Section 4 · The Economy
📦Ch. 21 — Department of Commerce
Commerce · 12 tracked
Streamline Commerce by shifting trade tools, consolidating stats, relocating USPTO, dismantling NOAA
Proposed
Mandate’s opening options include moving ITA and parts of BIS (with EXIM/USTDA/DFC and other trade programs) toward USTR; consolidating/eliminating EDA grants; merging BEA, Census, and BLS into one statistical agency; making USPTO a performance-based organization under OMB (or consolidating with NIST); and dismantling NOAA with functions eliminated, transferred, privatized, or given to states.
Flood Office of the Secretary with politicals and put appointees in CFO/ASA budget channels
Proposed
Mandate says fully staff OS with political appointees on day one, return bureau detailees, restore direct funding and more political slots, and install political leadership at CFO/ASA so career staff are not sole communicators with OMB and Hill—monitoring funds down to operating divisions.
Abolish non-statutory Commerce advisory committees and reconstitute the rest
Proposed
Mandate claims many Commerce advisory committees are hostile to conservative principles and should be reviewed on day one, abolished if not required by statute, and reconstituted for ‘genuine expert advice,’ mindful of FACA and regulatory incorporation.
Harden BIS export controls: China/Russia redesignations, Entity List denial, data EO, app bans
Proposed
Mandate pushes BIS open rulemaking, equal agency votes on licenses, congressional AES data sharing, EAR modernization for countries of concern (redesignate China/Russia more prohibitively), tighter deemed-export rules, Entity List policy of denial plus Treasury sanctions, an EO restricting U.S. persons’ data exports, and designating apps such as WeChat and TikTok as covered.
Break up NOAA: commercialize NWS forecasting, downsize OAR climate research, scatter assets
Proposed
Mandate calls NOAA a driver of the ‘climate change alarm industry’ that should be broken up and downsized; NWS should commercialize forecasting and become a Performance-Based Organization focused on data; preponderance of OAR climate-change research should be disbanded; Marine/Aviation assets reassigned; survey functions transferred; ensure appointees sync with Administration aims.
Withdraw 30x30 ocean agenda and loosen fisheries/MMPA/ESA/NEPA constraints
Proposed
Mandate urges withdrawing the 30x30 EO and America the Beautiful initiative as used to close ocean areas; modify MMPA and ESA implementing regs; allow NEPA exemption for fisheries actions already analyzed under Magnuson–Stevens; harmonize sanctuaries with fisheries management.
Elevate Office of Space Commerce to lead whole-of-government commercial space licensing policy
Proposed
Mandate moves OSC back under the Office of the Secretary and has the President direct OSC with the National Space Council to set whole-of-government licensing/oversight policy for commercial space, arguing FCC currently sets policy by default.
Add a citizenship question to the 2030 decennial census
Proposed
Mandate states any successful conservative Administration must include a citizenship question, noting Supreme Court recognition of Commerce Secretary authority despite APA defects in 2020’s rationale, and flags statutory topic/question delivery deadlines to Congress.
Abolish Census National Advisory Committee and pack Bureau with aligned political leadership
Proposed
Mandate orders immediate abolition of the Census Bureau National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations, reevaluation/abolition of other non-statutory committees including the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, and early placement of committed political appointees to align Census with conservative principles.
Abolish EDA—or consolidate grant decisions under political Assistant Secretary control
Proposed
Mandate prefers abolishing the Economic Development Administration and reallocating funds to overlapping grant programs; if not, consolidate decision-making in the Assistant Secretary’s office to align funding with conservative purposes (e.g., rural energy communities), leverage Trump-era direct-hire authorities, and continue Opportunity Zones-style approaches.
Privatize NIST Hollings MEP and Baldridge; fold NTIS into NIST tech-transfer
Proposed
Mandate proposes zeroing out ~$150M Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and fully privatizing centers; handing Baldridge Performance Excellence to the private foundation; and moving obsolete NTIS functions into NIST Tech Transfer/ROI initiatives.
Use NTIA for ICTS supply-chain controls, big-tech speech policy, and federal spectrum leasing
Proposed
Mandate wants energetic NTIA political leadership to review federal policy on online free speech/big-tech censorship, fully implement Trump ICTS EO authorities, begin short-term leasing of government spectrum, and advocate FCC licensing that enables commercial space dominance.