BANGOR – Legislation introduced last week by 2nd District U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud would help jump-start Maine’s economy by creating a commission designed to provide assistance in economically distressed regions of the Northeast.

Michaud made a stop in the city Monday to announce a bill that would establish the Northeast Regional Development Commission. He formally introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives on June 25.

“This is an idea whose time has come,” Michaud told a small crowd at Eastern Maine Development Corp. on Monday. “I feel proud to be in this room with people who care about the well-being of this state.”

Joining Michaud to support the bill were EMDC President Jonathan Daniels, Bob Clark of the Northern Maine Development Commission, Bob Thompson of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, and Ken Young of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments.

“The state of Maine is truly in a state of transition,” Daniels said. “While we’re making strides, we still need assistance.”

Michaud’s proposed legislation closely mirrors the Appalachian Regional Commission, a broad-based program created in the 1960s that serves a model for strong federal-state partnership regarding economic development.

“Its roots go way back,” Michaud said of the bill. “It was a bold idea back then and it has worked. It has a solid record of giving taxpayers real results.”

ARC, which serves all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states, has reduced the number of distressed counties in that region from 219 in 1965 to 100 in 2002. In that time, the overall poverty rate dropped from 31 percent to 15 percent. Since 1977, ARC has helped create more than 26,000 new jobs.

According to a graphic presentation from EMDC, Maine has only one county (Cumberland) that is void of negative economic distress factors, which include higher than average unemployment, lower than average per capita income and high levels of out-migration.

“It became crystal clear that the Northeast had a strong need” for assistance, Michaud said. “Our case couldn’t be stronger.”

Clark said he has already raised $1.2 million from the private sector of Aroostook County alone for the initiative. The total amount needed for the bill is $40 million per year, but “forty million really goes a long way,” Clark said.

“We’re been discussing this [legislation] for years; it’s nice to see it come to fruition,” he added.

Thompson stressed diversification and improved Canadian relations for what he called the “rebirth of our region.” Young said the topic of finding affordable housing was an “area dear to my heart.”

All agreed that the proposed legislation has been a long time coming and praised Michaud’s initiative.

“I’m looking forward to moving it forward in Congress,” Michaud said.