Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Workforce Growth and Business Capital Assistance Efforts in Kansas

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $2 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to help the state of Kansas prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

“The Economic Development Administration is committed to helping communities across the nation implement strategies to mitigate economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “These EDA investments will grow businesses and create jobs by expanding a diesel and automotive technician training and education program in northwest Kansas and supporting the capital needs of businesses in northeast Kansas.”

“This $2.1 million in CARES Act grants will help our local and statewide economy grow through additional workforce training in Goodland and small business recovery aid in Wichita,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “It’s not good enough to return to our economy before COVID-19, we must grow back stronger with more, higher-paying jobs and a healthier workforce. This federal money will help us achieve these goals and ensure Kansas can prosper now and into the future.”

“A key component of recovering from this pandemic is building back a strong economy, and these investments and new resources for Kansas will help us accomplish that goal,” said Senator Jerry Moran. “The grants will not only help create new jobs in our state, but also provide resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs to keep their lights on and employees on the payroll. As the lead republican on the Appropriations subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the EDA, I will continue to support its mission to grow the economic activity of our communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The EDA investments announced today are:

• Northwest Kansas Technical College, Goodland, Kansas, will receive a $1.2 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to expand their Diesel Tech training facility, increasing their capacity to train workers to compete for high-skill, high-wage jobs and positioning the region for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The project, to be matched with $295,986 in local funds, is expected to create nearly 300 jobs.
• Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship, Wichita, Kansas, will receive an $800,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Clay, Douglas, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Lyon, Marshall, Miami, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Shawnee, and Wabaunsee counties.

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.