A White House budget proposal released in May calls for a 93% cut to the Appalachian Regional Commission, from about $200 million to $14 million. Nonprofits, local officials, and business groups across the region are urging Congress to reject the plan, warning it would gut grants that support jobs, infrastructure, and addiction recovery. Key Kentucky lawmakers say they intend to protect the commission’s funding.
The ARC is a federal–state partnership serving parts of 13 Appalachian states. Since 1965, it has backed projects in broadband, workforce training, small business, and public health. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, more than 80 elected officials and organizations signed a letter urging congressional leaders to “adequately fund the Appalachian Regional Commission consistent with recent fiscal year funding levels.” Signatories include the Mountain Association, the Kentucky Nonprofit Network, Appalachian Voices, and the Kentucky Conservation Committee.
“We are deeply concerned about the White House budget proposal to drastically cut funding to the Appalachian Regional Commission to $14 million in the FY2026 budget bill, down from $200 million in recent years’ budgets,” the letter states, adding that while some money remains from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and prior appropriations, “this unprecedented cut… would result in major reductions to actual benefits delivered to the people of Appalachia,” according to the Herald-Leader.
Nonprofits warn the cut would stall programs that connect people to work. “There’s a lot of programs that are supported by ARC to help folks get help for addiction, and then return to the workforce,” said Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs for Appalachian Voices. “That’s one of the major challenges that we have in Appalachia, is not enough available people to do the work, to attract good jobs,” she told local media. Barnes added that funding only for operations would be “pretty unworkable or kind of silly to just keep staff, but not actually have the staff doing anything meaningful in the region.”
In Kentucky, community development leaders say the proposal would leave the ARC with little ability to award grants. Jeffrey Justice of the Pine Mountain Partnership told the Herald-Leader his understanding is that $14 million would allow the commission to keep its staff but hamstring its grantmaking. Leslie Ferguson-Oles, chief advancement officer at the Mountain Association, said ARC support is vital for infrastructure projects and opioid recovery efforts. “But this feels a lot more threatening. There’s a lot more uncertainty around it,” she said, adding it’s “hard to imagine” the commission having a smaller financial footprint.
The budget proposal would eliminate six other regional commissions and authorities, but keeps ARC operations at $14 million, noting that “ARC serves a region uniquely hard-hit by the loss of good coal mining jobs and the opioid crisis,” the document reads.
Some Republicans who represent the region say they will fight the cuts. Rep. Hal Rogers, whose district sits entirely in ARC territory, said he intends to protect funding. “The Appalachian Regional Commission has been under the ax of nearly every presidential administration since I’ve been in office. However, as a senior appropriator, I have protected funding for the ARC year after year, and I won’t stop now,” he said in a statement quoted by the Herald-Leader. He cited progress on poverty, broadband, workforce training, overdose deaths, and water systems. A spokesperson for Sen. Mitch McConnell said he “has long been a strong supporter of ARC, and as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations committee, he will continue to look out for Kentucky priorities during the process.”
This is not the first time the Trump administration has proposed slashing the ARC. In 2017, it sought to eliminate the commission’s funding, in part to help pay for a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, according to the Herald-Leader. Congress rejected that move, and former President Trump ultimately signed a bill that kept ARC funding roughly the same. Rogers’ chief of staff later said on X that the resolution was “thanks to Hal Rogers.” McConnell also defended the ARC in 2017.
Supporters point to recent results. An ARC evaluation of business development grants closed between 2017 and 2021 found 29,352 jobs created or retained, 1,944 new businesses established, and $923 million in private investment across 423 counties. The commission said 85% of projects were entirely or mostly successful, and two-thirds continued beyond the life of the grant. “While there is still much work to be done to bring economic parity to the entire Appalachian region, I am proud of the progress across our 13 states as a result of ARC’s business development grants,” ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin said, adding she’s eager to see future growth for the region’s roughly 26 million residents.
Advocacy groups warn the proposed cut would halt that momentum. KFA Nonprofit argued the plan would leave the commission “functionally incapacitated,” with “no money for grants” for broadband, entrepreneurship training, or recovery housing. The group also highlighted ARC’s READY Appalachia initiative to strengthen nonprofits and noted the commission’s role in recovery efforts tied to Hurricane Helene and the opioid crisis.
There is also skepticism about ARC’s efficiency. A regional editorial that summarized the recent ARC evaluation argued the agency has become overly bureaucratic and that Appalachia’s progress ultimately depends on its people taking risks and building new businesses. Supporters counter that the metrics show ARC’s investments help communities attract private capital and sustain projects after grants end.
What happens next: Congress controls discretionary appropriations and can restore funding during the budget process, as advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle press their case. With more than 80 groups urging action and senior Kentucky Republicans signaling support, the ARC’s future—and the projects it funds in workforce, infrastructure, and recovery—now hinges on negotiations on Capitol Hill.
