ABJ - January 10 - The U.S Department of Commerce has delivered to Congress a comprehensive report on The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States. The report serves as a call to arms, highlighting bipartisan priorities to sustain and promote American innovation and economic competitiveness.

Speaking before an event at the Center for American Progress, Commerce Secretary and former CEO John Bryson highlighted the importance role innovation plays in the nation’s economy.

“This is a topic of pivotal importance,” Bryson said. “Our ability to innovate as a nation will determine what kind of economy–what kind of country–our children and grandchildren will inherit, and whether it’s a country that holds the same promise for them as it did for our parents and grandparents.”

The report was mandated as part of the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in January 2011. The report addresses a diverse range of topics and policy options, including tax policy, the general business climate in the U.S., barriers to setting up new firms, trade policy including export promotion, the effectiveness of federal research and development policy, intellectual property regimes in the U.S. and abroad, the health of the manufacturing sector, and science and technology education.

The report touches on the areas of basic research, infrastructure, and supporting manufacturing, as well as the benefits of regional clusters, the Administration’s Startup America Initiative, the National Export Initiative, corporate tax reform, as well as the importance of intellectual property protection.