U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans Announces
$2 Million Investment in The Dalles, Oregon

U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans today announced a $2 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) investment to the city of The Dalles, Ore. The investment will help build an underpass beneath Interstate Highway 84 to improve access between the downtown business center and the Columbia River waterfront and industrial area.

"The Department of Commerce is pleased to partner with the people of The Dalles. President Bush believes one way to create jobs is to grow the economy by encouraging investments in local communities," said Evans.

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.