WRITTEN STATEMENT ON THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT’S
FY 2008 BUDGET BY COMMERCE SECRETARY CARLOS GUTIERREZ
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES
Madam Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased
to appear before you today to present the President’s Budget request for the
Department of Commerce. Our request of
$6.55 billion in discretionary funds reflects a balance between the
Administration’s commitment to promote and sustain economic growth, and the need
to restrain discretionary Federal spending.
Enactment of this budget will enable the Department to continue to
support the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of
The President’s FY 2008 Budget request of $3.82 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reflects the Administration’s commitment to environmental stewardship. NOAA encompasses the National Weather Service, which provides critical observations, forecasts and warnings; the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, which provides timely global environmental satellite data; the National Marine Fisheries Service, which provides stewardship of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat; the National Ocean Service, which measures and predicts coastal and ocean phenomena; the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which provides research for understanding weather, climate, and ocean and coastal resources; and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, which operates a variety of aircraft and ships providing specialized support for NOAA’s environmental and scientific missions.
This budget request includes
increases of $123 million for projects that will advance ocean science and
research, protect and restore sensitive marine and coastal areas and ensure
sustainable use of ocean resources. These
initiatives will further the Administration’s commitment to make our oceans,
coasts and Great Lakes cleaner, healthier and more productive, as reflected in
the U.S. Ocean Action Plan and creation of a Cabinet-level Committee on Ocean
Policy.
The increases for ocean science
and research include $20 million to implement the Ocean Research Priorities
Plan, $16 million to support the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and $8
million to define the outer limits of the
The increases to protect and
restore coastal and marine areas include $8 million for management of the
newly-designated Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, $10
million for restoration of nearly 1,000 miles of habitat for the endangered
Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River watershed, $15 million for the Coastal
and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, and $5 million for the implementation
of coastal resource priorities identified by the Gulf Coast States.
The increases for ensuring
sustainable use of ocean resources include $20 million to improve fishery
management, including $6.5 million to implement the newly-reauthorized
Magnuson-Stevens Act. An additional $3
million will support development of offshore aquaculture, for which the
Administration has proposed legislation to establish clear regulatory authority
and permitting processes.
The President’s FY 2008 Budget
also continues support for development and acquisition of geostationary and
polar-orbiting weather satellites, for climate research programs, and for high
priority weather forecasting endeavors including improvements to hurricane
modeling and tsunami warning systems.
The Economics and Statistics
Administration (ESA) promotes the understanding of the
ESA’s Census Bureau is the leading source
of quality data regarding the Nation’s population and economy, and the
President’s FY 2008 Budget requests $1.23 billion in discretionary funds for
the Census Bureau. This includes a
program increase of $325 million for Periodic Censuses and Programs. Of this increase, the largest component is
$281 million to continue reengineering the 2010 Decennial Census to reduce
operational risk, to improve accuracy and relevance of data, and to contain
total costs and provide for the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal. Another program addition includes $43 million
to support collecting and processing data from the 2007 Economic Census. Also included is an $8.1 million initiative to
provide quarterly and annual coverage of all 12 service sectors, matching the
coverage of the quinquennial Economic Census. This will greatly improve understanding and
tracking of economic developments in the service sector, which currently
accounts for 55% of Gross Domestic Product.
The International Trade Administration
(ITA) supports U.S. commercial interests at home and abroad by strengthening
the competitiveness of American industries and workers, promoting international
trade, opening foreign markets to U.S. businesses, and ensuring compliance with
domestic and international trade laws and agreements. The President’s FY 2008 Budget requests $412
million for ITA to serve its goals, including an increase of $1.3 million for
monitoring and enforcement of compliance with Free Trade Agreements, concluding
the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and reducing
market access barriers through relevant WTO committees.
