FY 1997 Budget Request: National Institute of Standards and Technology

“Rather modest, but balanced,” is how the Department of Commerce’s Under Secretary for Technology, Mary Good, described the fiscal year 1997 budget request for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST.) The total request for NIST is $826 million. In comparison, $1,023 million was requested for fiscal year 1996. However, differences in philosophy between the Administration and the congressional majority led to President Clinton’s veto of the FY 1996 Commerce appropriations bill. All its programs, including NIST, have been funded so far this year by a series of continuing resolutions (see FYI #21.)

The FY 1997 request for NIST includes funding for both the Institute’s extramural partnerships with industry (known as ITS, the Industrial Technology Services) and its intramural laboratory research (known as STRS, Science and Technology Research and Services.)

NIST’s extramural programs are the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP.) The ATP provides cost-shared funding to companies or consortia for high-risk, pre-commercial technologies. The Administration has requested $345 million for ATP for FY97. While the FY96 request was $490.9 million, the program was controversial in Congress, and the FY96 Commerce appropriations bill provided no funding for new ATP grants. However, the bill was vetoed, and ATP is now operating under a continuing resolution at 75 percent of its FY95 funding level, or $255 million. According to Good, the FY97 request will allow ATP to keep up its multi-year commitments to previous awardees, as well as funding a new general competition and several focused competitions.

With MEP, NIST contributes, along with state, local, and private funds, to locally-operated manufacturing centers that provide technological know-how to small and medium businesses. The FY97 request for MEP is $105 million; the FY96 request was $146.6 million. MEP is currently operating under continuing resolution with an annual funding amount of $80 million. The FY97 request will enable completion of a national network of 75 centers, Good said.

The FY97 request for the NIST laboratories is $271 million. The FY96 request was $310.7 million, and under the current continuing resolution the labs are operating with an annual budget of $259 million. The request includes $3 million for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, and will enable an increased emphasis on semiconductor metrology. To renovate NIST’s 30- to 40- year old buildings and initiate construction of an Advanced Technology Laboratory, NIST has requested $105.2 million. In FY96, $69.6 million was requested for construction and renovation; the continuing resolution provides for an annual budget of $60 million.

The continuing resolution now in operation funds programs for one week. The House on March 8 passed a resolution that would fund these programs for the rest of FY 1996, but it has yet to be agreed to by the Senate or President Clinton. Among issues to be resolved is the funding level for the embattled ATP.