Senate Committee Approves NIST Funding Bill

In the Senate Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations bill (S. 1217), passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 10, NIST made out quite well in general. The committee report recommends more FY 2000 funding for NIST than the Administration asked for. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and construction funding would receive more than requested, while NIST’s in-house labs would be funded at approximately the requested level. The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) would get less than requested, but the Senate committee’s recommendation, combined with unused ATP funds from prior years, would together total more than the FY 2000 request. The Senate committee’s recommended levels for all NIST programs are significantly higher than the current (FY 1999) appropriation.

NIST APPROPRIATIONS

NIST FY 1999 FY 2000 Senate Comm.

program Appropriation Request Report

(In millions)

NIST TOTAL $647.2* $735.0 $742.0

Scientific and Technical

Research & Services 280.1 289.6 288.1

Advanced Technology

Program 203.5* 238.7 226.5

Manufacturing Exten-

sion Partnership 106.8 99.8 109.8

Construction 56.7 106.8 117.5

*Does not show $6 million rescission.

The committee report (S. Rpt. 106-76) which accompanies the bill contains the following language on NIST’s programs:

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES(NIST’s intramural labs): The $288,128,000 recommended funding level “is $7,992,000 above the fiscal year 1999 appropriation and $1,494,000 below the fiscal year 2000 request.” No comment is made about why the committee recommends less than requested. Within the total, the following increases are recommended: $2 million for the Computer Sciences and Applied Mathematics program “to develop and disseminate standards, measurements, and testing methodologies needed to protect the information technology elements of critical national infrastructures;" $1 million for the Technology Assistance program “to develop international technical and product standards that promote open trade by removing standards related trade barriers;" and $2 million to continue a cooperative Wind Research program with Texas Tech University.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM: The recommendation of $226,500,000 “is $23,000,000 above the fiscal year 1999 appropriated level [before a $6 million rescission].... The Committee has been advised that approximately $25,000,000 in prior-year deobligations and unobligated balances [basically, unused funds] will carry over from fiscal year 1999. The recommendation, when combined with the carry over amount, will provide a total funding level of $251,500,000 for the program.

“Within the total amounts available, $40,900,000 shall be used for administrative costs, internal laboratory support, and for the continuation of the Small Business Innovation Research Program [SBIR]. This amount is $200,000 below the fiscal year 1999 appropriation and identical to the fiscal year 2000 request. The Committee does not approve the exclusion of ATP from SBIR requirements.

“The level provided by the Committee for the ATP Program will fully fund the requested level of $137,600,000 for awards created in fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 and will make $73,000,000 available for new awards in fiscal year 2000. The amount for new awards is identical to the fiscal year 2000 request.”

MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP: The committee’s recommendation of $109,836,000 “is $3,036,000 above the fiscal year 1999 appropriated level and $10,000,000 above the fiscal year 2000 request. The level provided by the Committee in fiscal year 2000 will fully fund all MEP centers. The Committee supports the efforts of the Northern Great Plains Initiative to expand the MEP e-commerce project to rural areas to assist small manufacturers for marketing and business development purposes.”

CONSTRUCTION: The recommendation of $117,500,000 “is $60,786,000 above the fiscal year 1999 appropriation and $10,702,000 above the fiscal year 2000 request. The recommendation will allow NIST to award a contract for the planned construction of an advanced measurement laboratory and to continue to address facility safety, capacity, maintenance, and repair projects. In addition, the recommendation includes $10,000,000 for a cooperative agreement with the Medical University of South Carolina and $10,000,000 for a cooperative agreement with Dartmouth College.”

S. 1217 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee with unanimous approval. However, all may not be smooth sailing on the Senate floor or in the House. The Senate committee’s bill totals $35.3 billion, which is less for aggregate Commerce, Justice, and State funding than the FY 1999 appropriation, and less than the FY 2000 request. The committee report states that this is partly because it does not provide some advance appropriations requested by the Administration. However, some programs, such as an initiative to put more police officers on the streets, received significantly less than the White House asked for. This may lead to difficulties when the bill reaches the Senate floor. More problems may await in the House, where the C-J-S allocation was lower yet.

Debate on the bill was originally scheduled to begin on June 30, but has now been postponed indefinitely, bogged down in Senate disputes over other, unrelated issues.