Department of Commerce Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

‘Clear Violation of the Law’: Biden’s Multi-Billion Dollar Broadband Plan Defies Congressional Mandate, Experts Say

April 22, 2024 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Biden administration’s program to expand access to broadband internet may run afoul of the law that created it, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the Department of Commerce, is responsible for allocating $42.5 billion in funds intended to bolster the United States’ broadband internet infrastructure through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) program. The agency, in a move to expand high-speed internet access to low-income communities, has been attempting to force states to adopt price controls for broadband services provided through the new projects, a strategy experts say could be illegal.

Commentary: Republicans Roll over on ‘Climate Change’

February 25, 2024 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Why are Republicans supine in the fight against the Marxist takeover of our entire way of life? They are petrified, for some reason, about engaging the debate on the “science” of “climate change.”

This abandonment of the playing field has allowed climate spending to overtake the landscape like Kudzu vines on steroids.

Chinese Solar Companies Have Been Dodging Tariffs, Biden Admin Says

August 19, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Department of Commerce (DOC) determined Friday that five Chinese solar panel companies have been dodging U.S. tariffs by directing their operations through other Asian countries not subject to the import restrictions.

The DOC found in its probe that Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, BYD and Vina Solar have all used other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, as conduits to evade tariffs designed to protect the relatively young American solar industry from Chinese competitors that can undercut them with a cost advantage, which in some cases may be derived from the use slave labor of detained Uyghur Muslims in supply chains. The findings may complicate the Biden administration’s plans to rely on solar panels as a key pillar of its sweeping climate agenda, which aims to have the U.S. economy reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Revised GDP Numbers Show the Economy Shrinking

August 26, 2022August 25, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Department Of Commerce revised the estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Thursday morning, finding similarly to July’s estimate that real GDP contracted in the second quarter of 2022.

The revised estimate for the second quarter finds that real GDP decreased annually at a rate of 0.6%, slightly less than the July 28 estimate of a 0.9% decrease, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Another Inflation Marker Hits Nearly 40-Year High

January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 The Center Square

Yet another key inflation marker has hit its highest rate in decades, newly released federal economic data show.

The personal consumer index, a key marker of inflation, rose about half a percent in December, adding to a total 5.8% increase in the previous 12 months, according to the Department of Commerce.

Trade Deficit Hits Record as Demand for Imports Soars

January 7, 2022January 6, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record high in November as consumer demand for goods and the easing of supply chain bottlenecks caused imports to surge, according to the Commerce Department.

The goods deficit increased in November to $99 billion as consumers shopped for holiday gifts earlier than in previous years, the Commerce Department announced Thursday. Imports outweighed exports, bringing the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in November to $80.2 billion.

Department of Commerce Blacklists Tech Companies Helping Chinese Military

November 28, 2021November 27, 2021 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The U.S. Department of Commerce added several Chinese technology companies to its trade blacklist Wednesday for providing technological support to the Chinese military.

The Commerce Department added the firms to its Entity List, which imposes severe trade restrictions on covered entities, characterizing the companies as “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”