Hi, I’m Mark Doms, Chief Economist of the Department of Commerce.  

A hallmark of this great country has been its ability to meet and overcome challenges to our economic growth and prosperity.

Meeting our current challenges will require effort, commitment, and the enactment of policies listed throughout this report.  Let me briefly talk about some of those.  

First off, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, America must continue to support government funding for basic research.  After all, basic research laid the foundation for much of modern medicine and the information technology industry, many companies, and millions of jobs.   

We must also cut the time from laboratory research to commercial application.

Further, America’s continued and future leadership in research and innovation requires better educating our workforce today, and our workforce of tomorrow, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math.

Another area that deserves our attention is manufacturing.  America must coordinate federal support for that important sector, and continue and strengthen efforts to foster regional clusters and entrepreneurship.  Another way to assist our manufacturing sector is to promote America’s exports and improve access to foreign markets.

By enacting these policies, and others, the United States can become more innovative and competitive, providing new jobs, new businesses, and new industries. Thank you for listening and for visiting our Competes website.  There is a wealth of information here, so check out the other videos, blogs, and other material.