U.S. Assistant Secretary and Senator Collins Announce $2.37 Million in Grants to the State of Maine

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Maria Cino and U.S. Senator Susan Collins today announced $2.37 million in economic development grants to the State of Maine. The Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) funded the grants.

"These investments reflect how the Bush Administration is working to empower local communities to grow their economies," said Cino. "The significant funding provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce is part of an ongoing commitment to promote growth and spur innovation and opportunities for businesses and workers across the state."

"This funding is vitally important to the continued success of these programs that have been developed locally, and executed successfully," said Collins. "The River Valley Growth Council in Rumford has been a model program for training and development and I was eager to secure funding for the program in the Senate. Likewise, I'm confident that the Downeast Heritage Center in Calais, which I have been supporting over the past six years, will prove to be a catalyst for economic development. Southern Maine will also benefit greatly from continued funding for the Resource Hub Microenterprise Center."

The investments are:

• $1.3 million to the Town of Mexico and River Valley Growth Council. The investment will be used for the renovation of a portion of a building in Rumford, Maine to establish a metal trades incubator facility.

• $1 million to the city of Calais and the St. Croix Economic Alliance of Calais. The investment will help build the Downeast Heritage Center.

• $75,000 to the city of Portland to help enhance the Resource Hub Microenterprise Center that serves the southern region of Maine.

EDA serves as a venture capital resource to meet the economic development needs of distressed communities throughout the United States. EDA partners with states, units of local government and community nonprofit organizations in economically distressed areas, regions and communities in order to alleviate conditions of poverty and substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment. Additional information on how EDA investments are helping distressed communities create a positive and sustainable economic future can be accessed at: http://www.doc.gov/eda.