Statement on a Proposed FY 1995 Recission
to the Advanced Technology Program
H.R. 845, a bill
to rescind $107 million in FY 1995 funds from the budget of the Commerce
Department's Advanced Technology Program,
would have disastrous effects not only on the program in FY 95, but in
future years as well. While a substantial portion of the ATP's FY 95 appropriation
has not yet been formally obligated, essentially all of the appropriation
has been committed: plans to use these funds for a general competition
and nearly a dozen focused-program competitions in key technologies have
been announced, and industry has begun work on research plans based on
these announcements.
In addition to the
annual ATP general competition open to proposals from all fields of technology,
the ATP has announced 11 multiyear focused programs in:
- Tools for DNA
Diagnostics
- Catalysis and
BioCatalysis Technologies
- Materials Processing
for Heavy Manufacturing
- Motor-Vehicle
Manufacturing
- Advanced Vapor-Compression
Refrigeration
- Component-Based
Software
- Digital Video
in Information Networks
- Digital Data
Storage
- Information
Infrastructure for Healthcare
- Manufacturing
Composite Structures, and
- Computer-Integrated
Manufacturing for Electronics
The proposed rescission
would force the cancellation of several of the planned 1995 ATP competitions
for these programs. In addition, $62 million would have been applied to
new focused program areas to be announced this year. None of those new
programs could be started if the rescission passes. The chilling effect
of this sudden reversal of announced plans will slow or halt the momentum
of new industry collaborations and plans for the long-term, high-risk
R&D which the ATP promotes.
Proposal due dates
for these competitions are staggered, but begin March 1 and continue through
the Spring. Because deadlines are tight, and an application to the ATP
requires the preparation of detailed, multiyear research plans, industry
has already begun work based on the program announcements already made.
Companies have formed joint ventures and invested tens of thousands of
dollars in good-faith proposal-writing efforts.
Over the past several
years industry and government, through the ATP, have begun to build the
foundation upon which the private sector can pursue the high-risk enabling
technologies necessary to long-term national economic success. We must
reinforce this fragile new spirit of public-private partnership and cooperation
by maintaining the continuity of our commitments and funding for the ATP.
While it may appear
that a substantial amount of the available funds for the ATP in FY 95
are not obligated, 89 percent are either obligated or committed and 100
percent are in some stage of allocation no funds are undesignated. "Unobligated"
does not equal "available funds." The ATP cannot announce new competitions
until Congress appropriates funds. The process of soliciting proposals,
allowing industry sufficient time to prepare proposals, evaluating proposals
and negotiating cooperative agreements takes six to nine months (among
the faster processes in government). There is an inevitable delay between
the time funds are appropriated and when they are officially "obligated"
from an accountant's point of view.
The ATP represents
a small but critical portion of the Federal government's R&D budget.
The ATP represents just over one-half of one percent of Federal R&D
funds, but it is the only portion dedicated to the development of early-stage,
precompetitive civilian technologies. The ATP addresses the gap between
basic research (which together with mission-oriented research and development,
accounts for almost all of the U.S. government's R&D spending) and
short-term commercial research (which accounts for almost all of U.S.
industry's R&D spending). By sharing costs with companies whose proposals
pass stringent merit review, the ATP helps to remedy underinvestment by
the private sector in long-term, high-risk R&D, thus boosting U.S.
competitiveness in world markets.
For comparison: In
1993, industry funded nearly 55 percent of all U.S. R&D. More than
90 percent of that industrial research was concentrated on short-term
commercial development and applied research. Fifty-nine percent of the
Federal government's $70 billion in 1993 R&D funding and about 1/4
of all national R&D was related to defense. Only about 4 percent of
Federal R&D spending in 1993 went to civilian industrial technology,
and less than 1/2 of one percent went to high-risk, high-payoff enabling
technologies sponsored by the ATP.
Date created: February
9, 1995
Last updated:
April 12, 2005
|