$1 billion in federal economic grants headed coast to coast

By JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are announcing $1 billion in federal grants for manufacturing, clean energy, farming, biotech and more. The grants announced Friday go to 21 regional partnerships across the nation. The government chose the winners from 529 applicants that vied for grants that were part of the already-approved $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The grants include $65 million in California to improve farm production and $25 million for a robotics cluster in Nebraska. Georgia gets $65 million for artificial intelligence. There’s $64 million for lithium-based battery development in New York. West Virginia coal counties receive $63 million to help with the shift to solar power and find new uses for abandoned mines.