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Source: Reuters -
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Former Washington state Governor Gary Locke said he would insist on tough enforcement of US trade laws and work hard to generate US jobs if confirmed by the Senate to lead the US Commerce Department.
"My goal is simple: to carry out the president's plan for economic recovery by putting every part of the Department of Commerce single-mindedly to work on saving American jobs and creating the jobs of the future," Locke told the Senate Commerce Committee at his confirmation hearing.
Locke would be the first Chinese-American to head the US Commerce Department, a sprawling bureaucracy whose diverse responsibilities include enforcement of US trade laws, conducting the 2010 census and managing the nation's fishing stocks.
He was warmly received by both Republicans and Democrats on the panel and Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller said it was important Locke be confirmed soon.
The Commerce Committee will vote Thursday on the nomination, setting the stage for a full Senate vote.
Both Rockefeller, a Democrat, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the panel's top Republican, said the committee's review had found none of the tax problems in Locke's financial paperwork that have tripped up some of President Barack Obama's other nominees.
From 1997 to the end of 2004, Locke was governor of Washington, often described as the most export-dependent US state.
"More than free trade, though, I believe in fair trade. That means we must enforce our trade agreements and place a high value on environmental, labour and safety standards," Locke told the panel.
Republicans told Locke they hoped he would be a strong voice against protectionism in the Obama administration and also pressed for assurances the Commerce Department would carry out the 2010 census without political influence from the White House.
Locke said it would take "extraordinary efforts" to finish the census by the April 1, 2010 deadline, but it could be done and he would be a "stickler for accuracy."
"The census only happens once every 10 years and we need to get it right - no exceptions, no excuses. That is why it will be run out of the Department of Commerce and by a director who will work with Congress," Locke said.
He also promised to complete the US transition to digital television by the new June deadline set by Congress.
But too many people using analog television still do not know they will soon need a digital converter box to watch TV, Locke said.
Locke was Obama's third choice for US commerce chief after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg both withdrew their nominations.
Richardson stepped down in the face of a legal probe and Gregg, a Republican, withdrew after realising his policy differences with Obama were too big.
