WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander today applauded matching grant funding for Tennessee from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership that supports economic development and improved quality of life in Appalachia. “These grants give Tennessee a jump-start to new jobs, new economic growth and a better quality of life,” said Alexander. “I applaud the good work by the partnerships created with this ARC funding.” "These grants will promote economic growth and job creation and improve life for communities in eastern Tennessee,” said Corker. “I appreciate the ARC’s continued investment in our state and throughout the Appalachia region.” The grants awarded to the state of Tennessee are included in the chart below. Grant Recipient Location ARC Grant Award Purpose Keystone Dental Care, Inc. Johnson City $72,275 Indigent dental care Fentress County Jamestown $500,000 Water infrastructure improvements Scott County Huntsville $321,240 Industrial Park Development Northeast State Technical College Blountville $50,000 Software Training TN Department of Economic and Community Development State of Tennessee $220,000 Technical Assistance Training Grundy County Altamont $164,800 Industrial Park Development Cold Springs Utility District Mountain City $260,800 Water infrastructure improvements Children’s Center of the Cumberlands Oneida $200,000 Child abuse prevention Fentress County Health Care for Abused Children Jamestown $230,307 Child abuse prevention Knox County Boys & Girls Club Knoxville $18,000 SMART Moves Program Cleveland/Bradley Business Center Cleveland $75,000 Energy Business Incubator Project Appalachia, as defined in the legislation from which the Appalachian Regional Commission derives its authority, is a 200,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. About 23 million people live in the 410 counties of the Appalachian Region; 42 percent of the Region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population. The Tennessee counties included as part of the ARC include: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Carter, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Coffee, Cumberland, De Kalb, Fentress, Franklin, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Macon, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Smith, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Washington, and White.