Tucson, Ariz. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated the Western Arizona Economic Development District on receiving $57,000 from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to develop and implement a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. The project will bring private and public sector investments together to improve job creation efforts in La Paz, Yuma and Mohave counties by diversifying the area’s economic base.

A key part of the grant’s mission is to provide local EDA programs with a single point of contact for coordinating efforts. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies help local businesses take advantage of available economic resources and make better decisions by taking more local economic information into account.

“Planning our economic recovery at the local level is an important investment in Arizona’s future, and we’ll create more good jobs in Southern Arizona if we work together and plan ahead,” Grijalva said. “We’re going to get back on track and start to grow again from the middle out, rather than the top down, when we make more funds available for local economic development instead of big corporate tax breaks. This grant is a good step, and there’s more to come.”