What You Missed: Open for Questions with Secretary Locke

Posted by White House

Last week, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Fast Company hosted a special live chat to answer your questions about this Administration's role in promoting innovation-based, high-growth entrepreneurship.

You can check out the full video of the chat or use the links below to jump directly to the questions you're interested in.

Questions are paraphrased.

• What plans are in place to increase the privacy protection for consumers in the electronic marketplace?
• What steps are being put into place to encourage corporations to keep research jobs here in the US?
• What mechanisms are in place to keep universities from competing head to head with small businesses in terms of research?
• Do you contemplate any special investments made directly to Minority communities?
• What role do you envision broadband playing in increasing entrepreneurship?
• Where does the Government stand in promoting small businesses in burgeoning technology industries?
• Are you working on any new initiatives resulting from the recent trip to India?
• What steps are you taking to help small businesses?
• How will councils help companies bringing new technologies to markets survive the endless Federal approval process?
• Follow-up: How is access to capital for small businesses being expanded?
• What sort of pressure is the Department of Commerce putting on banks to give loans to businesses?
• What projects are you undertaking to address the patent process?
• What is the time frame for reforming the patent process?
• How can the incentive to move manufacturing offshore be reduced?
• What are some of the ways that you are increasing access to capital for small businesses other than the Recovery Act?
• Why do you think that small business owners are not aware of some of the tax cuts available to their companies?

Expanding Commercial Engagement with Iraq

Posted by White House

Yesterday, representatives from 14 U.S. companies arrived in Baghdad as part of the first U.S. Department of Commerce Trade Mission to Iraq since the end of combat operations. Led by Under Secretary of Commerce Francisco Sanchez, these companies will spend time on the ground exploring business opportunities and potential deals with their Iraqi public and private sector counterparts.

This is Commerce’s 24th Trade Mission since President Obama announced the National Export Initiative - bringing American businesses together with foreign counterparts in high potential markets is a key component of President Obama's national export initiative. Iraq is planning billions of dollars in investment in its infrastructure, providing enormous opportunities for U.S. companies which can result in American jobs at home and in Iraq.

With a consumer base of 26 million and a desire to move past years of isolation and instability, Iraq now needs capital and expertise to revitalize its infrastructure and economy. U.S. companies participating in the Trade Mission, which represent the best of U.S. industry in sectors such as oil and gas, construction, and information and communications technology, can provide those crucial inputs.

As we strengthen our long-term relationship with the Iraqi government and people, the U.S - Iraq bilateral relationship is entering a new phase of commercial engagement. Following the unprecedented interest generated by the U.S. – Iraq Business and Investment Conference held in Washington last October, we have actively promoted contact between the U.S. and Iraqi private sectors. We stand ready to support our Iraqi partners as they build a prosperous, diversified, and growing economy that is integrated into the global economic system and capable of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people.

For further information on the Trade Mission please visit http://www.trade.gov/iraq

Creating a Fair Playing Field for American Businesses Overseas

Posted by White House

President Obama has set a goal to double our exports in five years. Increasing exports will create jobs and open valuable new markets for the millions of American small and medium sized businesses.

However, our ability to increase exports depends on Americans being able to compete overseas without facing discriminatory policies, burdensome legal regimes or unfair practices. We want to make sure export opportunities are there and support our businesses as they are entering overseas markets.

One of the challenges our businesses face today are markets where their innovation and intellectual property rights need better protection and enforcement or where they have to navigate overly complex and sometimes unfair legal regimes. Our export markets need to be fair, open and accessible—unpolluted by counterfeit goods—and free of discriminatory policies that can disadvantage our intellectual property industries.

Working effectively with our trading partners is critical to improved enforcement and open markets. I've just returned from a trip to Brussels to discuss ways we can work with the European government to resolve concerns in overseas markets. And John Morton, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is traveling to Europe this week to push the international law enforcement community to increase the number of global cross-border law enforcement cases.

You can help too. We are asking the public, including all our exporters and potential exporters, for their views on the challenges they face in protecting their innovation and creative works or in enforcing their rights, how well what we are doing now to support our businesses works and, most of all, ideas on what we can do better. The Department of Commerce has issued a public call for input:, read the guidelines (pdf) and submit your feedback via Regulations.gov, docket number ITA–2010–0006.

We encourage you to read it and send us your ideas.

Spurring Innovation and Anchoring Jobs in America

Posted by White House

Regional Innovation Clusters are an important element of the President’s innovation agenda and a good example of how federal agencies can collaborate to maximize the impact of existing federal investments in key areas like energy and agriculture.

Regional Innovation Clusters are geographic concentrations of firms and industries that do business with each other and have common needs for talent, technology, and infrastructure. Clusters make full use of a region’s unique assets, from infrastructure to workforce to available capital, to increase collaboration and create a climate for businesses to grow and thrive. Innovation clusters build on existing industry and resources, foster creative environments that encourage knowledge sharing and tailored training and educational activities, and anchor jobs in America rather than shipping jobs overseas.

