Good Day on Capitol Hill for NIST

Officials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Commerce appeared at two House subcommittee hearings on March 10 to discuss the fiscal year 1995 budget request. Reaction by members of the science subcommittee and appropriations subcommittee was favorable.

Under ordinary circumstances, the almost 80% requested increase in NIST’s budget would be noteworthy. With the current hard dollar freeze on over-all federal discretionary spending, it is extraordinary. If approved, NIST’s budget would increase by $414.8 million to $935 million in FY 1995, the largest percentage increase of a technology budget (See FYI #19.)

NIST Director Arati Prabhakar and Commerce Under Secretary Mary Good first appeared before the Technology, Environment and Aviation Subcommittee, chaired by Tim Valentine (D-North Carolina.) Prabhakar described NIST as the only federal agency promoting national economic growth by working directly with industry. NIST’s programs include the Advanced Technology Program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, its laboratories, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Prabhakar stressed that the full NIST request is only 1.3% of the federal R&D budget, targeted to reach an eventual 2% in fiscal year 1997.

Subcommittee members are supportive of NIST’s budget request. Valentine warned, however, that the agency would be watched very closely, an observation reiterated by Ranking Republican Tom Lewis (R-Florida) who characterized the requested increase as “gargantuan.” Lewis asked Prabhakar how she would ensure that the new money would be well spent. She replied that this question occupies much of her time, pointing to NIST’s proven approaches, evaluation, relatively low predicted staff growth, and external advisory committees as controls against wasteful spending. Later in the hearing, a second panel of industry and university witnesses supported the NIST request.

That afternoon, Prabhakar and Good testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies (NIST is under the Department of Commerce.) This was a low-key and friendly hearing chaired by Neal Smith (D-Iowa) who was also supportive of the request, saying “we have come a long way.” He went on to caution that there are “not very many people who understand what you are talking about.” Smith was concerned that the new money not be misspent, as were several other subcommittee members.

All and all, this was a good day on Capitol Hill for NIST. The two hearings gave no indication of any significant trouble ahead. NIST’s only problem may be its relatively low profile, a situation that will change in the future. First indications of the budget numbers will not come until the House appropriations subcommittee marks-up its bill later this spring.