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For 56 years, EDA has dedicated its efforts to provide resources and support that advance economic development across the country. Our mission is to establish a foundation for sustainable job growth and build resilient regional economies across all corners of the nation.

Expanding on the achievements of a half-century of progress, over the last decade, the LGBTQI+ community has made significant strides in becoming more integrated into American civic life. In the U.S. Department of Commerce, as many as 7.1 percent of employees may identify as members of the LGBTQI+ community, on par with one recent estimate of the nation’s total LGBTQI+ population.

Last week, the United States hosted the Organization of American States’(OAS) ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, for the first time since 1994. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo was a senior member joining the U.S. Department of Commerce delegation to the historic summit. While there, President Biden announced the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, a historic new agreement to drive the hemisphere’s economic recovery and growth.

The Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) – the marquee program of EDA’s American Rescue Plan programs – is a $1 billion investment towards competitiveness and prosperity of regional economies across the United States. It represents a bold belief that with the right resources, bottom-up and middle out economic participation of key stakeholders and an inclusive strategy all regions can successfully participate in the global economy and create good jobs for workers at all skill levels.

For more than 55 years, EDA has practiced a place-based, bottom-up approach to economic development by investing in three critical elements: infrastructure, workforce, and business support that regional economies need to build globally competitive, future-focused industries.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) was founded on the eve of the modern environmental movement when, five years before the first observance of Earth Day, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965.

Louisiana hosted the 14th America’s Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) between March 26 – April 1, bringing together more than 60 global leaders representing 21 countries and multiple international organizations to share economic development best practices and explore opportunities for partnerships.

Due to the continued high volume of applications and interest EDA has received for its programs funded through the American Rescue Plan, EDA is providing the following status update on its Economic Adjustment Assistance and Indigenous Communities programs.

The pandemic has affected communities across the country, but widely reported statistics show how it is disproportionately impacting communities of color and those of lower income. It is critical that as local economies across our country continue to recover from the pandemic, it is done in an inclusive, equitable way.