The photo above was submitted by Gary Haney, Office of the Secretary, in a prior Earth Day Photo Challenge. The Department of Commerce is calling for nominations for the 2023 Sustainability, Energy, and Environmental (SEE) Ambassadors program. The SEE Ambassadors program recognizes individual Departmental employees for outstanding performance in implementing exceptional projects and/or programs...

This is the second of a 2-part series by Joe Wassel, First Responder Network Authority Executive Director and CEO, on his thoughts, insights, and vision for the future of public safety communications. Before the FirstNet Authority, I spent my career in the Department of Defense as an advocate for public safety communications and network security. Stepping into the Executive Director and CEO role...

Data is critical to providing information on how climate change affects Americans nationwide. This includes heat. Recently, the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau released estimates for heat that identifies areas across the country that are socially vulnerable to extreme heat. This data comes at a critical time as many parts of our nation face this challenge. Almost 1 in 4 people in the...

Yesterday afternoon, Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves joined Maryland Governor Wes Moore to celebrate the allocation of nearly $268 million to the state of Maryland under the Commerce Department’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. During the event, Graves emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to states on deploying high-speed Internet networks and...

This is the first in a 2-part series by Joe Wassel , First Responder Network Authority Executive Director and CEO, on his thoughts, insights, and vision for the future of public safety communications. During my first 100 days leading the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), I went coast-to-coast to hear directly from first responders. I wanted to better understand their...

Many communities in America lack access to high-speed Internet, and beyond access issues, many families can't afford service. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided an historic investment of $65 billion to ensure every American has access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. Today, every state and territory across the nation has signed on to the Internet for All...

We live in a global society. It’s been that way for a while, even as we continue to see ourselves and our lives through the geographic parochial lens of our choosing. Yet, every day there’s virtually nothing we do that isn’t influenced in part or whole by our global society, economy or the richness of cultures worldwide. At our core, we all are part of the people of Earth, a mere speck in the...

Matt Phan (he/him) is the President of Commerce PRIDE, the Department’s cross-bureau queer employee resource group. He has also been the Librarian with the Commerce Research Library for over five years, helping the Department with its diverse information needs. Specifically, he manages the library’s technology solutions, providing mission-critical information access. Through his proactive outreach...