Secretary John Bryson today released the Department of Commerce’s fiscal year 2013 budget request that includes support for advanced manufacturing, new trade promotion efforts, innovation investments, finds $176 million in administrative savings.
The Commerce budget makes critical investments in advanced manufacturing, innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness and trade promotion and enforcement to help create jobs. The nearly 5 percent increase reflects President Obama and Secretary Bryson’s commitment to encouraging U.S. manufacturing and helping more American companies sell their goods and services overseas. The fiscal year 2013 request is $8 billion and requests $2.3 billion in mandatory funding. The Department also identified $176 million in administrative savings, reflecting a strong commitment to wisely stewarding taxpayer dollars and making tough choices to prioritize programs that support the Department’s core mission areas.
- Advanced
Manufacturing: Advanced
Manufacturing: $156 million to expand NIST research in areas such as smart
manufacturing, nanomanufacturing, advanced materials, and biomanufacturing,
including $21 million for the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia
program, which will provide grants to industry consortia to tackle common
technological barriers to the innovation and manufacturing of new products.
- Increasing
U.S. Exports: $517 million
for the International Trade Administration (ITA), including several key
initiatives. The administration requests $30 million for critical investments
in trade promotion to help more U.S. businesses reach the 95 percent of
consumers who live outside our borders. This proposal also includes $30 million
to send Foreign Commercial Service officers and locally engaged staff to
high-growth markets to help support the National Export Initiative to meet the
President’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014. The budget also
supports a new trade enforcement unit-- the Interagency Trade Enforcement
Center (ITEC), which will significantly enhance the administration’s
capabilities to aggressively challenge unfair trade practices around the world
(details below).
- Attracting
Investment to the U.S.: The $517M for ITA includes $13 million
for SelectUSA to encourage, facilitate and accelerate foreign direct
investment in the U.S. to create jobs and spur growth.
Additionally,
as part of the administration’s efforts to revitalize manufacturing, the president’s budget proposes $1 billion in mandatory funding to establish a
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.