Agency deep dive · 04
The Department of Commerce
Commerce is one of the smallest cabinet departments by budget — an $8.5 billion FY2026 request — and one of the most operationally varied. It runs the census, the patent system, the national standards laboratory and the national weather service.
NOAA is the part that buys like an industrial operator. It maintains the NEXRAD Doppler radar network, a fleet of research vessels and aircraft, and a national logistics depot that stocks spares for all of it. That depot is where XL Eagle's Commerce work goes — not to a radar site, but to the warehouse that keeps the radars running.
How Commerce is organized
Commerce is a holding company for bureaus with very little in common.
Where the money is
Commerce's FY2026 request is $8.5 billion, the smallest department in this series. Against the other civilian departments:
- Figures are the FY2026 President's Budget request in discretionary budget authority, the same basis used across this series.
- Congress enacted a higher level than requested: the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science act provides $11.132B for Commerce against the $8.5B request.
- Defense is excluded from the chart; at $961.6B it would compress every department shown into an unreadable sliver.
Where we have delivered
One NOAA award, supplying the national spares depot behind the weather-radar network.
NEXRAD de-humidifier spare parts
Supply of spare parts for the de-humidifier units that keep moisture out of the waveguide and antenna systems of the NEXRAD Doppler weather radar network. Parts ship to NOAA's central spares depot rather than to individual radar sites.
National Logistics Support Center · Grandview, Missouri · executed
The bureaus, and what they buy
| Bureau | What it does | What it typically buys |
|---|---|---|
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNOAA | Weather, climate, oceans and fisheries — operates the NEXRAD radar network, satellites, ships and aircraft. | Spare and repair parts, field maintenance, logistics and warehousing, vessel services, scientific instrumentation, environmental studies. |
| National Weather ServiceNWS | The NOAA line office running forecasting and the radar network. | Radar and sensor components, site maintenance, communications equipment. |
| U.S. Census BureauCensus | Runs the decennial census and continuous economic and demographic surveys. | Printing and mailing, field IT, temporary facilities, data services. |
| National Institute of Standards and TechnologyNIST | The national measurement and standards laboratory. | Laboratory equipment and calibration, facility and cleanroom services, research support. |
| U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeUSPTO | Grants patents and registers trademarks; fee-funded. | IT systems and support, records management, facility services. |
| International Trade AdministrationITA | Promotes exports and enforces trade agreements. | Event and conference services, research, translation, IT. |
| Economic Development AdministrationEDA | Makes economic development grants to distressed regions. | Grant administration support, technical assistance, studies. |
| Bureau of Industry and SecurityBIS | Administers export controls. | IT systems, analysis, enforcement support. |
See the live Commerce work
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