Commerce Infrastructure Grants Program Backed By Federal Lawmakers
WASHINGTON — An infrastructure grants program designed to assist communities struggling with high unemployment improve their freight connectivity was backed by a Senate funding committee June 5, following approval by the Republican-led House in May which included it as part of a 2015 spending bill.
The Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies spending bill, as amended, would provide $235 million for the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration grants. Senators advanced the bill to the floor by a 30-0 vote.
The bill might be debated on the floor the week of June 16, according to Senate leaders.
The House version would provide about $247 million for the program that awards money to communities the department deems economically distressed. The grants are then used for port projects and manufacturing operations for communities.
The legislation “puts money in the federal checkbook for high-impact research and technology development to create new products and new jobs for the future,” said Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat.
While not every grant backs freight-related activities, they often are used to fund employment training programs or to jumpstart infrastructure projects freight shippers use.
The program has enjoyed broad support since it was established nearly half a century ago as a tool to reduce poverty nationwide. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t attracted critics. Before the House passed the bill May 30, members rejected, 280 to 129, an amendment by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) that sought to defund it in fiscal 2015.
Pompeo’s effort gained support from the conservative Club for Growth, which had argued the grants went against marketplace principles.
This spring the Commerce Department awarded several EDA grants, including $1 million for an expansion project at the Port of Arthur in Texas on May 8. It also provided $1 million to build a dock and a ramp in Nome, Alaska for trucks to carry cargo to and from ships.
Also on May 8 the agency provided $1.5 million for an environmental institute at the Tallahassee Community College in Florida for road improvements and a solar parking garage. And it provided $700,000 to Bethel, Alaska for new equipment and to train workers in airplane mechanics.
“Helping U.S. regions provide training opportunities for displaced workers is an important step to getting their economies back on track,” said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine.
