Department of Commerce

At a glance

The Department of Commerce (DOC) is responsible for promoting job creation and improved living standards for Americans by creating an infrastructure that promotes economic growth, technological competitiveness, and sustainable development.

The DOC is made up of 12 bureaus and nearly 47,000 employees located in all 50 states and territories and more than 86 countries worldwide.

“The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they‘re in freshwater, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they‘re in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they‘re smoked.” - Barack Obama

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A Path Forward

One of the younger federal agencies, the Department of Commerce is considered by some to be a ‘catch-all’ agency. For example, the agency oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Census, and the Minority Business Development Agency. Over half of the agency’s budget goes to NOAA, which regulates the fishing industry and runs the National Weather Service. President Barack Obama spoke of the confusing dynamic the Department of Commerce poses in the federal bureaucracy, “The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they‘re in freshwater, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they‘re in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they‘re smoked.”

A realistic approach to solving the problems of the Department of Commerce is consolidating its sub agencies, like NOAA, into other agencies. Not only would other agencies be more equipped to handle such agencies, but it would eliminate duplication in other agencies.

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9.17 Billion Annual Budget

Wilbur Ross Secretary

47,000 Government Employees

Budget Growth 2012 - 2016

$3.53 Trillion

Annual budget for the federal government

$9.17 Billion

Percentage of Federal Budget


Oversight Reports