[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 42 (Thursday, April 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 1274, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND 
              TECHNOLOGY [NIST] AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 1997

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 1274, the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST] Authorization Act 
of 1997.
  Mr. Speaker, NIST is one of our least known yet most important 
agencies. As part of the Department of Commerce, NIST performs for the 
Federal Government the vital role of standardization. This 
constitutionally mandated effort ensures that U.S. businesses have the 
ability to interact not only with each other, but in the global 
marketplace. Without an arbiter of standards, we would never know what 
even the simplest of measures represents. NIST laboratories are 
responsible for the maintenance and development of accurate weights and 
measures necessary for developing new technologies and carrying out 
commerce.
  H.R. 1274 authorizes the NIST programs, the Under Secretary for 
Technology, and Office of Technology Policy for fiscal years 1998 and 
1999. Unlike the administration's request, the bill prioritizes funding 
for NIST laboratory functions, increasing their funding by 5 percent in 
fiscal year 1998 and 3 percent in fiscal year 1999, while reducing 
funding for lower priority programs such as the Advanced Technology 
Program [ATP].
  Specifically for fiscal year 1998, the bill authorizes $278,563,000 
for NIST laboratory activities. This total includes an increase of 
$2,500,000 above the administration's request for the physics 
laboratory program to support reengineering measurement services to 
simplify the delivery of measurement assurance at the point of use. 
This initiative should increase the accuracy and lower the cost of 
calibration for the end users of NIST standards.
  A $4,000,000 increase from the levels recommended by the 
administration is included for the Computer Science and Applied 
Mathematics Program to augment NIST work in the field of computer 
security; and $500,000 has been added for the Technical Assistance 
Program to support improving measurement standards to facilitate 
international trade and provide additional funding to implement the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995. The bill 
authorizes a total of $286,919,890 for the NIST labs in fiscal year 
1999.
  The bill also authorizes funding for both the Advanced Technology 
Program [ATP] and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership [MEP] Program 
in fiscal years 1998 and 1999. ATP is authorized at $185,100,000 in 
fiscal year 1998 and $150,000,000 in fiscal year 1999. The program's 
match requirements are also altered by the bill, with new requirements 
for a 60-percent match from the private sector awardee replacing the 
program's traditional 50-50 split. This change should enable ATP grant 
funding to be further leveraged. To ensure that ATP grants are not 
simply displacing private capital, the bill also contains language 
requiring review of ATP applications to ensure that the ATP grant is 
actually required in order to enable the project to go forward.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1274 includes $117,800,000 for the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership [MEP] Program in fiscal year 1998 and 
$111,300,000 in fiscal year 1999. These totals will allow for full 
funding of all 75 existing MEP centers and will cover the 
administrative costs associated with running the program. The bill also 
includes language which will allow MEP centers slated to sunset during 
the life of the bill to continue to receive funds for an additional 2 
years if they meet the program's performance criteria.
  The bill also authorizes $4,134,500 in fiscal year 1998 and 
$5,289,000 in fiscal year 1999 for the Malcolm Baldrige National 
Quality Program. The increases are sufficient to allow for the 
program's expansion into education and health care over the next 2 
years.
  Finally, the bill authorizes funding for NIST critical maintenance 
and construction needs. The bill includes $16,692,000 in fiscal year 
1998 and $67,000,000 in fiscal year 1999 for construction and 
maintenance of NIST facilities. The funding is sufficient to cover the 
administration's request for maintenance in fiscal year 1998 and fiscal 
year 1999 and $50,000,000 in fiscal year 1999 for NIST's top new 
facility priority, the Advanced Metrology Laboratory [AML]. In order to 
ensure that the construction funding is used in the most appropriate 
fashion, H.R. 1274 includes a certification requirement precluding the 
Department from obligating any money to new construction unless it 
meets the requirements of NIST's new facilities plan.
  Along with the authorization language, the bill includes provisions 
to reduce scientific research earmarks, to require the Science 
Committee to receive notice of any reprogramming of NIST funds, and to 
express the sense of Congress that NIST should address the year 2000 
computer date field problem.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1274 is a sound bill. It is fiscally responsible 
and will help ensure that some of our Nation's most important 
technology research and development programs are adequately funded for 
the next 2 years. I encourage all my colleagues to join me in 
supporting the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
Authorization Act of 1997.

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