Rep. Cleaver Announces $1.5 Million in Economic Development Grants for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District

(Kansas City, MO) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) was pleased to announce the Department of Commerce has awarded three entities in the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri with $500,000 economic development grants as part of the first phase of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge program. Funded by the American Rescue Plan, which Rep. Cleaver supported in March, the Build Back Better Regional Challenge grants will support local projects to help communities throughout the congressional district recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and grow local economies that are resilient to future economic shocks. Additionally, the entities receiving grants will be given an opportunity to apply for further funding when phase 2 of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge commences.

"The historic American Rescue Plan continues to provide support to businesses and communities throughout Missouri and my congressional district—which is precisely what I envisioned when supporting the bill earlier this year," said Congressman Cleaver. "Not only will this grant funding play a critical role in strengthening local economies from the ground up and the middle out, but it will help to insulate our communities from any future economic downturns like we experienced last year. I want to congratulate the city of Kansas City, the Mid-America Regional Council, and Thank You Walt Disney on receiving this substantial investment from the Commerce Department, and I look forward to working with each of them as we continue the critical effort to build our economy back better from the global pandemic."

Entities receiving the $500,000 Build Back Better Regional Challenge grants include:

• City of Kansas City to strengthen the Made in Kansas City Initiative, which supports small scale manufacturing in historically under-invested communities in Kansas City to drive neighborhood revitalization and quality job creation.
• Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) Community Services Corporation to accelerate equitable growth in the biologics industry sector for the Greater Kansas City Area.
• Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. to build on KC Imagine, which brings together area leaders from education, business, and civic organizations to prepare local talent to serve in the region's digital media industry.

More information on the Department of Commerce's Build Back Better Regional Challenge program is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.