Jay Rockefeller: “it is my great pleasure to congratulate and pay tribute to Gary Locke, who has been the Secretary of Commerce since…”

“it is my great pleasure to congratulate and pay tribute to Gary Locke, who has been the Secretary of Commerce since March 2009 and was recently confirmed by the Senate to be the U.S. Ambassador to China. Secretary Locke has been a truly outstanding public servant, and I applaud him as he continues his service to our country in China. His service truly makes our country a better place. As Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke has been an aggressive leader at the Department of Commerce, and has earned a reputation as a strong manager and an innovator. Among his many successes at Commerce, he has helped innovators by pushing the Patent and Trademark Office to streamline the process to get a patent. Secretary Locke worked with the Economic Development Administration to streamline its approval process. The EDA is a crucial program, which makes business-development grants to distressed communities. Programs such as EDA help ordinary Americans and small businesses and will help move the economy forward. I appreciate Secretary Locke's commitment to programs such as EDA and helping these communities. In this time of fiscal austerity, he brought the 2010 census in 25 percent under budget, saving taxpayers $1.9 billion. He led an organization that still got the census information that we need to get a true picture of the makeup of our Nation. I also appreciate his hard work to meet the Obama administration's goal to double exports within 5 years.…”