Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $600,000 in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Regional Economic Recovery Strategies in Gallup, New Mexico, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $600,00 grant to the city of Gallup, New Mexico, to support regional economic recovery strategies for healthcare and transportation industries. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $150,000 in local funds.

“This investment comes at a crucial time to help New Mexico and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide a roadmap for hard-working Americans to access new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will support regionally-developed, comprehensive plans in key industries to promote economic diversification in Gallup, and the Opportunity Zone designation will attract additional investment to the area.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments (NWNMCOG), which EDA funds to help bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Per Secretary Ross’s announcement, EDA began accepting applications for CARES Act Recovery Assistance funding opportunities on May 7.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit our recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

The funding announced today will serve one of New Mexico’s 63 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development 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 Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources webpage. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

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.