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Appropriations committee debates Commerce budget changes including grant authority and rural loan options
Summary
Committee members discussed several Commerce budget amendments: a proposal to let the development fund use a portion of new money for matching grants and limited grant authority; a Myrdal amendment to allow bank‑partnered low‑interest loans for non‑primary sector businesses; a tribal college grant request; base enhancement grants for military‑adjacent sites; and a transparency reporting amendment for Commerce grants.
The Appropriations Committee (Government Operations Division) spent the second half of its meeting on the Commerce budget and a slate of amendments aimed at economic development, small‑business financing and grant transparency.
Levi Andrist of GA Group, speaking for manufacturer Vorbeck, asked the committee to allow the Commerce Development Fund to ‘dip its toe’ into expanded grant making by using a portion of any new appropriation for matching grants to recruit businesses and secure federal contracts. Andrist said existing statute already authorizes certain grant uses and asked for several days to refine amendment language with the department and economic development partners.
Committee members raised governance and oversight concerns…
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