Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.5 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Capitalize Revolving Loan Fund to Serve Businesses in Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.5 Million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, Omaha, Nebraska, to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) that will provide critical gap financing to businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, including Mills and Pottawattamie counties in Iowa and Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington counties in Nebraska. The EDA grant will be matched with $270,140 in local investment.

“EDA is committed to helping communities across the nation fight economic hardships brought on by COVID-19,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This investment will provide the funding that businesses in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area need to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and, in turn, create a stronger and more resilient economy for the future.”

“As we continue on the road to recovery, Nebraska businesses still feel the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am pleased that these federal grants, made possible through the CARES Act, will help Omaha businesses rebound,” said Senator Deb Fischer. “This critical funding means more jobs for Nebraskans and a stronger economy in our state’s largest metropolitan area.”

“This grant money will help the struggling businesses and live venues in my district,” said Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02). “The best way to rebuild our economy is to provide direct financial assistance to those businesses directly hit by COVID. We must do all we can to prevent closures and keep employees on payroll. I commend the EDA’s efforts to help save our business sector and get our country back on track.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency. EDA funded the completion of the MAPA Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to 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.

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. 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.

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.