McCollum Successfully Secures $2.6 Million for Local Economic Development Projects

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2023 conference agreement, paving the way for President Biden to sign it into law. The agreement includes funding for all 15 of Rep. McCollum's requested Community Projects that will directly benefit the Fourth District.

Within the Financial Services and General Government portion of the agreement, McCollum secured $2.6 million across two projects to boost economic success in the Fourth District:

• Project: Neighborhood Development Center Cybersecurity Information Center ($1,600,000)
  The funding will be used, in partnership with Metro State University, to build out space as a cybersecurity information center to assist small neighborhood businesses, and launch a program for budding cybersecurity professionals to hone their skills.
• Project: Latino Economic Development Center Plaza del Sol ($1,000,000)
  The funding will be used for the rehabilitation of Plaza del Sol, which would house at least eight small businesses on the East Side of St. Paul.

"Small businesses in St. Paul are the backbone of our community," McCollum said. "By partnering with NDC, Metro State University, and LEDC to invest in their success and boost support for BIPOC-owned businesses, our entire community benefits."

"Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) and our Cybersecurity Information Center partner, Metropolitan State University, are so grateful for Representative McCollum's support of our Cybersecurity Information Center community project funding request," said Renay Dossman, President of NDC. "This project would disrupt racial inequity in tech entrepreneurship and provide critical cybersecurity support to small neighborhood businesses by pairing primarily BIPOC graduates of Metro State's world-class cybersecurity program with NDC's proven small business support and access to capital in a well-equipped, enriching environment. We thank Representative McCollum for her vote of confidence in this innovative partnership."

"Thanks to Congresswoman Betty McCollum's intentional, strategic support, we are excited to be one critical step closer to revitalizing Plaza Del Sol," said Henry Jiménez, Executive Director of the Latino Economic Development Center. "Like Congresswoman McCollum, we believe in the importance of supporting the East Side of Saint Paul. This transformation of Plaza del Sol into a hub for economic development will help countless Latino businesses and other entrepreneurs in this community for years to come."

Background:

The 2023 Financial Services and General Government funding includes $27.6 billion in funding, an increase of $1.7 billion over fiscal year 2022.

The legislation:

• Assists small businesses and entrepreneurs through the Small Business Administration and Community Development Financial Institutions
• Protects our democracy with Election Security Grants to ensure the integrity and safety of our elections
• Rebuilds the Internal Revenue Service to finally crack down on big corporations and the wealthy who are not paying their fair share and to provide better customer service to working families navigating the tax system
• Supports working and middle-class families by increasing funding for consumer protection activities at the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission
• Confronts the climate crisis by providing funding to start the transition of the Federal vehicle fleet to electric and zero emission vehicles

Read Chair McCollum's full statement on final passage of the omnibus here.

The text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 is available here. A list of bill highlights is here. A full summary of the appropriations provisions in the bill is here. In keeping with the Appropriations Committee's commitment to transparency, information on Rep. McCollum's Community Project Funding requests is available here.

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