Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its version
of the FY 2005 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill. Senate
appropriators refused to follow the Bush Administration's request, and
an earlier vote of the House, to terminate the Advanced Technology Program,
recommending instead a 14.5% budget increase for the program.
Accompanying this bill, S. 2809, is Senate report 108-344 which provides
the committee's recommendations for various programs of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology. A summary of the committee's
funding recommendations and selections from the report follow. Note
that there is variance in the numbers used by the House, Senate, and
the Administration.
TOTAL NIST FUNDING: The Senate bill would provide far more funding
than either the Bush Administration requested or the House bill recommended.
The Senate bill would increase the NIST budget by 26.3% or $163.5 million
to $785.0 million. The current budget is $621.5 million. The Administration
requested $521.5 million for FY 2005. The House bill provided $525.0
million. The report language stated: "In light of budgetary
issues and recent reductions-in-force, NIST is directed to consult the
Committees on Appropriations before proceeding with further implementation
of competitive outsourcing. "
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH SERVICES (STRS): NIST LABORATORIES:
The Senate bill provides greater funding than the House bill, but less
than the Administration's request. The Senate bill would increase the
STRS budget by 12.7% or $43.2 million to $383.9 million. The current
budget is $340.7 million. The Administration requested $422.9 million.
The House bill provided $375.8 million. The report language is extensive;
selections follow:
Regarding the overall level of STRS funding, appropriators stated:
"The recommendation provides the maximum funding deemed prudent
for this account to insure that NIST meets its mission." Regarding
specific STRS programs, the report stated: "Within the funds
made available for Manufacturing Engineering, $2,000,000 is for the
nanomanufacturing initiative enabling critical infrastructural measurements
and standards for the developing nanotechnology industry." Also,
"Within the funds made available for Physics, $3,000,000 is
for quantum computing. The Committee strongly supports NIST's Nobel
Laureates' efforts in this area. The Committee believes their leadership
could provide a revolutionary breakthrough in computing technology just
as the transistor did over 50 years ago." Finally, "Within
the funds made available for Materials Science and Engineering, $6,000,000
is provided for upgrades to the National Center for Neutron Research
in order to meet the increasing demands for this national scientific
resource."
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES: There are two components of
NIST's Industrial Technology Services:
Advanced Technology Program: As explained above, the Bush Administration
requested no funding for ATP; the House bill concurred. The Senate bill
takes an opposite approach, the report language stating: "The
Committee recommends an appropriation of $203,000,000. This recommendation
is $23,825,000 above the fiscal year 2004 funding level and $203,000,000
above the budget request. The amount, when combined with $8,500,000
in prior year deobligations and carryover, will fully fund ATP awards.
Within the amounts made available $60,700,000 is to be used to fund
new awards." The current "base" budget is $177.4
million. The Senate bill would provide a 14.5% increase.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program: The Administration
requested $39.2 million for MEP for the new fiscal year, approximately
the same as this year's budget. The House would increase the budget
for this program to $106.0 million for FY 2005. The Senate would increase
the budget even more; the extensive report language includes the following:
"The Committee recommends an appropriation of $112,000,000 to
fully fund all MEP centers. The recommendation is $72,393,000 above
the fiscal year 2004 funding level and $72,900,000 above the budget
request. The Committee also recommends bill language prohibiting the
Secretary of Commerce from recompeting any existing Manufacturing Extension
Center prior to 2007.
"The Committee is aware of recent data indicating that in 2003
alone, MEP clients who had completed projects within the prior 12 months
reported increased sales of $953,000,000; retained sales of $1,840,000,000;
benefitted from $681,000,000 in cost savings; and created or retained
35,028 jobs. Meanwhile, as a result of the growing loss of American
manufacturing jobs in the last year, the Commerce Department has proposed,
over the past several months, a hodge-podge of small new programs to
assist manufacturers, yet has provided very little support to the MEP
center system which has a proven record. The Committee believes that
fully funding the MEP centers is the most economical and prudent means
of assisting small manufacturers that want to remain in the United States
hiring American workers, and also want to stay competitive in the global
market place.
"Of the funds recommended, $6,000,000 is provided to ensure
small and rural States receive necessary manufacturing assistance and
services. The Committee has reviewed the Department of Commerce's report
‘Manufacturing in America' recommendations and is concerned that
it is reorganizing the MEP program around a regional approach. The Committee
recognizes that the original concept of 12 regional centers for MEP
is not the best model to address the needs of small and medium-sized
manufacturers. The Committee supported MEP's expansion in order to equalize
services to all types of manufactures across the country. The Committee
directs the Undersecretary of Technology Administration and NIST to
provide the necessary coverage for small and medium-sized manufacturers.
In addition, the Committee is concerned about the ability of small and
rural States to provide adequate ‘matching' funds. The Committee
directs MEP to develop a program which will provide additional assistance
to small and rural States and report back to the Committees on Appropriations
by December 31, 2004, with an implementation plan."
CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH FACILITIES: The Senate bill also provides
more funding than either the Administration request or the House bill.
The current budget is $64.3 million. The Administration requested $59.4
million; the House would provide $43.1 million. The Senate bill recommended
$86.1 million to fund "the highest priority safety, capacity,
maintenance, and repair projects at NIST."
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