April 24, 2015
This week at Commerce, Secretary Penny Pritzker made an
exciting announcement about NOAA’s collaboration with some of the largest data
and technology companies that will provide access to terabytes of data to more
users. These data alliances, which consist of participating organizations
across the private and public sectors, will work to research and test solutions
for bringing NOAA’s vast information to the cloud. In doing so, both industry and the public can easily and
equally access, explore, and create new products which will foster new ideas,
and spur economic growth. This innovative solution is another way we are
ensuring the Department of Commerce stays open for business.
Secretary Pritzker also attended Export-Import Bank’s
Annual Conference, where she spoke about the need for a trade framework which
will allow the United States to negotiate modern trade agreements in the
Asia-Pacific region and with Europe. These agreements will open up new markets,
ensure fairness for our businesses and workers, and put more Americans in high
paying jobs. The Secretary also kicked off the inaugural Commerce Data Advisory
Committee, which will advise her on how the Department can revolutionize data
assets, empower users to become more informed, and create an ecosystem around
products; this will ultimately foster innovation, create jobs, and drive better
decision making.
Around Commerce, USPTO’s Patents for Humanity were
awarded; Commerce partnered with the YMCA for “Taking Our Daughters and Sons to
Work Day”; and NOAA released a mapping tool for coastal areas to help prepare
for storms.
Have a safe weekend and thank you for keeping America
Open for Business.
-Jim
U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces New Collaboration to Unleash the
Power of NOAA's Data - NOAA joins Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud
Platform, IBM, Microsoft Corp., and the Open Cloud Consortium for a big data
project to unleash its vast resources of environmental data.
NOAA
Mapping Tool Visualizes Anticipated Flood Effects, Aiding Preparation for
Coastal Storms - A NOAA flood exposure risk mapping tool that was developed
in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania has now been expanded to
cover coastal areas along the entire U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. The
Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper, a deliverable of President Obama’s Climate
Action Plan, provides users with maps, data, and information to assess risks
and vulnerabilities related to coastal flooding and hazards.
New
Agreement with the European Union Will Strengthen Partnerships Across Atlantic
- U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews signed a Cooperation
Arrangement between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European
Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROWTH). The agreement aims to makes it easier for
clusters and their member businesses in the United States and the European
Union to form strategic partnerships across the Atlantic.
Commerce
Partners with YMCA for “Taking Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” - As a
part of this effort, and in the spirit of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper
Initiative, the Department of Commerce partnered with the YMCA’s Full Circle
Mentoring Program to welcome a group of middle school students to learn about a
day in the life of the agency.
Department
of Commerce: Improving Our Planet Every Day - As a key pillar of its Open
for Business Agenda Strategic Plan, the Department is embarking on an
environment agenda focused on providing businesses and communities the
information, products and services to help them prepare for and prosper in a
changing environment. In addition, in the years to come, the Department plans
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy intensity across their facilities
while increasing the quantity of consumed electricity derived from renewable
sources through the application of performance-based energy savings contracts.
Five
Years After Deepwater Horizon, How Is NOAA Preparing for Future Oil Spills?
- Keeping up with emerging technologies and changing energy trends helps NOAA
become better prepared for the oil spills of tomorrow, whether they stem from a
derailed train carrying particularly flammable oil, a transcontinental pipeline
of diluted oil sands, or a cargo ship passing through the Arctic’s icy but
increasingly accessible waters.
BEA
Tool Allows Businesses to Estimate the Economic Impact of Disasters - When
a disaster strikes, understanding the economic impact on the affected community
is a key to developing a recovery plan. BEA’s regional input-output modeling,
RIMS II, provides disaster recovery officials a tool to model the impact on an
affected community.
Remarks
from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at the Inaugural Meeting of the
Commerce Data Advisory Council - Secretary Pritzker welcomed the members of
the new Commerce Data Advisory Council to their initial meeting and challenged
them to lay out recommendations that will be of the greatest value to the Department.
Getting
Your Trade Data Faster - In July 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau will
introduce the Advance Report: U.S. International Trade in Goods. The new
Advance Report will contain international goods trade data for five export and
import end-use categories, in addition to totals.
Coast
Survey adds historical publications to online collection - NOAA’s Office of
Coast Survey has added a wide range of publications to our Historical Map and
Chart Collection. The collection of publications consists of annual reports,
catalogs, United States Coast Pilot, Notes on the Coast, and special reports.
One-Stop
Shop for Stats on Specific Industries: Now with Even More Information - The
Census Bureau launched an expanded version of its Industry Snapshots. These
Snapshots permit you to select one of more than 1,000 detailed industries and
pull up national and state-level data tables and county-level thematic maps for
that industry.
Voices
of Trade: San Francisco Letterpress Entrepreneur Shares Why Trade Agreements
Will Help Small Businesses - Since the 2003 launch out of a San Francisco
garage, Hello!Lucky has grown both in the U.S. and internationally and CEO
Sabrina Moyle is bullish on more international growth if trade agreements like
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pass Congress.
Patents
for Humanity Winners Awarded at the White House - On Monday, seven entities
– six companies and a non-profit – were recognized at the White House as
winners of the second annual Patents for Humanity program. These companies have
found new and innovative ways to combat malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition,
improve basic sanitation, provide light through solar power, and increase
mobility for disabled people in some of the most disadvantaged and underserved
regions of the world.