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) supports
The Bureau
of Industry and Security (BIS) regulates the export of
sensitive goods and technologies to protect the security of the
The Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA) focuses on accelerating the
competitiveness and growth of minority-owned businesses by assisting with
economic opportunities and capital access. The President’s FY 2008 Budget requests $29
million to support MBDA’s programs and expand the
availability of services to minority business enterprises.
The President’s FY 2008 Budget
request of $641 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), a part of the Technology Administration (TA), will advance measurement
science, standards, and technology. NIST’s
activities provide key support for the Administration’s American
Competitiveness Initiative. This budget
request includes a $69 million increase for NIST laboratories, National
Research Facilities, and Construction and Major Renovations. Of these funds, $47 million are proposed to
support critical improvements to NIST's research laboratories in
The Under Secretary for
Technology (TA/US) currently provides policy guidance to the
Secretary of Commerce and the Technology Administration's component agencies
(NIST and NTIS). Technology plays a
critical role across every sector of the economy, and the promotion of
technology in advancing
The National Technical Information
Service (NTIS) collects and preserves scientific, technical,
engineering and other business-related information from Federal and
international sources and disseminates it to the American business and
industrial research community. NTIS
operates a revolving fund for the payment of all expenses incurred and does not
receive appropriated funds.
For the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the
President’s FY 2008 Budget request includes $19 million in discretionary budget
authority. During FY 2008, NTIA
estimates obligating $534 million from the Digital Television Transition and
Public Safety Fund to support several programs created by the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005, most notably $426 million for the Digital-to-Analog Television
Converter Box Program. Following
enactment of the Call Home Act of 2006, up to $1 billion will be awarded in FY
2007 to qualified applicants in the Public Safety Interoperable Communications
Grant program, though outlays will continue over several fiscal years.
Furthering the mission to
promote the research, development, and application of new technologies by
protecting inventors’ rights to their intellectual property through the
issuance of patents, the President’s FY 2008 Budget requests $1.9 billion in
spending authority for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO will use these funds to reduce
application processing time and increase the quality of its products and
services. This includes $36 million to
hire new examiners to improve processing times and increase the quality of its
services. Consistent with prior years,
the Administration proposes to fund the USPTO budget exclusively through
offsetting fee collections. Fee
collections for FY 2008 are projected to cover the proposed increases.
The USPTO, the National
Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC), and ITA
participate in the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative’s
goal of ending trade in counterfeit goods.
This initiative places additional intellectual property experts in high
priority markets, trains foreign government officials in intellectual property
protection, and educates foreign publics about the importance of intellectual
property. STOP! also
provides resources for harmonizing patent laws, and for supporting the
negotiation of intellectual property sections of free trade agreements.
Today, I would like to show how diverse components of the
Department contribute to innovation and competitiveness. Many people see the Department of Commerce as
a conglomerate with diverse and distinct missions. While the Department’s bureaus encompass
broad, but distinct, areas of the American economy, their core mission is
Innovation is essential to competing globally and enhancing
our quality of life. This is
increasingly important as political and technological changes open access to
the global economy – creating both new markets and increased competition. The Department of Commerce is well positioned
to help
There are many areas across the Department where we are working on different aspects of competitiveness. Technological innovation is one of this Nation’s most significant competitive advantages. The Department promotes and protects technological innovation through the efforts of its bureaus. A prime example is Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Highly accurate timekeeping is a crucial element of GPS. The Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invented the core GPS timekeeping technology – the world’s first atomic clock – in 1949 and continues to make significant improvements in its accuracy.
GPS is made up of more than two dozen satellites in medium Earth orbit, which transmit signals that allow GPS receivers to determine location, speed and direction. Since the launch of the first experimental satellite in 1978, GPS has become a vital tool to governments, businesses, and private citizens worldwide. Its navigation capabilities are indispensable not only to the airline and shipping industries, but also to many Americans who now have personal GPS devices that they use in their cars, on bikes, and while camping and hiking.
