WASHINGTON—President Bush’s $9.4 billion budget request for the U.S. Department of Commerce reflects the Department’s goals of economic growth, leadership in science and technology, and natural resource management.
“Our budget request reflects this Department’s continuing commitment to creating conditions for economic and job growth as well as economic opportunity by promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, competitiveness and stewardship,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. “President Bush is determined to continue pro-growth economic policies while exercising even greater spending restraint.” The Commerce Department’s budget also will focus on its partnership with US businesses in maintaining a prosperous and productive America, committed to consumer safety and the protection of natural resources. The Department will continue to maintain its record of innovation in manufacturing, transportation, communications and measurement that has helped sustain US leadership in the international marketplace.
Economic Growth A central theme for the President’s FY 2006 Budget is economic growth and maximizing U.S. competitiveness.
With the FY 2006 budget request comes a major change in the area of economic development, specifically within the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The new “Strengthening America’s Communities Grant Program” serves to replace duplicative Federal economic and community development programs with a more consolidated approach that provides for greater flexibility, accountability and targeting than any of the current approaches. The FY 2006 budget request for the new Strengthening America’s Communities Grant Program is $3.71 billion.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), part of the Economic and Statistics Administration (ESA), seeks to strengthen the understanding of the United States economy and its competitive position by providing accurate economic accounts data in a timely and cost effective manner. BEA requests an increase of $9 million to support initiatives to understand offshore outsourcing, expand business investment data, and finish a multi-year effort to improve the timeliness, relevance and accuracy of economic measures.
The Bureau of the Census requests an increase of $120 million to support initiatives that will significantly improve the breadth and quality of the information it collects and provides to the country. Among these initiatives is the administrating of the American Community Survey, modernizing the geographic database information, and developing and testing plans for the Decennial Census based on only a short form.
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) requests an increase of $0.2 million to expand the agency’s capabilities to disseminate, analyze and deliver vital statistical data for the minority business community. An additional increase of $0.5 million is requested to provide equal economic opportunities for full participation of Asian American and Pacific Islander businesses in our free market economy, and increase the access of minority business enterprises to global markets.
To help create economic opportunities for U.S. workers and firms, the FY 2006 budget request continues to provide the necessary funds for the International Trade Administration (ITA) to promote international trade, open foreign markets to U.S. businesses, ensure compliance with trade laws and agreements and support U.S. commercial interests at home and abroad.
As part of its ongoing efforts to regulate the export of sensitive goods and technologies, the FY 2006 budget request will give the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) the necessary tools and personnel to address the globalization of trade and the rapid development of technology in an effective manner.
Leadership in Science and Technology Among the priorities for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are increases for high priority research areas and necessary facilities upgrades and maintenance. The FY 2006 budget request for NIST, part of the Technology Administration (TA), includes increases of $39.8 million to enhance research capabilities in manufacturing (particularly in nanotechnology), expand public safety and security programs, and provide measurement infrastructure for emerging needs of the nation’s research community, and $32 million to support the Facilities Improvement Plan for critical construction, major repair, and renovation projects at the NIST sites in Boulder, Colorado and Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) request will support the PTO strategic plan to keep pace with workload growth and enhance the quality of products and services. In FY 2006, the Administration proposes giving PTO full access to its fees: an increase of $148.5 million. With these funds, the PTO will improve processing capacity by hiring additional patent examiners, continue development of an operational system to process patent applications electronically, continue moving to an electronic trademark operation, and expand quality reviews to all stages of patent and trademark examination.
The budget request for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will continue to provide the resources necessary to improve NTIA’s research and Federal spectrum management capabilities and supports NTIA’s efforts to implement recommendations from the President’s Spectrum Management Initiative.
Natural Resource Management The budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reflects not only the Department’s commitment to environmental stewardship responsibilities but also the need for better understanding and response to environmental conditions as they impact lives and property. The request provides $9.5 million to implement the President’s plan to provide the United States with nearly 100 percent detection capability for a U.S. coastal tsunami, allowing response within minutes. The new system will also expand monitoring capabilities throughout the Pacific and Caribbean basins, providing tsunami warning for regions bordering half of the world’s oceans.
In response to the findings of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and in support of the President’s U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the budget requests $32.5 million to commence construction of a fourth fisheries survey vessel that will meet international standards for research surveys and will substantially improve the quality of NOAA fisheries research.
NOAA’s satellite programs secure the observational data necessary for more timely and accurate weather forecasts, hurricane predictions and the development of climate predictive models. To support NOAA’s weather and climate programs, the Administration requests an additional $99.1 million for the continued development of next-generation geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite programs, as well as $11 million to begin the process of integrating LANDSAT sensors with the next-generation polar-orbiting satellite program.
FY 2006 Department of Commerce Budget
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
