WASHINGTON – Nikolao Pula, director of the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, and Rebecca Blank, under secretary of the Department of Commerce for economic affairs, will join the representatives of four U.S. territories to release the first-ever report on the gross domestic product of the territories on Wednesday, May 5. The new territorial GDP statistics represent a joint effort of the Office of Insular Affairs and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis with the cooperation of the territorial governments.
Policy makers will now have an objective view of the size of these economies, their growth or contraction and their major components in order to conduct economic-impact analysis on the effects of local and national policy decisions. The release of the GDP statistics will cover 2002-2007, with additional years planned.
WHO: Nikolao Pula, Director of Office of Insular Affairs, Interior Department
Rebecca Blank, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department
Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, America Samoa
Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, Guam
Rep. Gregorio Sablan, Northern Mariana Islands
Rep. Donna Christensen, Virgin Islands
WHAT: U.S. Territories GDP Announcement
WHEN: 2 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 5, 2010
WHERE: Secretary's Conference Room
U.S. Commerce Department
1401 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C.
Washington, DC
Media Coverage: This event is open to the press. To RSVP, please contact Shira Kramer at skramer@doc.gov. For additional questions, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at 202-482-4883.
Source: Department of Interior
