Appalachian Regional Development Act

[2] This Act is one of the longest serving place-based regional development programs in the United States, and is the largest in terms of geographic scope.

[4] John F. Kennedy's interest in the Appalachian region centered around West Virginia, where in 1958, two years before the 1960 presidential primaries began, he had pollster take a sampling of public opinion.

In 1964, he sent a request to Congress to send special aid to the economically depressed region as part of the War on Poverty.

Because Robert Byrd came from the coal fields of Southern West Virginia, he readily agreed to co-sponsor the bill.

On January 6, 1965, Senator Jennings Randolph introduced an administration-backed Appalachian aid bill (S.3) calling for more than $1 billion in federal assistance to the region.