U. S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo outlined recently the department's accomplishment in the past year, its priorities for 2022 and goals for the future.
Noted in the 2021 list of DOC accomplishments are securing billions of dollars in funding for a multitude of economic initiatives, including universal broadband, promoting economic growth in under-served communities, and domestic semiconductor manufacturing, DOC reported on its website Dec. 22. In addition to getting funding for department programs, Sec. Raimondo also successfully negotiated multiple international trade agreements and fulfilled a constitutional mandate to provide 2020 Census results to the president.
“As Secretary of Commerce, I’ve been honored to help President Biden define his economic agenda and work alongside the dedicated civil servants who tirelessly execute the Department of Commerce’s mission of expanding America’s global competitiveness," Raimondo said in the annoucement.
While working on broader economic goals for the country, the department has been confronted by challenges from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Raimondo said. Problems plaguing the nation's supply chains and workforce are priorities in the coming year, according to Raimondo.
"While I'm proud of everything we've accomplished in 2021, we are only getting started and we still have significant work to do,” Raimondo said. “In 2022, we will continue working to strengthen and diversify America's supply chains; re-imagine America's workforce development programs; begin our work to provide universal broadband to all Americans, and find new ways to help women return to the workforce at their pre-Covid levels.”
Pursuing goals including building the domestic semiconductor industry, continuing to advance progress in providing universal broadband to the entire country by 2030, strengthening regional economic growth and workforce development, continuing to negotiate with allies and trade partners, and confronting China over unfair trade practices and human-rights abuses are all items the DOC has on its to-do list for 2022 and beyond.
"Americans have shown time and again that our workers and our businesses are the best in the world. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, Commerce will continue to look for ways to create long-term growth and economic prosperity in every corner of the country," Raimondo said.