As the timekeeping technology
improves, so do the navigation capabilities of GPS, expanding its uses into
more areas. Currently, NIST operates the
world’s best standard atomic clock, NIST-F1, with an accuracy equivalent to
about one second in 70 million years. NIST
scientists are developing new atomic clocks that will soon be accurate to one
second in many billions of years. NIST also
is pioneering new approaches to atomic timekeeping such as the chip-scale
atomic clock, which could dramatically improve GPS receiver performance and
impact many other technologies.
In addition to developing technologies underlying GPS, the Department, through the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), protects individual and corporate inventors of GPS technology. In exchange for this protection, inventors are required to share information about their inventions, allowing others to build upon them and create further innovations. Taking GPS as an example of how well the patent system encourages innovation, the USPTO issued over 800 GPS-related patents in 2006 alone.
The Department, through the USPTO, also helps protect both GPS manufacturers and the public by registering trademarks. Manufacturers rely on trademark protection received from registering their trademarks with the USPTO to prevent others from marketing products under their good names. The public relies on trademarks as an assurance of the quality and source of the products they purchase.
The Department understands that GPS and other technological
innovations are critical to making the
Additionally, ITA’s U.S. Commercial Service assisted iSECUREtrac Corp, based in Omaha, Nebraska, with a contract for the sale and installation of the first ever state-of-the-art Canadian-based GPS host monitoring system capable of serving the mission critical offender monitoring requirements of every Canadian Province.
As
trade barriers are reduced and technology transfer becomes more seamless across
the globe, GPS technology is increasingly disseminated worldwide for both
civilian and military use. The
Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) oversees and implements
regulations that clearly distinguish between military and civilian GPS user
equipment to foster economic growth in the U.S. GPS manufacturing industry
while protecting U.S. national security.
These regulations define, identify, and distinguish military receivers,
encryption devices, and GPS components with missile or certain defined airborne
applications from their civilian counterparts.
These controls have helped accelerate
Prior
to September 1991, most GPS user equipment shipped abroad required individual
validated licenses to ensure compliance with
Beyond making GPS work better, helping facilitate the
success of
GPS-equipped handheld computers (HHCs) will be used for data collection in several major field operations during the 2010 Decennial Census. During the address canvassing operation, the HHCs will be used to record GPS coordinates for every structure, including newly identified addresses. Later, using GPS, the HHCs will enable staff to conduct data collection for the non-response follow-up operation, allow for the removal of late mail returns, and record daily payroll for all census enumerators. The use of GPS technology will result in improved productivity and reduced errors.
The Economics and Statistics Administration is building measures of innovation in the economy generated by such technological advancements as the GPS-equipped HHCs. Similarly, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is refining its ability to measure the impact of research and development on the economy.
In addition, NOAA uses GPS to
navigate its fleet of ships; enforce fishery boundaries in open waters to
prevent overfishing; survey the Nation’s coastlines, waterways, and airport
approaches; and make improved weather forecasts. NOAA also provides a public service to the Nation
known as the National Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS)
network. The CORS network consists of over
a thousand GPS tracking stations that enable users to refine GPS measurements
down to the centimeter level, which is particularly important for measuring
real estate boundaries, positioning bridges and roads, and doing other
geospatial work.
Conclusion
The Department of Commerce’s development, promotion, and advancement of GPS technology demonstrates how the Department successfully encourages innovation to create economic growth without sacrificing our national safety. It also illustrates that Commerce is a diverse group of agencies, with varied expertise and differing needs, all engaged in a common commitment to keep the United States at the global forefront of competitiveness and innovation. This is the way we at the Department do business every day – working together, across disciplines, making real, positive, and sustained impacts on the American economy.
The President’s FY 2008 Budget effectively meets those needs, while exercising the fiscal restraint necessary to sustain our economic prosperity. I look forward to working with the Committee to keep our Nation’s economy growing and strong, and to promote and preserve the American people’s entrepreneurial spirit.