DOC Home Page
Newsroom
Media Contacts
Secretary
Carlos M. Gutierrez
Photo
Gallery
|
|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 26, 2001
FIRST
100 DAYS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
HIGHLIGHTS:
Commerce Department
During the
first 100 days of President George W. Bush's Administration, the U.S.
Department of Commerce has focused on creating an environment that encourages
America's entrepreneurs and workers to innovate, create wealth and flourish.
Millions
of American businesses from Main Street to Wall Street --
and their employees and customers -- have benefited from
the Commerce Department's emphasis on the people's priorities. �These
first 100 days have targeted the Department's human and financial resources
on ensuring a level playing field for American business in the global
marketplace, on fostering a positive environment for the technology and
telecommunications industries, on delivering sound economic data to guide
sound policy and business decisions, and on targeting resources to most
effectively address priorities in natural resource management.
Ensuring
a level playing field for American business and promoting American businesses
abroad
- The Bush
Administration has taken an active role as an assertive and visible
advocate for free and fair trade.
- Secretary
Evans joined businesses and government leaders from 34 countries
at the Americas Business Forum (ABF) in Buenas Aires to promote
free and fair trade in the Western Hemisphere.
- Secretary
Evans has met with more than 20 foreign leaders ranging from President
Fox of Mexico, King Abdullah of Jordan, President Kim of Korea,
and President Mubarak of Egypt, to his direct counterparts from
Mexico (Derbez), Canada (Pettigrew), Chile (Alvear), Brazil (Lafer),
Russia (Gref) and Japan (Hiranuma) among others.
- The
Commerce Department's International Trade Administration (ITA) provided
export counseling to more than 24,000 U.S. businesses that resulted
in more than 3,000 export successes worth over $21 billion in U.S.
good and services; and government-to-government advocacy efforts
which resulted in the purchase of an estimated $185 million of U.S.
goods and services, including $60 million in U.S. exports.
- The
�Commerce Department has led more than 20 trade missions, providing
over 100 small and medium-sized U.S. businesses with a cost-effective
means to promote their products and services overseas.
- Secretary
Evans initiated a new monitoring program to aggressively scrutinize
the import of softwood lumber from Canada following the expiration
of the Softwood Lumber Agreement.
- The
Department's Import Administration has vigorously enforced U.S.
trade laws by issuing decisions in 29 antidumping/countervailing
duty (AD/CVD) reviews and/or investigations, 20 of which involved
steel-dumping cases.
- The Department
of Commerce played a significant role in crafting the Export Administration
Act, which authorizes the export of readily available high-tech products
without compromising U.S. national security interests. �This legislation
will benefit the U.S. economy and specifically the high-tech industry,
which has struggled for years to gain more reasonable controls on technology
exports.
Providing
sound economic data to help guide sound decisions
- The Commerce
Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provided financial markets
and public and private decision-makers with the comprehensive and consistent
GDP data they rely on to assess the health of the U.S. economy.
- BEA has
released 43 principal economic indicators.
- The Census
Bureau just completed releasing data from the best and most accurate
census in U.S. history.
- The new
census information provided the first official snapshot of business-to-business
e-commerce activity for key sectors of the U.S. economy in its new E-Stats
report series.
- The Census
Bureau has released 202 census reports, including redistricting data
for all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
Fostering
a positive environment for vitality in the technology and telecommunications
industries
- Supporting
a �Strong and Secure Technology Infrastructure for the Future
- The
Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) completed a technical analysis and issued
a public report as a first step to address the spectrum needs for
third generation (3G) wireless systems in the U.S.
- The
Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) awarded more than $700,000 in grants for measurement and
standards-related research to universities and non-profit organizations
in: Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, D.C.
- NIST
launched a new Critical Infrastructure Protection grants program
to fund research addressing computer security problems. Research
conducted under this program will contribute to private and public
efforts to protect key portions of the nation's information technology
infrastructure from attacks or shortcomings.