Insights
from Leaders of 2014 Baldrige Award Recipients – Winners of the Baldrige
Award offer advice and suggestions for others looking to replicate their
success.
China's
Long-Term Play - China trade mission participant, Margaret Wong, President
and CEO of McWong Environmental Technology, writes about how China’s long-term
plans are lucrative opportunities for American companies.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis wrote that Nondurable
Goods Manufacturing Led Growth in the Fourth Quarter Gross Domestic Product by
Industry on their blog this week.
Sales of new
single family houses in March 2015 were 481,000 at a seasonally adjusted
annual rate (SAAR), down 11.4 percent from February’s revised rate but up 19.4
percent from March 2014.
New orders for
manufactured durable goods in March 2015 increased 4.0 percent, to $240.2
billion. Excluding transportation, new
orders decreased 0.2 percent. Overall
shipments increased 1.1 percent, and capital goods shipments rose 0.6 percent.
Unfilled orders were virtually unchanged, and inventories increased 0.1 percent
in March 2015.
Commerce Data in the News: The Washington Post cites population estimates and median household
income figures from the Census Bureau to write that after decades of expansion, Fairfax County, Arlington County and
Alexandria are seeing more people move out than move in over the past year in
the article, Washington-Area
Population Increase Slowing Down, Census Figures Indicate.
USA Today cites
educational attainment, health insurance coverage and household income
statistics from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to write that
West Virginia, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana and Mississippi are the country’s
most dangerous states in the article, States
With the Most Deadly Accidents.
Bloomberg News
cites race and ethnicity statistics from the Census Bureau to write that while
Cuban-Americans account for only 3.3 percent of the 54 million Hispanics in the
U.S., two-thirds live in Florida, in the article, Andrew
Cuomo Says Cuba Visit Will Pressure Congress to Lift Embargo.
The LA Times cites
NIST’s work on a new atomic clock with unprecedented accuracy in an article
titled; Hyper-accurate
atomic clock won't lose a second in 15 billion years.
Data Releases Next Week: Housing Vacancies and Homeownership: 2015 Q1
(Census); Gross Domestic Product: 2015 Q1 Advance (BEA); Personal Income and
Outlays: March (BEA); Construction Put in Place: March (Census)
On Monday, Secretary Penny Pritzker will participate in
an armchair discussion at the Aspen Institute with Walter Isaacson, President
and CEO of the Aspen Institute, to talk about a new joint effort between the
Department of Commerce and the Aspen Institute that will accelerate more
effective, employer-led workforce development initiatives across the country.
Additionally on Monday, NIST Acting Director Willie May
will give opening remarks at a public workshop at Texas Southern University in
Houston, TX, where NIST will release the initial draft of its “Community
Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure.”
On Tuesday, Secretary Pritzker will attend the State
Dinner in honor of the visit of Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and Mrs.
Abe.
Also on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary for Economic
Development Jay Williams will deliver remarks on the Administration’s economic
development agenda at the NC Tomorrow Summit in Raleigh, NC, which is being
sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Councils of Governments.
Additionally on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling
will deliver keynote remarks at the Internet2 Global Summit in Washington, DC.
Furthermore on Tuesday, Under Secretary for International
Trade Stefan M. Selig will participate in the “Is the Pacific Future
Happening?” panel at the Milken Institute in Los Angeles, CA.
On Wednesday, Secretary Pritzker will travel to Los
Angeles, CA to participate in a virtual meeting of trustees for the World
Economic Forum “Future of the Internet Initiative,” as well as an armchair
discussion about commercial diplomacy at the Milken Institute’s Global
Conference 2015. Later in the day, Secretary Pritzker will join Judy Olian,
Dean of the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, for an armchair discussion
as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Speakers Series. She will discuss
leadership and answer questions from student audience members.
On Thursday, MBDA National Director Alejandra Castillo
will attend the Office of New York City Comptroller Advisory Council Meeting in
New York, NY. The Comptroller’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth through
Diversity and Inclusion serves as a partner in efforts to increase supplier
diversity through transparency, accountability and disclosure in the public and
private sectors.
On
Friday, Census Bureau Director John Thompson will participate on a panel
titled, “Enhancing Government Statistics: Linkages with Nontraditional and
Administrative Data,” at the Population Association of America 2015 Annual
Meeting in San Diego. Bureau of Economic Analysis Director Brian Moyer and
former Census Bureau Director Robert Groves also are scheduled to participate
in the discussion.
Secretary
Pritzker joined Steve Rattner, Jacqueline Hinman, Joe Kaeser, and Jim
McNerney on a panel entitled, "The Competitive Landscape: Prospects for
Growth in 2016 and Beyond" at the Ex-Im Bank’s Annual Conference.
Bonus Photo of the Week:
U.S.
Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews signed a Cooperation Arrangement
between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission’s
Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
(DG GROWTH).
Sabrina
Moyle, CEO of Hello Lucky, explains the need for international trade
agreements.
Where
is the Employment Growth? — The Census Bureau released the latest County
Business Patterns statistics, accompanied by a graphic that shows the top 10
counties with the highest rate of employment growth from 2012 to 2013. What
county is No. 1? It’s Sacramento County, Calif., with a 5.5 percent growth in
employment.
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