REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY SANDY K. BARUAH ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARDS PRESENTATION TO GATEWAY PARK LLC - WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2007

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Introduced by David Forsberg, President, Worcester Business Development Corporation

Thank you, David, for that kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to join you here today, and I appreciate your leadership in making Gateway Park a reality.

I would like to thank Congressman McGovern for joining us today. Congressman, I appreciate your longstanding commitment to public service and your commitment to the people of Massachusetts.

What we all know here today is that Gateway Park LLC is a national leader in economic development. Soon a lot of other folks will know this because today I am proud to announce that Gateway Park LLC is the winner of the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration “Excellence in Economic Development Award” for 2007.

Each year, EDA bestows the “Excellence in Economic Development Award” on the best and brightest examples of economic development strategy and results. Award winners are selected by a distinguished and independent panel of economic development leaders, noted academics and government officials from across America. Believe me; the competition for these awards is intense as the bar for creative and innovative economic development initiatives gets raised every year.

America’s suburban communities are diverse cultural and economic centers. But maintaining that “just right” balance between big city amenities and small town charm is a unique challenge for citizens and local leaders – success just doesn’t happen – it takes real work and a good plan, and that’s what you have here in Worcester.

Gateway Park is making a significant economic impact on the region by providing a state-of-the-art facility focused on life science and bioengineering industries. Gateway Park will build on regional assets such as the leading institutions of higher learning and the nearby Massachusetts Biotechnology Park.

The linkage between universities and the private sector partnership is a key focus of the Gateway strategy. The importance of such partnerships cannot be denied in finding success in the world of economic development. This partnership has made Gateway Park a catalyst for innovation, economic growth and the creation of new higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.

That’s why in 2005, EDA awarded a $2.5 million investment to support the development of Gateway Park. This Federal investment is expected to generate $100 million in private investment and create over 2,500 jobs in the future. Congressman McGovern’s office worked closely with EDA on this investment and I appreciate his commitment to this kind of smart, forward-leaning economic development.

Gateway Park is an excellent example of how Worcester is making the transition between the “old economy” and the “new economy.”

Gateway’s strategy is a one from which other parts of the country can learn, and part of our job as the Federal agency charged with advancing economic development is to share successful strategies with economic development practitioners across the country.

For this reason, we shared the Gateway story with the rest of the nation through EDA’s magazine, Economic Development America, which featured an extensive profile of your strategy in our Summer issue.

Through this effort, thousands of economic development practitioners across the nation are learning of the success achieved here in Worcester.

As we celebrate the success of Worcester and the surrounding economic region, it is important to understand what’s happening at the national level. After all, it is difficult for a region to grow without a strong national economy, and our national economy can’t be strong without growing regional economies. It’s a symbiotic relationship.

Looking at the national economic context, we have good reason to be optimistic. Thanks to the hard work and innovation of American workers and businesses, our national economy is strong. 166,000 jobs were created in October, marking the 50th consecutive month of job growth, making this the longest, most robust record of job growth in our nation’s history – ever.

The national unemployment level remains at a low 4.7%, an impressive figure considering that back when I was in school, my economics professors told me that the level of full employment was about 5%.

The economy has created about 2 million jobs over the past year. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s over 8.3 million new American jobs since August 2003, more jobs than all the other major industrialized countries – combined.

The American economy grew at 3.9% in the third quarter of 2007, providing for nearly 6 straight years of uninterrupted economic growth.

One of the key reasons for America’s economic strength is the growth in U.S. exports.

U.S. exports have increased by 11% over 2006, and for the first time in memory, the rate of growth of our exports is greater than our growth in imports. This has led to a narrowing of our trade deficit by nearly 8% or $30 billion compared to the same period in 2006.

This is important, because the jobs associated with exports have higher wages than other jobs, which helps drive our national prosperity.

That’s why it is important to open worldwide markets to U.S. goods and services. A key tool to accomplish this is Free Trade Agreements – FTAs. FTAs help our companies, farmers, manufacturers and workers sell American goods and services to new markets around the world.

When President Bush took office, we had Free Trade Agreements with just 3 countries – Israel, Canada and Mexico. Today, we have free trade agreements with 14 countries with 4 more under consideration.

The critical role exports play in our economy highlights the importance of the Free Trade Agreements the President is pursuing with Columbia, Panama, Peru and South Korea.

These FTAs combined will provide U.S. companies, farmers, manufacturers and workers access to over 126 million consumers in emerging markets across the globe – representing a combined GDP of over $1 trillion. Taken together, these FTAs would represent the U.S.’s 6th largest trading partner.

This is important particularly to Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a leader in exports with a 43% increase in exports since 2002, and Massachusetts companies are doing business in 207 countries. The innovative products being created here at Gateway Park will only add to this export success, and add to America’s leadership in the global marketplace.

Again, thank you for being here today at this important ceremony. And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for, the presentation of the award.

Congressman McGovern will now join me in presenting the 2007 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for Urban or Suburban Economic Development to Gateway Park, LLC.

It is now my distinct pleasure to present on behalf of President George W. Bush the 2007 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for Urban or Suburban Economic Development to Gateway Park, LLC.

Accepting award is Dennis Berkey, President, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and David Forsberg, President, Worcester Business Development Corporation

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