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Guest blog post by Bina Kawekiu Mossman-Saafi, Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist – Tribal Liaison, U.S. Census Bureau As an Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist and Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Census Bureau at the Department of Commerce, I serve as a liaison to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, different branches of government, and other stakeholders. Born and raised in Hawaii...

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Spotlight on Commerce series highlighting the contributions of Department of Commerce employees in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Guest blog by Charles Kim, Director of the Office of Petitions, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) As the Director of the Office of Petitions, I oversee a talented group of petitions examiners...

Leticia Pibida, a physicist in the Radiation Physics Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been chosen as a finalist for a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, an award for federal employees given by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. The honor recognizes her work to strengthen “our nation’s defenses against nuclear and radioactive threats by...

Every day in government facilities across the nation and around the world millions of men and women are working to make America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. Their commitment and accomplishments seldom make headlines, but the work they do is critical to our national welfare and security. One of these devoted civil servants, Chelsea Decaminada, passed away this past Saturday, May 4th, after...

Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in inducting nineteen of America’s greatest inventors into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) which was held at the historic National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. At the event, Secretary Ross addressed the important role that innovation plays in transforming and advancing our...

The following is a cross-post by Gilbert Kaplan, Under Secretary of Commerce for the International Trade Administration During World Trade Month, the International Trade Administration (ITA) will celebrate our commitment to preserving free, fair, and reciprocal trade that enhances American prosperity. Our nation is among the most innovative and open economies in the world, and for decades the...

The following is a cross-post from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2018. The percent change in real GDP in the fourth quarter ranged from 6.6 percent in Texas to 0.0 percent in Delaware. Wholesale trade, mining, and information services were the leading contributors to the increase in...

I remember that cold April some years ago when my son Michael and I walked through the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany. It was Michael’s suggestion to visit the place where my father Benjamin and his brother Berek were imprisoned as Jews with the other “untermenchen” which is German for inferior people or “beneath human.” For many years I resisted the idea of making a pilgrimage to a...