SENATORS SNOWE AND COLLINS CO-AUTHOR LEGISLATION TO DESIGNATE ENTIRE AREA OF AROOSTOOK COUNTY AS AN ‘EMPOWERMENT ZONE’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have co-authored legislation to expand the current boundaries of Aroostook County's Empowerment Zone to include every community in the county. Federal regulations limit Empowerment Zones to 1,000 square miles, a rule that prevents all of Aroostook's small rural communities throughout The County's 6,672 square miles from benefitting from the program.

"Including all of Aroostook County in the Empowerment Zone will guarantee that parts of the county will not be left behind as economic prosperity returns to the area," said Senators Collins and Snowe in a joint statement. "It does little good to have a company move from one community to another within the County simply to take advantage of EZ benefits. It is only fair that all of Aroostook County's population be given the opportunity to fully benefit from the Empowerment Zone Program."

In response to difficult economic times, the Northern Maine Development Commission and other economic development organizations, the private business sector, and community leaders in Aroostook have joined forces to stabilize, diversify, and grow the area's economy. They have attracted some new industries and jobs.

The Department of Agriculture's Empowerment Zone program addresses a comprehensive range of community challenges, including many that have traditionally received little federal assistance. An Empowerment Zone designation gives designated regions potential access to millions of dollars in federal grants for social services and community redevelopment as well as tax and regulatory relief over a ten-year period.

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