Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank Oral Statement for Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on FY14 Budget Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to be here to discuss President Obama’s budget request for the Department of Commerce for Fiscal Year 2014.
As we continue to recover from a deep recession, the Commerce Department has helped thousands of American businesses grow, innovate, and compete around the world. Our work remains central to the top national priority of economic growth and job creation.
This request of $8.6 billion makes crucial investments that are needed to support U.S. competitiveness and build on the progress we have seen these past three years. I’ll highlight several examples and then I look forward to our discussion: And we are reducing costs where we can. At the operational level, we have reduced administrative costs by $185 million in FY12, an estimated $176 million in FY13, and a projected $194 million in this new budget for FY14.
By combining crucial investments with fiscal responsibility, the Commerce Department’s FY14 budget is a meaningful and timely plan to further strengthen the economic recovery, to stimulate private sector job creation, and to promote American competitiveness for years to come. With each of our twelve bureaus working together, I am confident in our ability to realize that vision. Thank you, and I look forward to our discussion.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
