PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island was among 24 states allocated $1 million each from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the department announced Thursday.
The funds come from the Statewide Planning program, which was one of six programs the EDA designed to allocate $3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The funds will be used by states for planning economic recovery strategies to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to increase the economic resilience of their economies to future impacts. The Commerce Department said approved uses include economic development initiatives, plans to combat the climate crisis and plans to recover from the pandemic, as well as actions that increase the country’s economic competitiveness.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee said Thursday that the funds will be used to support efforts to update the state’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. R.I. Commerce Corp. will be responsible for carrying out the scope of work that was laid out in the state’s application to the EDA, McKee’s office said.
Details of what was proposed in the state’s application were not provided.
“The Biden administration is giving states and territories the unprecedented opportunity to bring all their communities together to develop comprehensive plans to build back better and stronger,” Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said. “The $1 million Statewide Planning grants will be used to lay the groundwork for President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda to build resilient economies and increase U.S. competitiveness.”
