Created in 1903 as the Department of Commerce and Labor and given its present form in 1913, Commerce gathers the nation's core economic and demographic data and supports U.S. business and trade. It houses the Census Bureau, the National Weather Service (within NOAA), the Patent and Trademark Office, the standards lab (NIST), and the export-control agency (BIS).
Open the interactive page for DOC →Created byAct to establish the Department of Commerce and Labor, Feb. 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 825); reorganized as the Department of Commerce, Mar. 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736)
Head appointed15 U.S.C. § 1501: the Department is headed by a Secretary of Commerce, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. No fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory removal protection — removable at will
Funded underCommerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; patent and trademark fees (35 U.S.C. § 42)
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on Energy and Commerce; House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Inspector generalCommerce OIG (PAS IG under the IG Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403(a))
Judicial reviewAPA § 702 review in district court; Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for patent decisions (35 U.S.C. § 141)
Vote for President and Senate; comment on proposed rules (NOAA fisheries, BIS export controls) at regulations.gov; respond to Census surveys; file a patent or trademark application at uspto.gov; apply for an Economic Development Administration grant.
NOAA · NIST · USPTO · CEN · full org map