Mercy Flight will receive a USDA-backed loan to purchase a new state-of-the-art helicopter to be based in Batavia.
The $3 million loan was announced by Sen. Charles Schumer.
Mercy Flight will purchase a Bell 429 helicopter that will replace two older 1970s-era helicopters in the current fleet.
Genesee County and Mercy Flight recently signed a long-term lease for its facilities at the Genesee County Airport to help Mercy Flight secure the loan.
The new helicopter is expected to be in service in June.
The USDA is in the helicopter
The USDA is in the helicopter business now? Maybe it can be used to airlift sick cattle.
Rightly or wrongly, the USDA
Rightly or wrongly, the USDA is in the rural community support business. This appears to be a rural stimulus type of thing.
I wouldn't use the term
I wouldn't use the term stimulus in the obama sense of the word. The USDA is merely backing a loan to allow Mercy Flight to obtain a loan at a more attractive rate. There is no freebie here. In the last couple of years the word stimulus has become synonymous with corporate welfare.