FY 2014 Appropriations: National Institute of Standards and Technology
The FY 2014 appropriations cycle is coming to a close. On Monday evening the text of an almost 1,600 page bill was released that was the product of intense negotiations between the House and Senate Appropriations Committees since a budget agreement was announced in December. The omnibus bill, consisting of twelve separate appropriations bills, is expected to pass the House and Senate and sent to President Obama within the next few days.
Accompanying the omnibus bill is an Explanatory Statement detailing program funding levels and new language about various programs. Under congressional protocol, previous report language for the House and Senate versions of their FY 2014 bills regarding the National Institute of Standards and Technology stands unless it is contradicted by new language in the just-issued Explanatory Statement. The Statement is not in final form as it includes hand-written notations; the short section on NIST is on PDF page 69.
The following language and program funding levels are taken from the just-released Explanatory Statement. The Explanatory Statement does not include current FY 2013 funding levels; those shown are from the FYI describing the House report referenced above. Note that the committee reports and the Explanatory Statement did not include post-sequestration program funding levels for FY 2013 (generally a 5 percent reduction.)
TOTAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY:
The FY 2013 budget (not including the mandatory 5 percent reduction) is $807.1 million
The FY 2014 request was $928.3 million
The FY 2014 agreement provides $850.0 million
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES:
The FY 2013 budget (not including the mandatory 5 percent reduction) is $608.3 million
The FY 2014 request was $693.8 million
The FY 2014 agreement provides $651.0 million
The Explanatory Statement includes the following language:
This Act includes $651,000,000 for NISI’s scientific and technical core programs. Within these amounts, an increase of $30,000,000 is for advanced manufacturing initiatives at the NIST labs; an increase of $5,000,000 is for cyber security research; and an increase of $1,000,000 is for disaster resilience research. The agreement also includes up to $3,000,000 for greenhouse gas measurements; $4,000,000 for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education program; and up to $5,000,000 is to maintain NISI’s current forensic measurement activities and to participate in the National Commission on Forensic Science. Additional forensic science funding is described in title II of this statement.
“Centers of Excellence. - The agreement includes $15,000,000 to establish and operate centers of excellence on a competitive basis, and NIST is encouraged to establish a Center focused on forensic measurement science, technology, and standards as described in the Senate report and a Center on advanced manufacturing competitiveness and commercialization technology in carbon nanomanufacturing as described in the House report. In addition,
$15,000,000 is included for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.
“National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). - The agreement includes $16,500,000 to maintain the current operating level for NSTIC.”
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES:
The FY 2013 budget (not including the mandatory 5 percent reduction) is $140.0 million
The FY 2014 request was $174.5 million
The FY 2014 agreement provides $143.0 million
The Explanatory Statement includes the following language:
“This Act includes $143,000,000 for industrial technology services, including $128,000,000 for Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnerships. In lieu of Senate language regarding the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech), $15,000,000 is for ongoing AMTech activities. The agreement does not address the administration’s proposal for National Network of Manufacturing Institutes (NNMI) because the NNMI legislative proposal has not been considered or approved by the Congress.”
CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH FACILITIES:
The FY 2013 budget (not including the mandatory 5 percent reduction) is $58.8 million
The FY 2014 request is $60.0 million
The FY 2014 agreement provides $56.0 million
The Explanatory Statement included no language.
