Economic Development Administration EDA

The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, signed on August 26, 1965, as part of President Johnson's War on Poverty, created the Economic Development Administration to help regions left behind by economic change. It is led by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Rather than lending to individual businesses, it funds the public foundations that local economies need, such as roads, water systems, industrial parks, and training centers.

EDA grants require local matching funds and are targeted at areas with high unemployment or low income. It supports a network of regional Economic Development Districts that write long-term strategies, as well as university centers and trade adjustment assistance centers for firms hurt by imports, and it often funds recovery after natural disasters and plant closings. The American Rescue Plan of 2021 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 gave it unusually large programs, including a $1 billion regional challenge and a competition that designated 31 regional technology hubs in 2023.

Presidents of both parties have proposed eliminating EDA, arguing that it duplicates other federal and state programs and that its grants are too small and scattered to transform regional economies, and the administration's 2026 budget request again proposed closing it. Congress has repeatedly kept it funded, with backing from members whose districts have received grants, and supporters argue that modest federal seed money attracts larger private investment.