FY 1998 National Institute of Standards and Technology Budget Request

“To be a diffuser of technology,” is how Commerce Department Under Secretary for Technology Mary Good described one of her department’s missions. The Commerce Department, now headed by William M. Daley, has requested a $466 million increase in its budget to $4.22 billion. Most of the additional funding has been requested for the Year 2000 census and the completion of the Weather Service Modernization. Commerce has the smallest budget of any cabinet agency.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the focus of this FYI, has the second largest budget in the Commerce Department (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration being the first.) NIST’s total budget would increase $120.5 million, or 21.1%, to $692.5 million. It is about 1% of the total federal R&D expenditure. Noted below are NIST’s Laboratory Program, Advanced Technology Program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Baldrige National Quality Program. (Note that there are also budget requests for the Office of the Under Secretary for Technology and Office of Technology Policy ($9.2 million), and for Construction of Research Facilities ($16.7 million) in the department’s request.)

LABORATORY PROGRAM: The budget would increase $6.5 million, or 2.5%, to $271.6 million. A Commerce Department release states that this increase “will be applied to two critical industry measurement and standards needs: new measurement tools and services for the semiconductor device, equipment and materials industries that reduce costs and improve international competitiveness; and a comprehensive approach to technical measurements and standards needed to help support rising exports of U.S. products.” A number of physics-related activities are within NIST’s Laboratory Program.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM: The budget would increase $50.6 million, or 22.5%, to $275.6 million. A Commerce Department document states: “NIST requests an increase...to permit the continued expansion of the ATP. In FY 1998, the ATP will carry out several additional program competitions. An ATP general competition involves $20 to $25 million. An ATP focused program generally involves an average of $12 million per year and typically involves three solicitations over several years. Both types of competitions are accompanied by a comparable amount of private sector funds. Each focused program has clearly stated, industry-defined technical and business goals.”

MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP: The budget would increase $28.4 million, or 29.9%, to $123.4 million. A variety of improvements would be funded with the additional money. Department of Defense funding will not support this program as of FY 1998.

BALDRIGE PROGRAM: The budget would increase $2.3 million, or 79.3%, to $5.3 million.

During the budget briefing, Good predicted that Congress will be generally supportive of this request. They have recognized, she said, that these Commerce Department programs are an “essential part” of the nation’s economic strategy.