Secretary Bryson Announces Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request

Submitted on February 13, 2012 - 2:30pm
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 13, 2012
CONTACT OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
202-482-4883

2013 Commerce Department budget request includes support for advanced manufacturing, new trade promotion efforts, innovation investments, finds $176 million in administrative savings

U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson today released the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) fiscal year 2013 budget request, which supports President Obama’s blueprint for an economy built to last.

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.

“The Department of Commerce plays a critical role in supporting entrepreneurs and business owners who create jobs. Our fiscal 2013 budget reflects my commitment to focusing on the most pressing priorities to ensure that American businesses are able to build things here and sell them everywhere,” U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson said. “In today’s challenging budget climate, we are also deeply committed to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars by making smart and tough choices to cut costs, while ensuring that we build on programs that work.”

The FY 2013 Department of Commerce budget request meets the need for fiscal responsibility while keeping the investments we need to grow the economy and create jobs by promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness, while leveling the playing field for American workers and businesses so they are able to compete successfully in global markets. The budget invests in Secretary Bryson’s priorities–supporting advanced manufacturing, increasing U.S. exports, and attracting more investment to America:

  • 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 (NNMI). Through collaboration between NIST, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation, the NNMI aims to promote the development of manufacturing technologies with broad applications.

When it comes to trade enforcement, as part of the President’s plan to level the playing field for American workers and businesses, the President’s budget will invest $26 million in ITA ($24M) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ($2M) to support 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, including in China. The ITEC will represent a more aggressive “whole-of-government” approach to addressing unfair trade practices, and will serve as the primary forum within the federal government for executive departments and agencies to coordinate enforcement of international and domestic trade rules.

While the FY 2013 budget request includes important new investments to spur job creation and economic growth, it also identifies a total of $176 million in administrative savings and efficiencies through lower-cost acquisition efforts, better facilities and fleet management, and lower overhead expenses, reflecting the agency’s strong commitment to make wise use of taxpayer dollars. This includes efforts to modernize the Department’s operational structure and in some cases decide which programs were most central to the core missions in each bureau.

Furthermore, the Department is proposing to terminate, consolidate, or otherwise cut several programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), restructuring some units within ITA and shifting the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) emphasis to regional innovation strategies.

Additional highlights of the $8 billion budget request include:

  • Improving research: $86 million increase over FY2012 enacted for NIST laboratories and construction of research facilities, making good on the President’s commitment to enhance funding for the scientific research that has traditionally fueled American innovation.
  • Spurring Innovation: The FY2013 Budget supports full access to fees for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to accelerate patent processing and improve patent quality as outlined in the America Invents Act.
  • Informing the Nation: $970 million for the U.S. Census Bureau to sustain critical economic data collection activities and provide businesses with key statistics; $100 million for the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to produce the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to provide real-time information on the health and stability of the US economy.
  • Supporting Weather Forecasts: $916 million for NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), which together with other weather satellites will provide over 90 percent of the input to the nation’s weather prediction models.
  • Increasing Wireless Access: $47 million to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to support the Administration’s efforts to free additional spectrum for commercial use, increase broadband access, and optimize other Federal agencies’ use of spectrum for radars, satellites, and public safety.
  • Fostering Economic Development: $60 million for the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Economic Adjustment Assistance program to stimulate entrepreneurship; $29 million to the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to promote the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses of all sizes.
  • Advancing National Security: $102 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for programs ensuring technologies are not exported to regimes where they may fall into the wrong hands.

The full Department of Commerce FY 2013 budget request can be found at http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY13BIB/fy2013bib_final.pdf. (PDF)