Acting Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank to Travel to New Castle, Delaware Today
Roughly a week after President Obama laid out plans in his State of the Union address to support an economy built on American manufacturing and American energy, Acting Deputy U.S. Commerce Secretary Dr. Rebecca Blank today will visit SolarDock, a Wilmington-area company that designs, manufactures and installs next generation solar power systems. She will meet with SolarDock founder Scott Johnson, partner Edward O’Brien, and employees and tour the manufacturing facility, along with Delaware Lieutenant Governor Matthew Denn.
Blank’s visit will highlight the President’s plans to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and foster a new era of American energy development. In the State of the Union, the President proposed reducing tax rates for American manufacturers and doubling the tax deduction for high-tech manufacturers. He also called for Congressional action on clean energy tax credits and laid out a proposal for new incentives to encourage manufacturers to make energy efficiency upgrades that would save $100 billion on the nation’s energy bills.
Blank will also discuss the Department’s efforts to support American manufacturers, so they’re better able to build their products in America and sell them all around the globe. The Commerce Department currently helps support manufacturers in several ways, including recently creating the National Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Program Office to bring together stakeholders and drive investments and initiatives in advanced manufacturing. Meanwhile, the Department’s trade specialists, who are located in offices throughout the country and in more than 70 nations around the world, work daily to connect U.S. businesses looking to export to buyers overseas, and Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office helps businesses and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into new products and innovations.
Blank was appointed acting deputy secretary in October, having served as Acting Secretary from August-October 2011. She joined the Obama Administration as the head of the Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration. Blank previously served as a member of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors.