Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness
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14th Meeting of the
Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness
Department of Commerce
Washington, DC
22 - 23 June 2016
22 June - Agenda
Full Audio of the Committee Meeting is available below.
June 22, 2016
The 14th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) was held at the Commerce Research Library on June 22nd and 23rd, 2016. Director, Office of Supply Chain Bruce Harsh began the meeting by welcoming the committee members and the public participants, while also introducing the new members recently appointed to the committee. At the request of Mr. Harsh, each person in the room identified themselves and their respective companies.
DFO Richard Boll highlighted the importance of the work of the subcommittees and emphasized that subcommittee members can not share the documents with anyone outside of the subcommittee until brought to the full committee. Once presented to the full committee the document becomes part of the public record of the committee. In addition, Mr. Boll noted that after surveying the subcommittee chairs, the following 2017 dates are set for the ACSCC: January 25- 26, 2017; April 19-20, 2017; June 21-22, 2017; and October 18-19, 2017. Within this discussion and the great success of the recent meeting held in Houston, ACSCC member Shawn Wattles repeated his offer to host the meeting in April 2017 at Boeing’s facilities in Seattle, which was agreed to by the whole committee.
Committee Chair, Rick Blasgen highlighted the goals and agendas for June 22 & 23 meetings, and noted the expertise of the scheduled speakers and the important work being done by the subcommittees.
Dale C. Kelly, Bureau of Census, U.S. Dept. of Commerce delivered a briefing to the ACSCC members on the customs process in Puerto Rico and the issues that have been identified by U.S. companies. ACSCC members also identified issues that they were experiencing and asked Mr. Kelly for his help solving these issues.
The Executive Director of Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Andrew Right discussed and explained the numerous federal funding and financing programs that are available through DOT for U.S. freight infrastructure projects. As part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the BATIC serves as the single point of contact and coordination for states, municipalities and project sponsors looking to utilize federal transportation expertise, apply for federal transportation credit programs and explore ways to access private capital in public private partnerships.
Maria Luisa Boyce, Senior Advisor for Private Sector Engagement at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated the ACSCC members on the progress of the Single Window Pilot and the implementation plans for the program. Ms. Boyce discussed the outreach program used to educate U.S. businesses about the upcoming single window program.
Laura Ginsburg, Employment & Training Administration from the U.S. Dept. of Labor provided a PowerPoint presentation that discussed the ApprenticeshipUSA program and the components of the program. Ms. Ginsburg also highlighted the registered apprenticeship programs dedicated to the maritime industry and the numerous trades that are a part of the program’s success.
Steve Brown, Career, Technical, & Adult Education, with U.S. Dept. of Education (DOE) provided a PowerPoint presentation that identified the various education programs offered by the DOE. Mr. Brown noted several unique activities and initiatives such as the Juvenile Justice Reentry Education Program that were of interest to the committee members.
Bruce Harsh introduced the new Director of the Office of Supply Chain, Professional and Business Services Maureen Smith to the ACSCC members. Director Smith outlined her past work history and that she will continue to support the work of this committee.
Mr. Blasgen outlined the recommendations that will be discussed and hopefully voted on at the next day’s meetings. Mr. Blasgen and Mr. Harsh adjourned the meeting until 9:00 am the next day.
June 23, 2016
Bruce Harsh, Director, Office of Supply Chain at the U.S. Department of Commerce welcomed the ACSCC members and public attendees to the second day of meetings.
Committee Chair Rick Blasgen reviewed the upcoming topics and recommendations to be discussed by ACSCC subcommittees and the topics for the day’s session.
Via teleconference, Rick Gabrielson, Subcommittee Chair, Freight Policy and Movement presented two recommendations worked on by the members of the Freight Movement and Freight Policy Subcommittee, which had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. The recommendations were circulated to each ACSCC member and were displayed on the screens throughout the meeting room. The recommendations concerning 100 % Screenings and Port Congestions were discussed, changes were made and approved by the entire ACSCC.
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Caitlin Rayman addressed the committee on the status of DOT programs, including North American supply chain, freight fluidity, strong ports, and FAST Act.
Anne Strauss-Wieder, Subcommittee Chair, Workforce Development discussed the importance of and presented to the full committee the Workforce Subcommittee’s recommendation, which had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. The recommendation was circulated to each ACSCC member and was displayed on the screens throughout the meeting room. Ms. Strauss-Wieder fielded questions from the committee and the committee members offered edits to the document which were incorporated into the document approved by the full committee.
Leslie Blakey, Subcommittee Chair, Finance and Infrastructure noted that the committee met via telephone conference on June 6th to explore ideas for future recommendations for the subcommittee to work on for the full ACSCC to endorse. Ms. Blakey also noted that the committee met before yesterday’s meeting to discuss ideas more in depth. The committee members have discussed meeting monthly to work on subcommittee recommendations.
Tracy L. Patts, Export Policy Analyst, Bureau of Industry and Security, at the U.S. Department of Commerce discussed the latest U.S. export controls for Cuba with committee members.
Shawn Wattles and Jevon Jamieson, Subcommittee Chairs, Trade and Regulatory Subcommittee jointly presented a recommendation regarding the U.S./Mexico Cross border issues to the full committee for discussion and comments,which had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. The recommendation was circulated to each ACSCC member and was displayed on the screens throughout the meeting room. The committee discussed the recommendation but was not ready for vote of approval from committee. [ACSCC US Mexico Border Draft Recommendations]
Elizabeth Merritt, Vice Chair IT & Data Subcommittee discussed ideas and issues that the subcommittee could work on going forward. Several committee members also identified areas the committee could make a recommendation. Ms. Merritt stated that the subcommittee would hold subcommittee meetings before the next full committee meetings in October and work on new recommendations.
Chair Rick Blasgen and DOC’s Bruce Harsh thanked all the committee members for their time and expertise on this committee.
22 June - Audio
23 June - Audio
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