Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) announced the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.4 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) to develop a technical assistance program and support business attraction and retention efforts across the state in response to adverse economic impacts caused by COVID-19. The EDA grant will be matched with $600,000 in local funds.

"Louisiana faces challenges time and time again, but we are the state you can count on to come back stronger. Between the pandemic, seven storms, tornadoes, and a few other obstacles thrown in the mix, this year has forced our businesses to adapt and recover in more ways than one, but our resiliency will prevail. We owe it to our business owners and entrepreneurs to keep working for long-term solutions to reignite Louisiana and America's economy," Graves said.

"President Trump is working diligently every day to support our nation's economy following the impacts of COVID-19 through the CARES Act," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. "This investment will provide the resources that Louisiana needs to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and, in turn, create a stronger and more resilient state economy for the future."

"This investment comes at a crucial time to help Louisiana and our nation's economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities," said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "EDA is pleased to invest this CARES Act funding to make resources available for technical assistance programs, business attraction and retention across Louisiana, and efforts to diversify the economy through new outreach to international markets."

To read EDA's full press release, click here.

On September 1, 2020, Graves announced $2,134,000 in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to South Central Planning and Development Commission. On that same day, EDA awarded a total of $7.2 million across Louisiana to help provide critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic across the state.

Graves also announced $400,000 awarded to South Central Planning and Development Commission, Inc. from EDA on August 14, 2020 to help them respond to the unusual and compelling urgency of the coronavirus pandemic.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)

The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

###