARC includes $70 million for  the Commission's base program—the same amount provided for each of the past two years—and an additional $25 million for implementation of the administration's POWER+ (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Plan, a multi-agency initiative to support communities adversely affected by the transition from coal as the primary fuel source in the power sector. The additional $25 million will fund a regional grant competition to support activities in emerging-opportunities sectors for communities impacted by job losses in coal mining and in power-plant operations and their supply chains. Grants awarded will help communities diversify their economies; create good jobs in existing or new industries; attract new sources of job-creating investment; and provide reemployment services and job training to dislocated workers in order to connect them with high-quality, in-demand jobs.

The proposed FY 2016 budget assumes no major policy changes in the Commission's base program. The budget will now go to Congress for its consideration.

Budget resources:
ARC FY 2016 Performance Budget Justification (PDF: 2.7 MB)
ARC FY 2016 Budget Summary (PDF: 29 KB)

POWER+ Plan resources:
ARC POWER+ Plan Summary (PDF: 71 KB)
POWER+ Plan Budget Fact Sheet (PDF: 58 KB)