Pushing Past Boundaries with Florida's Space Coast

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
—John F. Kennedy

Courage and hard work have served as hallmarks of America’s space program since the earliest days of NASA. As the Shuttle Program nears completion, opportunities emerge in the face of certain change. The Space Coast must embrace the many changes that are occurring and leverage the resulting opportunities.

Recently, I participated in a discussion with leading thinkers from Florida’s Space Coast regarding the next chapter for our community, state and nation. I strongly believe there is a great opportunity for Space Coast to not only secure its own economic vitality but also create significant value for the entire country. The Space Coast has one the most technically capable engineering and technician workforces in the world. This workforce presents a powerful resource for companies that are developing new technologies and pushing past established boundaries. I am very pleased that NASA and local leadership are working hard to both support and create technology development/manufacturing opportunities for this talented workforce.

Rivian Automotive is building on the creative thinking and diligent hard work that have guided the space program to its unparalleled achievement. Taking a clean sheet approach, Rivian is reinventing the way automobiles are designed, manufactured and sold. Rivian has developed platform, manufacturing and powertrain technologies that enable affordable, ultra-efficient vehicles that do not require compromises in performance or style. 

A Historic Step Toward True Trust Reform

Ed. Note: WhiteHouse.gov just launched a new page dedicated to the Native American community, view it here.

An historic court action on June 20 signaled the beginning of a new era in the U.S. Government’s relations with American Indian communities.

By approving the $3.4 billion settlement of the Cobell v. Salazar lawsuit, U.S. Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan paved the way for payments to as many as a half a million American Indians to resolve their class-action litigation regarding the federal government’s management of their individual trust accounts and assets.

A fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their claims regarding potential mismanagement of their trust funds and assets and historical accounting. The agreement also establishes a $1.9 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated land interests, which have been proliferating through succeeding generations. The program, to be administered by the Department of the Interior, provides individual American Indians an opportunity to obtain cash payments for small divided land interests and free up the “fractionated” land for the benefit of tribal communities.   The settlement also provides for a Indian Education Scholarship Fund of up to $60 million for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Broadband and the Latino Community: Let's Keep the Momentum Going!

Yesterday I was happy to participate in a panel discussion about broadband at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) annual conference in San Antonio. NALEO members recognize that broadband Internet is one of the tools necessary to help their communities thrive in today's economy. In fact, I think that any conference focused on building stronger communities should include a discussion of broadband - it's a critical ingredient for job creation, economic growth, and improving education, health care, and public safety.  

I talked about challenges and opportunities. NTIA's data show that although 90-95 percent of Americans live in areas with access to broadband, only 68 percent of households subscribe to the service. In fact, more than 28 percent of Americans do not use the Internet in any location, which means they are cut off from countless educational and job opportunities.

The issue is even greater for Latinos. While the Internet subscribership rate for Hispanics increased by five percentage points last year, it is still only 45 percent. Even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors like income and education, Latinos still significantly lag the national rate in broadband adoption.

Our research shows that those who lack broadband at home most commonly cite lack of interest or need as the primary reason. Interestingly, while those are certainly factors for Hispanic non-adopters, they most often cite affordability as the primary reason. So there is no single solution to bridging the digital divide.

But the good news is that NTIA, and others in the Obama administration, are working on many fronts to expand broadband access and adoption, including efforts targeted to Hispanics and other communities where broadband is underutilized, such as rural Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, and other minorities.

For example, NTIA's broadband grants program - a $4 billion Recovery Act investment in high-speed Internet infrastructure, public computer centers, and broadband adoption initiatives - is bringing more Latinos online and providing training in the skills needed for today's jobs.  I also asked attendees to help us build awareness of www.DigitalLiteracy.gov, a website we launched recently to increase computer and Internet skills in America. The site contains a range of tools for teaching and learning digital literacy, and it provides a central location for practitioners to share materials and best practices. Anyone can suggest additional resources for the website, and I encouraged more content targeted to the Hispanic community.

I appreciate NALEO's focus on broadband. To everyone working on empowering Latino communities: let's keep this momentum going!

Guest blog by Ms. Anna M. Gomez Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
and Deputy Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce.