MARSHALL: Kansas communities receive federal funds for business recovery

From U.S. Congressman Dr. Roger Marshall's Office...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Wednesday $3 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to three regions of Kansas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As I travel the state, many community leaders continue to emphasize the need for support for our businesses to ensure they survive the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and keep Kansans on the job and our Main Streets alive,” said U.S. Congressman Roger Marshall, M.D. “Through the CARES Act, President Trump and this administration continue to prioritize and support our business owners, ensuring jobs remain in our communities and our economy continues its regrowth.” 

The funding from the grants will be used to administer three different Revolving Loan Funds that will provide important gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs across Kansas impacted by COVID-19.

The EDA grants made to Kansas include: 

1. South Central Kansas Economic Development District, Inc. Wichita, will receive a $1.9 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide gap financing to small business owners by capitalizing and administering a RLF to service coronavirus impacted businesses in Butler, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Harper, Harvey, Greenwood, Kingman, Marion, McPherson, Rice, Reno, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties

1. Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, Chanute, will receive a $572,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to expand the body of work and the financing the businesses of the Southeast Kansas region requires to respond to the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing and administering a RLF to service impacted businesses in Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson counties

1. Northwest Kansas Regional Planning Commission, Hill City, will receive a $500,000 Revolving Loan Fund to lend to borrowers in the following counties: Cheyenne, Decatur, Rawlins, Norton, Phillips, Smith, Osborne, Rooks, Graham, Sheridan, Thomas, Sherman, Wallace, Logan, Gove, Trego, Ellis, and Russell counties

What the Department of Commerce is saying:

“President Trump is working diligently every day to support our nation’s economy following the impacts of COVID-19 through the CARES Act,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These investments will provide small businesses across Kansas with the necessary capital to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and, in turn, create a stronger and more resilient state economy for the future.”

“These investments come at a crucial time to help Kansas’ and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and EDA is pleased to invest these CARES Act funds so that Kansas businesses have access to capital to respond to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.”