Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank Announces Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank today released the Department of Commerce’s fiscal year 2014 budget request, which supports President Obama’s plan for an economy built to last with crucial investments in advanced manufacturing, innovation, trade promotion and enforcement, and research and development. These investments are designed to help grow the economy, create jobs and strengthen the middle class. The $8.6 billion budget request is an increase of $1 billion over the fiscal year 2012 level. The Department also identified a total of $195 million in administrative savings.

The FY 2014 Department of Commerce budget includes key investments in the following areas:

• Spurring U.S. Innovation: The budget provides full spending authority for the $3.1 billion the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) expects to receive in fees in FY14. This will support the protection of intellectual property that is crucial to innovation and economic growth. The budget also includes $141 million to support NIST laboratories’ work in advanced manufacturing and materials science.
• Protecting the Nation’s cyber infrastructure: An increase of $15 million to enable NIST to strengthen its core cybersecurity research and development programs, which help protect our nation’s infrastructure and economy from growing threats.
• Informing the Nation: $154.2 million increase to the U.S. Census Bureau to fund research and testing to improve the design and administration of the 2020 Census and $4 million for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to improve overall coverage and measurement of Foreign Direct Investment, which will improve the ability of communities to plan for new inbound investment.
• Enhancing public safety: $2 billion for NOAA’s satellites systems, which are critical to its ability to provide accurate weather forecasts and warnings that help protect lives and property.
• Increasing wireless access: $52 million to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to improve telecommunications performance, optimize Federal agencies’ use of spectrum for radars and satellites, and increase broadband access to communities nationwide.