Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150513
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Last year, Boucher hosted 26 tours for major corporations and federal agencies to show them Southwest Virginia, he told the Blacksburg Rotary Club. He has taken advantage of his seat on the House Commerce Committee to tell major corporate leaders about the advantages the region offers for business.
A TRW auto parts plant in Smyth County and a new federal prison for Lee County are among last year's successes, the congressman said.
A good quality of life, a skilled work force, low business costs, good access to markets, and Virginia Tech are among the region's assets, he said. "What we've not done very well in the past is to try to sell those assets," he said.
Boucher said he thought Southwest Virginia has good potential to attract auto parts makers because of its low business costs and its ready access to Detroit by way of Interstate 81 and Interstate 75 at Knoxville, Tenn. He said he would be targeting auto parts companies for promotions this year.
In his new role as chairman of the science subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Boucher said he hoped to help Virginia Tech expand its share of $2.7 billion available in grants from the National Science Foundation. Tech currently gets $7 million in NSF money.
Boucher also made a pitch for legislation he's backing in this year's congressional session that would open up the cable television industry to competition from the phone companies and that would reform the federal system of financial aid for college students.
Climbing cable TV rates are one of the most frequent complaints from his constituents. Some have seen rates skyrocket by as much as 150 percent, Boucher said. A bill Boucher is sponsoring would allow the phone companies to provide television and other services to the home and would have the added benefit of speeding up installation of fiber optic cable to American homes, he said.
Proposed financial-aid reform for higher education would place more emphasis on grants during the early years of college and loans in later years. Allowing students a chance to get on their feet before lending them money could help cut high rate of defaults on student loans, Boucher said.
Asked for comment later Thursday, President James McComas of Virginia Tech said that changes in financial aid need to include more than shifting the weight of the loans.
"For minority students or students coming out of poor rural counties where there's not a high value even on coming out of high schol, you can't expect a high value to be placed on getting out of college," he said. "If students see $8,000 or $10,000 in loans when they've never had $500 of their own at any time, that's pretty overwhelming, and that's a big concern."
Boucher said he also hoped to have a new road between Blacksburg and I-81 approved as a federal highway demonstration project this year. The proposed "smart road" would stand a good chance of being included in a $60 million demonstration project budget, he said.
Staff writer Madelyn Rosenberg contributed information to this story.
by CNB