- NIST
was honored by RSA Security, Inc., a major player in the field of
information security, by receiving the RSA Award in Public Policy
for making " a significant contribution to the application of cryptographic
technologies towards the advancement of personal privacy, civil
justice and basic human rights."
- NIST
announced the availability of a new database on its web site that
provides detailed information on vulnerabilities in more than 2,000
types of software that could be used in attacks on computer systems.
The database is valuable to systems administrators, computer security
officers, law enforcement officials, software developers, and researchers.
- Promoting
Superior Business Quality and Efficient Business Practices
- President
Bush encouraged the quest for excellence among American businesses
by honoring the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners
for superior quality and business practices.
- NIST's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers and offices located in
all 50 States and Puerto Rico provided technical and business assistance
to an estimated 5,400 smaller manufacturers, helping them improve
their productivity and competitiveness.
- NIST
renewed agreements with its affiliated Manufacturing Extension Partnership
centers, where small manufacturers receive guidance in becoming more
competitive and successful, providing supporting funds to organizations
in: Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
Targeting
resources to address priorities in natural resource management
- The Commerce
Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
provided information, funding and technical expertise in support of
its critical programs including severe weather prediction, coastal conservation,
climate study, marine sanctuaries, fisheries management and modernization
of the marine transportation system. �Highlights include:
- Provided
$30 million in economic disaster relief to the Southwest Alaska
Municipal Conference to help relieve the effects of closures in
the North Pacific groundfish fishery aimed at protecting the endangered
Steller sea lions.
- Created
additional protections for horseshoe crabs in federal waters off
the mouth of Delaware Bay.
- Awarded
$4.8 million in Fishery Disaster Relief program funds to the State
of Florida to compensate Florida spiny lobster and stone crab fishermen
for significant losses caused by Hurricane Georges and Tropical
Storm Mitch.
- Extended
the Tortugas Ecological Reserve to include federal waters within
the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, making it the largest
fully protected ecological reserve established in a National Marine
Sanctuary.
- Provided
grants worth $2.3$1.75 million in Federal funds and $583,333 in
state matching fundsto help Oregon's commercial fishery recover
economically from the decline of West Coast groundfish stock. �Oregon
will use the funds to administer a Disaster Response Program that
includes four components: Transition Job Training Stipends, Industry
Outreach, Cooperative Industry Research, and Program Development.
- The
NOAA hydrographic survey ship Rainier conducted post-earthquake
surveys in Puget Sound following the February earthquake that hit
the Seattle area.
- Provided
$10 million in federal funds to Northeast fishermen, who voluntarily
retired their fishing permits to harvest groundfish such as cod,
yellowtail flounder and haddock in an effort to rebuild this historically
important fishery.
- Appropriated
$8 million to the Commerce Department's NOAA Restoration Center
to seek new partnerships for habitat restoration projects across
the nation.
- The
National Weather Service earned all "As" from the Government Executive
Magazine's Federal Performance Project.
- NOAA's
National Ocean Service sent a spill response team to assist with
removing the remaining oil and to provide environmental protection
and cleanup recommendations in the wake of the oil spill off the
Galapagos Islands.
Expanding
business opportunities at home through training, education and economic
development
- The Commerce
Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided grants
totaling over $81 million to local, state and regional organizations
to conduct research and fund projects and activities designed to promote
local economic growth and expansion. �States receiving assistance in
the first 100 days of the Bush Administration are: California, Florida,
Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.
- In the
first 100 days of the Bush Administration, the Commerce Department's
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) focused on two primary goals:
1) improving opportunities for minority-owned businesses to gain access
to the marketplace, and 2) improving opportunities for minority-owned
businesses to pursue financing. Under President Bush's new FY2002 budget,
MBDA will continue that commitment with $750,000 in additional funding
for MBDA to expand its business Internet portal, which offers a wide
array of services to minority-owned firms, ranging from business and
marketing planning guidance to assisting minority-owned firms market
themselves to procurers.
- MBDA has
assisted an estimated 1,600 businesses, securing $275 million in procurements
and providing $53.75 million in financial packages to minority businesses.
|