The Recovery Act appropriated $150,000,000 for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) American Recovery Program under the auspices of Public Works EDA. These funds shall remain available for obligation until September 30, 2010. The law mandates that $50,000,000 of the $150,000,000 must be allocated for economic adjustment assistance under section 209 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. § 3149). EDA will allocate the remaining $100,000,000 to either the Public Works and Economic Development Facilities Program or the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program, depending on the needs demonstrated among EDA’s six regional offices, located in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Seattle. EDA will provide Public Works investments to support the construction or rehabilitation of essential public infrastructure and facilities necessary to generate or retain private sector jobs and investments, attract private sector capital, and promote regional competitiveness, including investments that expand and upgrade infrastructure to attract new industry, support technology-led development, accelerate new business development, and enhance the ability of regions to capitalize on opportunities presented by free trade. The Economic Adjustment Assistance Program provides a wide range of technical, planning and infrastructure assistance in regions experiencing adverse economic changes that may occur suddenly or over time. This program is designed to respond flexibly to pressing economic recovery issues and is well suited to help address challenges faced by U.S. communities and regions. Eligible applicants under PWEDA may apply for assistance under this program, including institutions of higher education (or a consortium of institutions of higher education), non-profit organizations acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a State, and State and local governments. EDA also will continue its ongoing consideration of applications from communities experiencing adverse economic changes due to military base realignment and closures (BRAC) and federally declared disasters when awarding assistance from FY 2009 Economic Adjustment Assistance Program funds. EDA will help American workers, businesses, and communities affected by military base closures or realignments, defense contractor reductions in force, U.S. Department of Energy defense-related funding reductions, rapid growth related to such closures, realignments, or reductions, federally declared disasters, or economic deterioration due to other disasters, by providing assistance for planning, coordinating the use of federal resources available to support economic development recovery, and developing regionally focused economic recovery and growth strategies.