Oregon’s U.S. Senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, recently announced $25 million in Economic Development Administration grants are being distributed among 13 organizations across Oregon, which will use the funds to offer loans to businesses to help them mitigate the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Among the organizations receiving funds was Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, which was awarded $2.2 million.
“COIC is very excited to receive this funding to help businesses across Central Oregon recover from the severe and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Scott Aycock, COIC’s community and economic development manager. “We look forward to working with our partners to deliver much-needed financing to businesses that traditional bank financing may not be able to serve.”
In their announcement, the senators stressed the importance of providing funding to small businesses in Oregon as the pandemic persists.
“Since this public health emergency began, I’ve been in regular contact with business owners and workers across Oregon about the serious economic consequences of the coronavirus,” Merkley said. “These Oregonians make invaluable contributions to our communities, and they are in urgent need of relief.”
Wyden added that the economic fallout from this public health crisis has landed hard on small businesses and the hardworking people they employ across Oregon.
“I know from conversations by phone, Zoom, virtual town halls and more with Oregonians that these grants will provide much-needed help,” he said. “It’s clear much more needs to be done in the upcoming COVID-19 package to support these key investments in communities statewide.”
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