CUOMO ANNOUNCES APPALACHIAN SUMMITS TO BOOST REGION'S ECONOMY

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced that HUD will hold action summits in Kentucky and West Virginia this spring to discuss ways to create jobs, spark economic development, increase the supply of affordable housing and expand homeownership in Appalachia.

"These summits will bring together people from the region and from around the nation to come up with initiatives to jump-start the economies of some of the poorest communities in the United States," Cuomo said.

Cuomo made the announcement at a special HUD Community 2020 Forum he hosted today with Senator John D. Rockefeller of West Virginia on the problems facing Appalachia. The exact dates and sites for the action summits will be announced in coming weeks.

"The American Dream shouldn't stop at Appalachia's edge," Cuomo added. "We want to make the people of this region participants -- not just spectators -- in the economic prosperity sweeping most parts of our nation. We want to help them climb out of poverty and into better lives."

A new documentary film produced by Rory Kennedy called American Hollow -- which explores the life of a family struggling to survive in a poor area of eastern Kentucky - was shown at today's discussion.

Cuomo has recently visited some of the poorest communities in the nation, including communities in West Virginia and Kentucky.