Amy Martin, age 16, of Mesa, Ariz., for her question:
WHAT DOES THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DO?
Department of Commerce is one of the executive departments of the United States government. The department's chief responsibility is to promote the nation's economic development and technological advancement.
Heading the department is the secretary of commerce, a member of the President's Cabinet. He and his department members help the President form national economic policy and provide economic data, studies and advice to other federal agencies and to private enterprise.
The Department of Commerce collects, analyzes and distributes commercial statistics. It conducts population and agricultural censuses and coastal and geodetic surveys. It complies and publishes nautical and aeronautical charts. It also establishes weights, measures and standards for commodities.
The department also issues patents, registers trademarks and provides weather forecasts. In addition, it assists the maritime industry and promotes travel to the United States by people of other countries.
As you can see, the secretary of the department and his staff have many important jobs.
Congress established the Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903. just 80 years ago. President Theodore Roosevelt requested the first department. On March 4. 1913, Congress set up a separate Department of Labor and a new Department of Commerce.
Since 1913, many bureaus and agencies have been transferred to or from the department. In 1925, for example, Congress switched the Patent Office, now the Patent and Trademark Office, from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Commerce. In 1940, the U.S. Weather Bureau, which had been under the Department of Agriculture, became part of the Department of Commerce.
In 1966, Congress transferred several agencies from the Department of Commerce to the newly formed Department of Transportation.
It takes a lot of people to do all of the work handled by the Department of Commerce. The department has about 33,000 employees.
The current Secretary of Commerce is Malcolm Baldrige. Each secretary is appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. He administers all functions assigned to the department and advises the President on matters that affect the nation's industry and commerce.
Chief assistant to the secretary is the undersecretary of commerce. He serves as acting secretary in the secretary's absence. There also are seven assistant secretaries.
Rounding out the top administration of the department of commerce are two administrator.'s. One heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinates the work of all federal agencies involved in conservation, development, educational activities, exploration, monitoring and research relating to the oceans and the atmosphere.
The other heads the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, which supervises efforts to prevent and control fires.