Last Appropriations Bill Passed: NIST Provisions

The last of the 13 appropriations bills to be sent to the President before Congress could adjourn was H.R. 2267, the FY 1998 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill. Passage of this bill was held up by controversy over methods for performing the 2000 census, which is funded through the Department of Commerce. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) is also part of the Commerce Department and is funded by this bill.

Congress increased the funding for NIST’s core laboratories above the request, although the additional funds were earmarked. While NIST’s extramural ATP and MEP programs received less than requested, funding for facilities renovation and construction was increased by 468.9 percent -- from a request of $16.7 million to $95.0 million. This generosity is based on the belief, stated in the House Appropriations Committee report, that “the technical obsolescence of NIST facilities must be addressed to enable NIST to fulfill its mission.” Final FY 1998 funding for NIST programs is as follows:

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES: NIST’s in-house laboratories, known as “Scientific and Technical Research and Services,” received an appropriation of $276.9 million for FY 1998, 2.0 percent greater than the request of $271.6 million and equal to both the House and Senate recommendations. However, this appropriation contains funds earmarked for two cooperative programs - $3.8 million for wind research at Texas Tech University, and $5.0 million for “green” buildings research at Montana State University - leaving $268.1 million for the labs. The conferees follow the guidance of the Senate report in providing $3.0 million for the NIST Quality Program (including the Malcolm Baldrige Award) within this account.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES: NIST’s extramural, cooperative programs with industry, the “Industrial Technology Services,” will receive $306.0 million, approximately halfway between the House recommendation of $298.6 million and the Senate recommendation of $311.0 million. This account comprises the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP), which are detailed below.

Advanced Technology Program: The ATP, which has been controversial in Congress, was funded at $192.5 million for FY98. This is 30.2 percent below the request of $275.6 million, but well above what Harold Rogers (R-KY), chairman of the House Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee threatened earlier this year to provide -- zero. The House had recommended $185.1 million; the Senate, $200.0 million. The conference report specifies that of this amount, $68.0 million be used for continuation of prior year awards, $82.0 million be used for new awards in FY98, and $42.5 million go toward “administration, internal NIST lab support and Small Business Innovation Research requirements.”

Manufacturing Extension Partnerships: $113.5 million will go to MEP, equal to the House’s recommendation and slightly greater than the Senate’s. This is 8.0 percent less than the request of $123.4 million. Of the appropriated amount, $103.0 million “is for continued support for all existing Regional Centers,” $2.0 million “is for continuation of the existing SBDC-manufacturing field offices,” and $8.5 million is for management and administration.

In hearings this year, concerns were raised that the statutory six-year limit for federal support for the MEP centers was not long enough for them to become self-sufficient. In response, the conference report echoes the Senate report in extending “for one year NIST’s support for the Regional Centers” if they meet certain conditions. The report continues, “The conferees note that this program, as well as other NIST programs, have remained unauthorized for a number of years. The House most recently passed NIST authorization legislation (H.R. 1274)...which would waive the statutory sunset on manufacturing centers. The Senate has not passed a companion bill. The conferees had hoped that an authorization bill would be enacted prior to fiscal year 1998, obviating the need to address this issue in the appropriations bill..... [T]he conferees continue to believe this issue is best addressed through the authorization process. Therefore, while the conferees have included a one-year waiver of the sunset requirement to bridge the gap until a NIST authorization is enacted, the conferees fully expect enactment of appropriate authorization legislation prior to fiscal year 1999, and thus do not plan to continue waiving such sunset requirements through the appropriations process. In addition, the conferees direct the Secretary of Commerce to review this program and provide recommendations to the Committees for assisting the Regional Centers to become self-supporting after their sixth year of operation...to be submitted with the fiscal year 1999 budget submission.”

CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH FACILITIES: A total of $95.0 million is appropriated for “construction, renovation and maintenance of NIST facilities.” This is 468.9 percent greater than the request of $16.7 million. The Senate recommended $16.0 million; the House recommended $111.1 million in anticipation of NIST’s completing a long-term master plan to address the technical obsolescence of its facilities. The conference report states that “the conferees concur in the direction included in the House report regarding the development of a long-term facilities plan for NIST...and have included bill language making $78,308,000 of the funds provided in this account available upon submission of a spending plan which corresponds to NIST’s long-term facilities plan.”

OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY POLICY: In addition to NIST, the Commerce Department also receives some science and technology funding for the Under Secretary for Technology and the Office of Technology Policy. The conference report provides $8.5 million for this office, 7.6 percent less than the request of $9.2 million. Of this amount, $1.6 million will go to start an Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT). Conference report language regarding foreign policy agreements on technology “assumes the [Technology Administration] will continue existing agreements at no more than the current level of support, but the conferees direct the Technology Administration not to enter into any new international technology agreements, expand any existing agreements, or extend any expiring agreements.”