The funding is part of the agency's Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program. The program is meant to create jobs and promote private investment in rural areas, according to the USDA.

Hooker spoke at the Price Chopper in the Western Lights Shopping Plaza at 4713 Onondaga Blvd. in Onondaga.

The legislation, the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act, would raise the cap on credit union business lending from 12.25 percent of an institution's total assets to 25 percent. It would also increase the minimum loan amount subject to the cap from $50,000 to $250,000.

Organizations that wish to apply for grants of up to $10,000 must be located in the Southern Tier or Central New York region and serve low-income youths below age 18 and/or adults above age 65. The organization must have been an internship or field placement site for Binghamton University social work or public administration students in the past year.

"BlueStorm can now bring the same enterprise solutions to local companies that we have delivered for over 11 years to clients around the world in industries such as insurance, banking, hospitality, and defense," BlueStorm CEO and President Robert Matson said in a press release.