WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded two Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) and a grant to organizations in southern Ohio. The funds will be used to help local businesses respond to economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
EDA funds are listed below:
· $825,000 in RLF to the City of Springfield to provide loans to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus.
· $950,000 to the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission to distribute loans to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus in Adams, Brown, Clermont, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton counties and to hire two recovery coordinators to develop and implement strategies for tourism, growing the region’s critical manufacturing sector, and building a robust broadband network.
“These funds will provide southern Ohio with the additional tools and resources to address the economic fallout from Covid-19,” said Brown. “This investment will lead to more economic growth in the region.”
The EDA is the only federal government agency focused exclusively on economic development. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to communities, and promote economic development. The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, provides the EDA with $1.5 billion specifically for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare, and respond to coronavirus.
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