million civil fraud action against a major Ohio steel corporation and its principals for illegal diversion of proceeds received from an EDA loan. Not one payment was ever made to EDA. Another long and complex IG investigation culminated in the conviction of a construction manager who siphoned off almost $200,000 through false billings on an EDA grant to build a new City Hall in East St. Louis, Illinois. The manager was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment, fined $15,000 and ordered to make restitution of $99,000. Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs The Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs establishes and maintains communications on legislation, policies, and programs between the Department and federal, state, and local officials. The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) handles casework from state and local officials and assists the White House IGA office with requests dealing with Commerce programs and issues. An Interagency Liaison Committee reduced response time in processing these requests. IGA also monitors Commerce-related legislation of importance to state and local officials and provides opportunities for them to participate in policy formation. Meetings were held with major public interest groups during the year to discuss Commerce programs crucial to state and local governments. The Office of Congressional Affairs assisted with many of the administration's legislative goals this past year including the President's proposal to establish a Department of International Trade and Industry, renewal of the Export Administration Act, antitrust reform to permit joint research and development ventures, and opposition to protectionist legislation on automobile imports. Legislative successes signed into law by the President included: • The Export Trading Companies bill, P.L. 97-290, Oct. 8, 1982, provides incentives to businesses to join together to form Export Trading Companies (ETCS) and provides a new form of antitrust protection. The Office of Export Trading Company Affairs established by the act counsels firms interested in forming ETCs. The first three ETC certificates were issued by the Secretary Oct. 28, 1983. • The Caribbean Economic Recovery Act of 1983, P.L. 98-67, July 28, establishes a free trade zone between the nations of the Caribbean Basin and the U.S. to generate more trade. It authorizes the Department to establish a business counseling program to assist U.S. exporters in establishing export opportunities in the Caribbean. • P.L. 98-129, Oct. 14, provides for the orderly termination of federal management of the Pribilof Islands in Alaska. • The Radio Marti proposal which establishes an American-based radio station to broadcast news, opinion and entertainment to Cuba became P.L. 98-111 Oct. 4. • P.L. 97-377, Dec. 21, 1982, makes the director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Services a presidential appointment. The elevation of this position is another of the President's efforts to emphasize the need for improved and increased international trade. • The Senate unanimously ratified March 3 the 1972 Protocol of the 1928 Convention Concerning International Expositions which permits a World Class Universal Fair to be held in Chicago in 1992 to celebrate the discovery of America by Columbus 500 years before. This will require permanent construction of new buildings which will mean hundreds of jobs and attract domestic and foreign investment and tourism to the Chicago area. Office of Business Liaison The Office of Business Liaison (OBL) develops and promotes cooperative working relationships and assures effective communications between the Department of Commerce and the business community. The office aims to make the business community aware of Department and administration resources, policies and programs and to keep Department and administration officials aware of interests and issues of concern to the business community. It also promotes business involvement in departmental policy-making and program development. OBL also provides technical assistance to businesses desiring help in dealing with the government and serves as the focal point for all Department units' contact with the business community. OBL's Roadmap service, which answers business questions about the government, provided technical assistance on more than 6,000 inquiries, mostly from small business. These inquiries, by telephone, mail or personal visit, concerned questions about federal programs, services and regulations. While Roadmap does not serve as an advocate for individual businesses nor serve to intervene on behalf of a business, the program has been used increasingly by businesses and trade associations as a guide to the federal bureaucracy. It has been especially helpful for businesses without Washington representation who are in need of prompt and responsible answers to questions. The average time for response to written inquiries was less than six days; less than 24 hours for telephone inquiries. Direct contact The roundtable discussion program continued to provide open communication between business and government. During the year, this program coordinated 15 meetings which brought more than 500 business representatives into the Department for sessions with key Commerce officials. These meetings focused on establishing regular direct contact with Commerce's primary constituency, U.S. business. Roundtable sessions have educated the business community on administration initiatives and Department programs and services, and they have acquainted Commerce officials with the business perspective. OBL instituted a breakfast meeting program in which the Deputy Secretary met with nearly 500 business leaders for frank discussions on departmental programs and administration policy. These contacts have been helpful in the exchange of information between the administration and business. Another new service established was the OBL Program Center designed to respond to requests from business organizations and trade associations for speakers at annual meetings and conventions. During the year, the Center arranged 44 presentations by Department officials, reaching a grass roots audience of several thousand business representatives. OBL organized a number of meetings to obtain the views of business community representatives on a variety of key issues, including export administration, productivity, domestic content, product liability, business taxation and trade reorganization, to name a few. OBL also monitored some 125 business and trade publications, and established contacts with 437 trade associations and 347 corporate Washington offices, to exchange information and keep communication lines open. OBL initiated a new outreach program for Women in Business. Major trade associations and business organizations representing business women were identified and encouraged to participate in all OBL programs with the business community. Special workshops were sponsored to acquaint women in business with departmental services. Workshop sessions focused on marketing services abroad, organizing an export trading company, marketing telecommunication and computer equipment and services abroad, and a briefing on the use of Census Bureau statistics in business marketing decisions. More than 150 business women participated in the workshops. The Women in Business outreach program highlighted the accomplishments of outstanding business women executives. Activities such as the President's Export Council Trade Mission to Asia, co-chaired by Anna Chennault and composed of many women business executives, were monitored and supported, and OBL staff participated in the planning and functions