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.