WASHINGTON – U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson today announced a $1.34 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) investment to the city of Fort Madison, Iowa to make sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements needed to advance the region’s wind power manufacturing cluster and encourage future industrial development.
“Without a strong manufacturing base, we can’t create enough good jobs to sustain a strong middle class and without a strong middle class, we cannot be a strong country,” Bryson said. “To help American businesses build it here and sell it everywhere, the Commerce Department is focused on supporting advanced manufacturing.”
The EDA grant is expected to help Siemens Energy Inc., expand its wind energy production facility, creating 165 new jobs and generate $44 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates. The infrastructure improvements will also help attract new industries to the southwest industrial corridor located along U.S. Highway 61.
In the last two years alone, EDA has invested in 68 competitive, job-creating projects across the country to support advanced manufacturing. President Obama recently selected Secretary Bryson to join National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling as co-chair of the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy. The Office of Manufacturing Policy is part of the National Economic Council in the White House and works across federal government agencies to coordinate the execution of manufacturing programs and the development of manufacturing policy.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov):
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.
