LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – President Donald Trump's budget plan includes cutting funds for a government agency that promotes economic development in eastern Arkansas and other parts of the Mississippi Delta.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Delta Regional Authority is one of nearly 20 independent agencies marked for closure under a 2018 budget plan released by Trump's administration Thursday.
The move faces opposition from some members of the Arkansas congressional delegation.
Chris Masingill, the authority's federal co-chairman, says the economic agency would go out of business if the budget passes.
The authority serves more than 250 counties and parishes in portions of Alabama and seven states that border the Mississippi River, many of them with high rates of poverty. Since its inception in 2000, it has distributed $163 million in aid to the region and helped retain or create more than 26,000 jobs.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Delta Regional Authority is one of nearly 20 independent agencies marked for closure under a 2018 budget plan released by Trump's administration Thursday.
The move faces opposition from some members of the Arkansas congressional delegation.
Chris Masingill, the authority's federal co-chairman, says the economic agency would go out of business if the budget passes.
The authority serves more than 250 counties and parishes in portions of Alabama and seven states that border the Mississippi River, many of them with high rates of poverty. Since its inception in 2000, it has distributed $163 million in aid to the region and helped retain or create more than 26,000 jobs.
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