Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2.3 Million to Boost Workforce Training Opportunities in Idaho

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.3 million grant to Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, to construct a new technical education and training facility on campus. The EDA grant, to be located near a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $567,988 in local funds.

“The Trump Administration is committed to supporting local efforts to create the workforce necessary to serve business needs,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “I look forward to seeing how Idaho State University’s new workforce training facility will enable highly skilled technicians to support economic growth in the region.”

“The training services to be offered at Idaho State University’s new facility will allow students to excel in the field of power generation systems, which is essential to supporting economic growth and stability,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming. “The project’s location near an Opportunity Zone will help the region build institutional capacity to provide a quality education to hundreds of individuals that are needed in the industry.”

“As we begin just the second tax filing season since the enactment of comprehensive reform of our tax code, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) continues to have a positive impact on Idaho,” said U.S. Senator Mike Crapo. “The EDA grant to Idaho State University exhibits how the TCJA will benefit our state in many different ways and for many years to come. The grant, coupled with local funds, will help train a new workforce in much-needed technical fields and will support continued economic growth in Idaho.”

The funding announced today goes to a designated Opportunity Zone, created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Treasury Department resources page here. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage.

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.