Senate Appropriators Fund Advanced Technology Program
The difference between the positions taken by House and Senate appropriators about the future of the Advanced Technology Program could not be clearer. Earlier this month, the House accepted the recommendation of its appropriators in the FY 2002 Commerce, Justice, and State appropriations bill to discontinue new ATP funding (see FYI #92 ). As expected, the Senate appropriations subcommittee, under the new leadership of chairman Ernest Hollings (D-SC), one of the founders of the program, drafted a bill continuing the current level of funding for ATP for next year.
The House action followed the request of the Bush Administration that FY 2002 funding be suspended for new grants while ATP was reevaluated (see FYI #48 ). Some of this money would be used to increase the NIST Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) budget. The Hollings bill fully funds ATP while reducing the STRS budget request of $347 million by less than $4 million, or 1.2%. Numbers for several STRS programs follow:
The Physics Laboratory budget is now $32,695,000. The Administration request was $37,154,000. The House bill provided $37,193,000. The Senate bill provides $37,054,000.
The Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory budget is now $56,397,000. The Administration request was $62,696,000. The House bill provided $62,766,000. The Senate bill provides $62,532,000.
The Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory budget is now $40,797,000. The Administration request was $41,214,000. The House bill provided $41,286,000. The Senate bill provides $41,132,000.
The Senate report language provides an increase of $4.0 million within the amount provided for the Physics Program for “measurements, standards, and test methods for the development of advanced nanotechnologies.”
The most extensive language of Senate Report 107-42 concerns the Advanced Technology Program, and seems written to respond to the House report language that contended,
The Senate report states: Regarding the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, the Senate appropriators stated: The House bill provides $106,522,000.The two bills also differ regarding the FY 2002 construction budget. The House bill provides the Bush request of $20.9 million, down from the current budget of $34.8 million. The Senate report states:
