REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY - SANDY K. BARUAH ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - 2006 GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2006

(As Prepared for Delivery)

Introduction by Michael Olivier, Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development

Secretary Olivier, Deputy Secretary Gladden, thank you for inviting me to be a part of this important event. I am honored to be here and I am honored to share the stage with Walter Isaacson, a great native son of Louisiana and a distinguished American.

I would also like to thank Governor Blanco for the invitation to be here today to talk about the role of the Economic Development Administration in Louisiana’s economic recovery.

This past November, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the devastation to the great City of New Orleans. In addition, I visited with Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden and other leaders from the region. It is clear that our Nation faces an unprecedented challenge – and a unique opportunity – to build from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Gulf Coast is strongly linked to our national prosperity, representing:

• 3.2% of GDP;

• 12% of national employment (over 15 million workers);

• 47% of petroleum refining capacity;

• 11% of waterborne exports and 13% of waterborne imports;

• and 20% of commercial fisheries production.

The Gulf Region is also linked to some of America’s cultural treasures – Jazz, unique American cuisine, Mardi Gras, and tremendous recreational opportunities.

There is a lot at stake – I know you know that, but also know that the Administration is committed to the economic revitalization of the Gulf Coast. President Bush has called for unprecedented Federal resources to promote the region’s economic revitalization because it is the right thing to do and it makes sense – dollars and sense.

At the Commerce Department, we realize that the revitalization of the Gulf Region requires the implementation of a regional, collaborative, multi-pronged approach. This approach is aimed at providing the appropriate incentives and targeted Federal assistance to create the conditions in which the private sector can confidently invest in the region’s economic recovery.

One of the innovative efforts that the Bush Administration recently announced is an effort by Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald Powell and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to lead a delegation of business leaders in May to Louisiana and Mississippi on a “Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission.” We conduct trade missions to foreign countries all the time – this time will be the first time that a Secretary of Commerce has led a business mission within our American borders. This unique effort will highlight investment opportunities in the Gulf Coast, including how best to take advantage of “Gulf Opportunity Zone” tax incentives recently signed into law by the President.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has heard the President’s call to action and is helping the Gulf Coast region carry out recovery activities as a supporting player. We may not be a large financial player in these efforts, but we are a committed partner and we will continue to look for innovative ways to be helpful within our authorities.

NOAA has been a great success story in the Department of Commerce’s response to Hurricane Katrina. In addition to recovery and revitalization, NOAA is also heavily focused on preparedness efforts for emergency management and business interests and is actively preparing for Hurricane Season 2006, which is rapidly approaching. NOAA’s priorities include:

• Addressing fishing infrastructure issues that help restore a sustainable fishing industry in the Gulf;

• Providing accurate geospatial information for assisting levee rebuilding;

• Underwater debris identification for removal;

• Producing interactive maps of the Katrina-impacted region created through satellite imagery;

• Of course, this is above and beyond what NOAA did best, which was to accurately predict the storm’s path, strength and potential impact, as well as to provide timely and detailed warnings to the public and government officials.

Furthermore, the President now has before Congress a “supplemental request” for $21 million for NOAA to:

• Develop fishing effort reduction and market-based approaches to fisheries management ($8 million);

• Mapping and technical assistance with debris removal and oyster bed rehabilitation ($8 million);

• Assessment of fishery resources and monitoring of seafood contaminant levels ($4 million); and

• Develop multi-hazard risk maps to assist redevelopment ($1 million).

While NOAA is one of the stars in the federal response to Katrina, other agencies at Commerce are playing important supporting roles.

Commerce’s International Trade Administration launched the Hurricane Contracting Information Center to provide a central point of reference for businesses to become educated on Federal contracting opportunities in the Gulf Coast region.

Our Minority Business Development Agency conducted outreach to over 1,500 minority local businesses, assisted over 250 displaced minority firms and counseled approximately 640 businesses on Gulf Coast procurement opportunities. MBDA is establishing a Minority Business Opportunity Center either here in Baton Rouge or in New Orleans.

The Economic Development Administration is also proud to be a supporting player in the Federal effort to help get people back to work, businesses – both large and small – back on their feet, and to help build a long-term strategy for economic revitalization. Literally, thousands of EDA staff hours, both on the ground and at regional EDA offices, have been invested in our efforts. EDA employees at all levels and in all of our offices sincerely care about what’s happening here in the Gulf Region, and are personally committed to doing everything they can to help.

To-date, EDA has invested $9 million in Gulf Coast rebuilding, with over $4 million going to Louisiana to help the State:

• Rebuild business and investor confidence by letting America know that Louisiana is “open for business.” Advertisements were placed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today;

• Develop Business Counseling Centers throughout the State to assist businesses;

• Support the Gulf Coast Business Reinvestment Forum that was held in Washington D.C. on November 28 and 29;

• Provide technical assistance to economic development organizations in the Gulf Coast region;

• EDA has redirected $2.8 million in Revolving Loan Funds to the Gulf region to provide small business bridge loans, and I hope EDA will be announcing more good news in this area in the near future.

Furthermore, $6 million in EDA investments are currently under consideration by our regional offices. I look forward to announcing good news on many of these investments with Secretary Olivier in the weeks and months to come.

EDA has been active on the policy front as well. We have been made the Chair of the Economic Development Working Group of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding – one of eight interagency Working Groups established to understand, evaluate and counsel local recovery initiatives. In this capacity, EDA is leading the Working Group’s efforts to help provide the tools needed in the region for a vital economic recovery that draws on national best practices in economic development.

As the recovery efforts progress, EDA will continue to leverage our available resources for the purposes of effective revitalization efforts that result in real, meaningful, quantifiable, and long-term economic impacts. And this is important, because we are looking for ways to provide targeted assistance that has lasting impact. We’re not just concerned about tomorrow – but next year, the next 10 years, and beyond.

To achieve this, development efforts must be based on sound economic development strategies that involve not only State and local officials, but also the region’s key institutions such as Louisiana State University, Tulane and the University of New Orleans, and the business community. Business leaders and public sector officials must share a common vision for the rebuilding of the Gulf Region.

EDA designs its investments to ensure significant leveraging of private capital, because even in situations such as recovery from natural disasters where the Federal government plays an important role, at the end of the day, it is the private sector’s ability and willingness to invest in the area that is the key factor for job opportunities and economic recovery. It is the private sector that employs the vast bulk of us, and provides the wages that pay the mortgages, make the car payments, and put our children through college.

To help ensure the private sector’s ability and willingness to invest in this region, EDA will continue to focus its investment dollars on those initiatives that drive innovation and support entrepreneurship. We focus on these critical components of the economic development puzzle because of the inherent truth of the following equation:

Entrepreneurship drives innovation…

Innovation drives productivity…

Productivity drives higher wages and higher standards of living.

In addition to entrepreneurship and innovation, EDA understands – as do you – that, in an era of intense worldwide competition, it is regional competitiveness that drives the private sector’s decision process in where to invest its resources. In order for Louisiana’s companies to be fully competitive, the regions in which they do business must be competitive as well.

Let me echo the words of Secretary Gutierrez that “hope is stronger than hurricanes.” The Commerce Department and EDA, along with our fellow cabinet agencies, are committed to ensuring a viable economic recovery for Louisiana that will help create and sustain jobs. Our goal is to be effective partners with you as you address your economic development challenges.

I am confident, as is the President, that Louisiana will again be a vibrant and dynamic place to raise a family, to own a business, and to recreate. Louisiana continues to be an important part of the American fabric.

Secretary Olivier, thank you again for the invitation to be here today, and for your leadership.