We know that this cluster strategy works. From well known places like Silicon Valley and the Research Triangle in North Carolina to lesser known places like Dayton’s Tech Town, Tucson’s Arizona Bioscience Park, and the Middle Georgia Economic Alliance, clusters are helping to connect communities to career and educational opportunities, secure higher paying jobs, and stabilize regions.

This week, the administration will announce the 40+ winners of three signature regional innovation initiatives:

1. I6 Challenge: Administered by the Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration, NSF and NIH – EDA will fund 6 winning grants up to $1,000,000 each for up to two years. NIH and NSF will award a total of up to $6 million to their SBIR grantees that are associated or partnered with the winning teams. The i6 Challenge rewards innovative ideas that accelerate technology commercialization and new venture formation across the U.S.
2. Regional Cluster Initiative and Advanced Technology Initiative: The Small Business Administration–will announce 10 winners with a funding commitment of $600,000 per winner.
3. Rural Business Opportunity Grants: The Department of Agriculture will announce 9 grants with a funding commitment of up to $250,000 per winner.

In addition to these three new initiatives, just last month, the Department of Energy announced that the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster is the winner of the $129 m Energy Regional Innovation Cluster Pilot – a project that will spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient.

Americans have an unparalleled capacity to come up with innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. Federal agency support for organically-led regional clustering efforts is an encouraging step towards restoring and enhancing our economy.

USDA and the Commerce Department Supporting Broadband Access and Economic Opportunity Across America through the Recovery Act

Posted by White House

When Congress passed and the President signed the Recovery Act, they made a $7.2 billion commitment to improving this country’s broadband infrastructure. They understood broadband will be an essential piece of a successful 21st century economy. But it can only be so if we deploy networks that offer all Americans quality service, while also teaching the skills to use broadband and encouraging its use to promote our national priorities, including education, health care, energy, and public safety.

Together, we’re excited to be moving quickly to make these goals a reality. Today, the Department of Agriculture is awarding roughly $1.2 billion for 126 projects across the country to connect homes, businesses, and critical community institutions like hospitals and police stations, that don't currently have adequate access. Many tribal areas, and areas designated as "persistent poverty counties" will be served. For example, Cimarron Telephone Company in Oklahoma will provide broadband service to parts of five counties and to members of the Osage, Pawnee and Creek tribes. Another firm, Atlink, will provide service to 14 central Oklahoma persistent poverty communities that currently have no access to the internet at any speed. The delivery of broadband to these areas will promote rural economic development, improve access to education, health care, public safety and most importantly, provide the infrastructure needed to create the environment for the growth of quality jobs. Without the Internet, business growth is stifled.

As we’ve said before, we’re on track to get all our broadband awards out the door by the end of September. Today’s awards put us one step closer. In fact, over the next 60 days, we will award the remaining roughly $4 billion dollars to help provide critical broadband services to states and communities across the country. To be as transparent as we can in this effort, below is a calendar outlining what you can expect from our programs in the next 60 days.

Agency	Expected Approx # of Projects	Expected Approx. Dollar Amount	Description
Week of August 16
USDA	50	$190 million	These awards will support a series of last-mile projects.
Commerce	70	$1.3-$1.6 billion	These awards will support public computing, broadband adoption, community infrastructure, and some public safety projects.
Week of Sept. 6
USDA	65	$450 million	These awards will support a series of last-mile projects, as well as satellite and technical assistance projects.
Commerce	50	$600-$900 million	These awards will support public computing, broadband adoption, community infrastructure, and some public safety projects.
Week of Sept. 27
Commerce	15	$300-$600 million	These awards will primarily support public safety projects, but may also include a handful of community infrastructure, public computing, and broadband adoption projects.
Commerce		$100-$200 million	These awards will support broadband mapping efforts.

This calendar doesn’t convey the true power of every dollar we spend—many of the projects leverage outside capital, too. For example, while the Recovery Act allocated $2.5 billion to USDA for broadband, that should support more than $3.5 billion in activity.

While we’re excited about all of our awards and the opportunities they represent for people, businesses, and communities, we’re particularly excited about some of the awards that will come in the next two months. The Department of Commerce, for example, will announce more than half of their remaining awards the week of August 16. As with previous awards, these projects will include infrastructure projects, the creation up of public computing centers, as well as the setting up of programs that train people on the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s economy—and, increasingly, today’s. But they will likely also include the first of the public safety projects to be granted—supporting mobile broadband networks that will finally give our first responders the access they need to real-time information and reliable communications at the scene of an emergency. Similar awards will continue through the end of September. In fact, the majority of the final awards from the Commerce Department will go to public safety.

USDA plans to award funding to continue to improve educational and job opportunities for residents of rural America. There are fewer people in rural America with college degrees and more people who have no high school diploma. The combination of that means that we have to continue focusing on how we improve education in rural America to build job growth, which in turn allows folks to stay on the farm. Broadband is a key component in that effort.

We are looking forward to the two months ahead when we will be rolling out the remainder of our awards, and we hope many of you are as well. We’re excited to be finally building the infrastructure of the future, and to be executing the President’s and Congress’ vision of a high-speed, high-performance America.