for the first national American Business Women's Day. In addition to coordination with the White House, OBL represented the Department with the Small Business Administration on National Small Business Week and consulted with the Minority Business Development Agency on National Minority Enterprise Week. OBL represented the Department in the activities of the President's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives and coordinated the Department's involvement in developing and publicizing successful public/private partnerships. Office of Consumer The Office of Consumer Affairs (CAO) delivers CAO works with the private sector to encourage companies to simplify their warranties, credit contracts, product information, and other consumer documents. Thirty business executives, lawyers, and language simplification specialists attended a January conference on the productivity of plain English. They discussed successful corporate projects that have shown how plain language produces payoffs for businesses. A brochure entitled "The Productivity of Plain English" published by the office summarized the results of the conference. Conference participants joined forces to form a Plain English Forum to which the office provides technical assistance. CAO assists the Forum in planning and delivering language simplification services to business. A bimonthly business bulletin, "Simply Stated in Business," is published in partnership with the Document Design Center of the American Institutes for Research. The bulletin provides news of companies that are writing or rewriting their materials in simple, clear language. Two seminars conducted for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business, explained the payoffs of plain English. A book of case studies describing successful corporate plain English programs will be published in 1984. Consumer Affairs helped the International Trade Administration to simplify regulations for the Export Trading Companies program, and the General Counsel to develop guidelines on simplifying legal drafting. To support voluntary self-regulation by industry, CAO manages a Consumer Sounding Board as a joint venture with the American National Standards Institute, an organization which coordinates the development of voluntary standards. On request, the Board provides industry with recommendations concerning safety and performance features of consumer products. Board members are consumer volunteers from Montgomery County, Maryland, and represent a cross section of age groups, income levels, and occupations. The Board met with the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, on energy efficiency labels for appliances; with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, on consumer information for using kerosene heaters; and with the National Spa and Pool Institute, on pool and spa safety. This pilot project will be evaluated during the summer of 1984. CAO also works with the American Society for Testing and Materials, an organization which participates in the development of voluntary standards. The Society's Committee on Consumer Products requested CAO's assistance in preparing a model standard for manufacturers' instructions for safe and correct use of their consumer products. CAO is working with consumer and industry representatives to develop this model standard. The office received nearly 2,000 requests from consumers trying to resolve marketplace problems and from businesses needing information about customer relations. CAO's consumer specialists are trained to advise on consumer complaints and on inquiries about business/consumer issues. It also advises Department officials on consumer constituents' viewpoints on legislation or emerging issues. Topics this year included: minced fish in hot dogs; amendments to the bankruptcy code; and telephones for the hearing impaired. CAO coordinated the Department's comments on proposed U.N. guidelines for consumer protection which were prepared by the U.N. Economic and Social Council. Commerce opposed the guidelines, concurring with concerned business groups that they might restrict trade. Within the Department, CAO continues to manage the Commerce Consumer Council which has members from each operating unit. This year the Council heard special presentations on productivity and the status of metric conversion in the U.S. CAO's director is the Commerce representative to the Federal Consumer Affairs Council headed by the Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs. This year CAO again chaired a task force of federal agencies coordinating activities for National Consumers Week. Office of Public Affairs The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) of the Office of the Secretary informs the public and various specialized constituencies of Department policies, programs, and services. OPA plans, develops, and coordinates the overall public information program of the Department. It does this with the assistance of a Public Affairs Council, made up of the public affairs officers of the operating units, which serves as a forum for exchanging information and coordinating Department public affairs matters. OPA also serves as the primary liaison with other government agencies on public information programs. A highly successful media workshop program conducted by the office involved 140 Department officials in 28 separate workshops in an effort to help them respond more effectively to the media. This program won for the office the Department's Silver Medal Award, the second highest honorary award granted by the Secretary for meritorious contributions of unusual value to the Department. OPA continues to coordinate Department inventories and surveys of publications and audiovisual products in cooperation with the Office of Management and Budget's ongoing effort to eliminate unnecessary projects and reduce costs. Quarterly reports on publications and audiovisual expenditures were provided OMB for the Reform '88 program. A Publications/Audiovisual Review Committee, established to review proposed new projects as a control procedure under the OMB program, saved the Department $76,159 during the fiscal year. More than 30 publications were eliminated from the Department's inventory during the same period. Total expenditures on publications and audiovisuals were reduced $802,000 below that forecast at the beginning of the fiscal year. The News Division of OPA issued 741 news releases and 18 news features. It produced 252 issues of the daily Commerce News Digest for internal distribution. The Division responded to more than 17,500 inquiries from the public and media, and fulfilled more than 3,000 media requests for Department publications. It arranged seven news conferences, distributed about 500 reports, and processed 72 speech texts and statements. The broadcast section recorded and transmitted 292 daily economic and other news reports. It produced 11 public service announcements for which 774 audiotaped copies were duplicated for distribution to radio stations. Four were voiced in Spanish for distribution to Hispanic-language radio stations. Four training audiotapes were produced for the Census Bureau with 153 copies duplicated and 52 weekly features (A Growing Nation) were produced for nearly 500 subscribing radio stations. Four features were produced for NOAA (The Sea and the Air) and distributed to about 240 radio stations. More than 300 photo requests were completed. OPA published the 1982 Annual Report of the Secretary to the Congress and planned the publication of the present edition. It also published Commerce People, a monthly employee newsletter aimed at promoting understanding and cooperation at all levels of the Department. |