In January 2011, the Dallas Business Journal published an article by Bill Hethcock detailing a call center development in Dallas.
Hethcock reported that the economic development project raised $15 million and will create 300 new local jobs. The author quotes Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert applauding the benefits of the EB-5 Regional Center Program stating, “it’s gratifying to see this first deal coming to fruition and with it 300 new jobs in Dallas. It’s also exciting to know we have even more projects and jobs in the pipeline.”
In the post-recession economy, projects such as this call center required innovative financing strategies. Foreign capital can be a major boon to American economic development in the globalized society of the 21st century. Can the United States afford to lose future development if Congresss allows the Program to expire in Semptember 2012? Perhaps we should ask one of the 300 new hires in Texas.
Stories like this highlight why the EB-5 Regional Center Program must be made permanent to instill high confidence in the economic development and investors communities. This Program is about investment capital that continues to propel domestic economic development, and the creation of American jobs (all at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer).
[Copy of the article referenced here is available upon request: info@iiusa.org]
