EDA Telecast to Discuss SACI Recommendations

On Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, the Economic Development Administration will host a one-hour telecast, to discuss the final report of the Strengthening America’s Communities Advisory Committee.

The telecast will feature members of the Strengthening America’s Communities Advisory Committee to discuss recommendations on the planning and successful implementation of the President’s Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative (SACI) (see the July 25 issue of the Digestfor SSTI review). The report is now public and is available at the SACI website at www.doc.gov/SACI

The report’s overarching premise is that globalization has fundamentally changed the American economy, and that the economic health of the U.S. is now dependent upon the competitiveness of its regions. Despite these economic changes, America continues with policies, organizational structures, and investment strategies from a past era.

Therefore, the SACI committee argues, it is necessary to build a new system of federal economic and community development that invests in the strengthening of regions and their communities.

Guests of the show will include:

• Advisory Committee Chair Deborah Wince-Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness, Washington, DC
• The Honorable Alan Autry, Mayor of the City of Fresno, CA
• Mr. Brian J. Aungst, Sr., Regional Director of Public Relations, Bright House Networks, Clearwater, FL
• Dr. Mark Drabenstott, Director, Center for the Study of Rural America, and Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
• Mr. Sandy Baruah, Chief of Staff, Economic Development Administration, Washington, DC

Please contact Peggy Tadej at the EDA for more information about the show and viewing instructions at 202-986-1032 x224, or visit the EDA website at http://www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/WebCastsVideos.xml.