2013 Commerce Department budget request includes support for advanced manufacturing, new trade promotion efforts, innovation investments, finds $176 million in administrative savings U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson today released the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) fiscal year 2013 budget request, which supports President Obama’s blueprint for an economy built to last.
The Commerce budget makes critical investments in advanced manufacturing, innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness and trade promotion and enforcement to help create jobs. The nearly 5 percent increase reflects President Obama and Secretary Bryson’s commitment to encouraging U.S. manufacturing and helping more American companies sell their goods and services overseas. The fiscal year 2013 request is $8 billion and requests $2.3 billion in mandatory funding. The Department also identified $176 million in administrative savings, reflecting a strong commitment to wisely stewarding taxpayer dollars and making tough choices to prioritize programs that support the Department’s core mission areas.
When it comes to trade enforcement, as part of the President’s plan to level the playing field for American workers and businesses, the President’s budget will invest $26 million in ITA ($24M) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ($2M) to support a new trade enforcement unit-- the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC), which will significantly enhance the Administration’s capabilities to aggressively challenge unfair trade practices around the world, including in China. The ITEC will represent a more aggressive “whole-of-government” approach to addressing unfair trade practices, and will serve as the primary forum within the federal government for executive departments and agencies to coordinate enforcement of international and domestic trade rules.
While the FY 2013 budget request includes important new investments to spur job creation and economic growth, it also identifies a total of $176 million in administrative savings and efficiencies through lower-cost acquisition efforts, better facilities and fleet management, and lower overhead expenses, reflecting the agency’s strong commitment to make wise use of taxpayer dollars. This includes efforts to modernize the Department’s operational structure and in some cases decide which programs were most central to the core missions in each bureau.
Furthermore, the Department is proposing to terminate, consolidate, or otherwise cut several programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), restructuring some units within ITA and shifting the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) emphasis to regional innovation strategies.
Additional highlights of the $8 billion budget request include:
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
