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Blog Entries from August 2009

Secretary Locke Talks Health Insurance Reform with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC's "Closing Bell"

Submitted on August 31, 2009 - 4:19pm
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Image of video screenshot. Click for interview.

CNBC Video

Secretary Gary Locke appeared on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” to talk about why health insurance reform is critical for American businesses. Continuing the discussion from his op-ed in The Wall Street Journal last week, Locke stressed that the status quo will prevent companies from growing, result in more Americans losing their health coverage and cripple the U.S. economy in the long term. Rising health care costs have put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage and contributed to flat wages, as more and more revenues are going toward the cost of health care. Reform is critical and will result in greater efficiency and smarter delivery of care, Locke said. (Video)

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Secretary Locke to Participate in Americas Competitiveness Forum in Santiago, Chile

Submitted on August 31, 2009 - 12:59pm
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ACF III logo. Click to go trade.gov Web site for more information.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced he will participate in the third annual Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF) September 27-29, 2009, in Santiago, Chile. The ACF brings together representatives from the public and private sectors to discuss ways to spark innovation, create jobs, and expand trade among the countries of the hemisphere. The Commerce Department hosted the first two ACFs in Atlanta in 2007 and 2008. “I am looking forward to traveling to Chile to participate in the third Americas Competitiveness Forum,” Locke said. “Exports have always been crucial to American prosperity, and they have assumed an even greater significance in the current economic climate.” (More)

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EDA Announces Ongoing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding to Create Jobs, Boost Development

Submitted on August 31, 2009 - 11:00am
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Image of Flagship Enterprise Center. Click for larger image.

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested $2.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to the Flagship Enterprise Center, Inc. and the city of Anderson, Ind.,(pictured here), to help build a business and industrial facility, which will house early-stage businesses that are working to establish themselves in the community. Other recent ARRA grants have been announced for Memphis, Tenn.; Spring Valley, Minn.; Tupelo, Miss.; Fosston, Minn.; Scottsburg, Ind. and Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska. (EDA Recovery Web site)

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NOAA Report Explains Sea Level Anomaly this Summer Along U.S. Atlantic Coast

Submitted on August 31, 2009 - 9:00am
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Tide and Currents logo. Click to go to NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services Web site.

Persistent winds and a weakened current in the Mid-Atlantic contributed to higher than normal sea levels along the Eastern Seaboard in June and July, according to a new technical report from Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). After observing water levels six inches to two feet higher than originally predicted, NOAA scientists began analyzing data from select tide stations and buoys from Maine to Florida and found that a weakening of the Florida Current Transport—an oceanic current that feeds into the Gulf Stream—in addition to steady and persistent Northeast winds, contributed to this anomaly. (More)

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Statement from Under Secretary Blank on July 2009 Personal Income and Outlays

Submitted on August 28, 2009 - 10:19am
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Blank portrait.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis today released personal income and outlays for July 2009. Real personal spending increased 0.2 percent and personal income increased less than 0.1 percent, after decreasing 1.1 percent in June. “During the first half of the year, more than 95 percent of working families benefitted from tax relief under the Recovery Act, which has boosted Americans’ disposable income,” U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank said. “This increase has helped stabilize economic conditions in the wake of the worst economic environment in generations.” (Release)

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NOAA Administrator to Lead U.S. Delegation to World Climate Conference-3

Submitted on August 27, 2009 - 10:00pm
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NOAA seal.

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator, will lead a U.S. delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, August 31- September 4 for the World Climate Conference-3 in efforts to establish a Global Framework for Climate Services. This framework is intended to help meet accelerating demands for useful information on the impacts of climate change.U.S. officials from more than 10 government agencies and departments will be actively engaged at the conference, learning from the international community and sharing American knowledge and innovations. (More)

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Secretary Locke Announces Over $11.9 Million in Recovery Act Grants to Create Jobs, Boost Development in Seven States

Submitted on August 27, 2009 - 4:20pm
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EDA seal.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced over $11.9 million in Economic Development Administration (EDA) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants to help seven states boost private investment and create new jobs. The grants will make water treatment facility upgrades in Kentucky; help build an access road to serve an industrial park in Minnesota; help make roadway updates to improve access to an industrial park in Illinois; help build water and sewer infrastructure needed to spur business development in Georgia; convert an existing building for use as a regional vocational training facility in Idaho; expand an existing dock and install a crane to boost the commercial fishing sector in Alaska, and extend an avenue and provide water infrastructure in Washington state.

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Secretary Lock Gives Keynote at MED Week, Follows White House Event for National MED Week Awardees

Submitted on August 27, 2009 - 12:00pm
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MED Week logo. Click to go to MED Week Web site.

Secretary Gary Locke laid out the Obama Administration’s strategy to expand opportunities for minority businesses. In his keynote, Locke outlined how the President’s Recovery Act is giving businesses access to billions of dollars in loan guarantees, and how it seeks to reorient America’s energy policy towards providing new manufacturing jobs in clean energy. Locke called for reform of the healthcare system so that small- and medium-sized businesses can better afford health benefits for their workers. On Wednesday, Secretary Locke and Vice President Joe Biden congratulated the 2009 National Excellence in Minority Business Award Winners at a reception at the White House. (Remarks)

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Statement From Undersecretary Blank on Second Estimate of GDP in Second Quarter of 2009

Submitted on August 27, 2009 - 10:13am
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Department of Commerce seal.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released the second estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2009. Real GDP declined at a 1.0-percent annual rate, unchanged from the advance estimate. Most analysts had expected a larger drop of 1.5 percent. “The economy’s better than expected performance in the 2nd quarter suggests that it is beginning to stabilize,” U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank said. (More) (BEA Release)

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Statement from Under Secretary for Economic Affairs on July 2009 New Home Sales

Submitted on August 26, 2009 - 11:50am
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Portrait of Under Secretary Blank.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of the Census today released new home sales data for July 2009. Sales of new single-family houses rose 9.6 percent, a far stronger gain than the expected rise of 1.6 percent. Sales have risen 31.6 percent above their low in January of this year. “These new numbers are another sign that we have put the brakes on the worst economic downturn in generations,” U.S Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank said. (More) (July Residential Sales Release)

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