WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John D (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the following statement regarding the Commerce Committee vote to unanimously confirm Governor Gary Locke for the job of U.S. Commerce Secretary.

“I am pleased to see Governor Gary Locke’s confirmation move forward to be our nation’s 36th Secretary of Commerce.  I urge quick action by the full Senate.  The American people deserve to know that the person working with Congress and this committee every day, to determine the best way to reboot this economy, is a person who – simply put – gets it.  He understands what is happening on Main Street and he is a man with his finger on the pulse of what direction America must head toward in generations to come.”