Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Fourth District Congressman David Price (D-NC) and N.C. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco are scheduled to make what is touted as a “major economic development announcement” at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

The particulars of the announcement were not disclosed. However, Price did secure some $10 million in funding for Triangle-area projects last week as part of a House of Representatives spending bill.

The biggest ticket item is an investment of $2.765 million in the National Textile Center at N.C. State “to support basic and applied research to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. textile and apparel industry,” price’s office said.

Crisco is filling in for Gov. Bev Perdue, who is traveling to eastern North Carolina to visit N.C.-based Marines who are about to deploy to Afghanistan, a Department of Commerce spokesperson said.

Other projects as announced through Price’s office:

• $130,000 for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Entrepreneurship and Research and Development Training Initiative. The initiative will provide training and business development to entrepreneurs starting biotechnology companies in North Carolina.
• $250,000 for the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center’s Rural Business Finance Program. This program is designed to support small business development in the most economically distressed counties in our state, where many traditional banks and lenders do not operate.
• $500,000 for the High Growth and Green Jobs Initiative at Wake Technical Community College. This program will provide targeted job training to address workforce demands locally and nationally. Green jobs are a rapidly growing sector of the economy and this program will help North Carolina lead the way in creating a workforce equipped to fill the next generation of jobs.
• $200,000 for Shodor’s Computing MATTERS project, which will help Triangle-area high school students master 21st-century work skills as apprentices and interns.
• $300,000 for North Carolina Central University’s Institute for Black Male Achievement and Leadership. The program seeks to address the well-documented educational achievement gap between African-American males and other groups by providing academic preparation, development and training for careers in science and technology.
• $2,765,000 for the National Textile Center at North Carolina State University to support basic and applied research to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. textile and apparel industry.
• $2,000,000 for the State of North Carolina to help fund I-540 improvements. This is one of many infrastructure projects across the nation that are expected to create or sustain 1.5 million jobs.
• $750,000 to aid construction of the City of Raleigh’s Capital Area Transit System Operations and Maintenance Facility. This project will replace CAT’s 30-year old facility, creating construction jobs locally, and improving area transit.