President Clintons
fiscal year 2001 budget request for the Commerce
Departments Technology Administration
is $722 million, Commerce Secretary William Daley announced today.
Daley said, "The economy of the 21st century is
driven by technology and innovation. The magnificent technological
achievements of American industry since the Second World War have
accounted for over 50 percent of the nations economic growthand
made us the leader in the global marketplace."
"The President, with his budget
for our Technology Administration, is committed to maintainingand
betteringthat success. By firmly investing in the nations
technology base, the budget submitted today will energize and strengthen
TAs programs in partnership with U.S. industry, and in turn,
maximize technologys contribution to economic growth, job creation,
competitiveness and quality of life."
Led by the Under Secretary for Technology,
the Technology Administration
includes the Office of the Under Secretary for Technology (including
the Office of Space Commercialization), the Office
of Technology Policy, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National
Technical Information Service.
Highlighting the FY 2001 budget request
are four initiatives:
- $60 million to protect the
nations critical information infrastructure by:
- establishing the Institute for Information
Infrastructure Protection (known as IIIP)
to support research and technology development to protect critical
information and telecommunications
infrastructures from attack or other failures ($50
million);
- developing new measurements, standards,
test methods and guidelines to better
protect information technology elements ($5 million); and
- creating and fielding a team of
computer security experts (known as the Critical Infrastructure
Protection Expert Review Team) to help federal agencies identify
and fix existing vulnerabilities
in information systems and prepare for future IT security
threats ($5 million).
- $14 million to expedite the
transition to electronic commerce by:
- enabling NISTs Manufacturing
Extension Partnership national network of assistance
centers for small manufacturers to work with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration on an e-commerce
outreach program ($9 million);
- providing the leadership and technical
expertise to harmonize standards for e-commerce
and increase software interoperability so that electronic data exchange
among businesses, especially manufacturers, is smooth ($4 million);
and
-
providing measurement techniques for characterizing antennas and
microcircuits, interoperability
standards and test methods to assure the quality
of new wireless products and services ($1 million).
- $46.4 million to expand the
technology horizon by:
- developing the measurements and
standards needed to exploit nanotechnologythe
science and technology of devices and materials created
by manipulating atoms and molecules ($10 million);
- increasing funding for the NIST
Advanced Technology Program to speed the development of innovative
technologies offering broad national benefits through cost-shared
partnerships with the private sector ($31.8 million);
- developing an economic roadmap for
accelerating commercialization of
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles technologies expected
to lead to clean and efficient
transportation ($125,000); and
- advancing the application of combinatorial
methodsresearch techniques
which combine advances in information technology and automation
to enable scientists to conduct
many experiments simultaneously ($4.5 million).
- $15.9 million to strengthen
the science and technology infrastructure by:
- partnering with minority-serving
institutions (Historically Black Colleges and Universities,
Hispanic serving institutions, and tribal Colleges and universities)
to broaden the nations pool of science and technology talent
and to foster full participation
of all Americans in the technology-driven economy ($8 million);
- expanding the number of NIST postdoctoral
fellows sponsored from 90 to 112 while
increasing efforts to encourage and mentor minority applicants ($3
million);
- keeping existing NIST laboratory
facilities (in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder,
Colo.) in reliable working order by funding critical safety, capacity,
maintenance and repair efforts,
as well as designing a new primary electrical service for the
Boulder campus ($4.5 million);
- responding to Congressional mandates
to increase market analysis of the commercialization
of outer space ($125,000);
- increasing visibility and impact
of the National Medal of Technology
($125,000); and
- improving the monitoring and measurement
of government partnerships with
U.S. industry ($125,000).
The Presidents FY 2001 request
for TA breaks down as follows:
- $8.7 million for the Office
of the Under Secretary for Technology and the Office of Technology
Policy to support (1) the initiatives described previously;
(2) TAs Office of Space Commercialization; (3) TAs leadership
in several interagency civilian technology efforts (such as PNGV);
(4) administering grants previously made by the Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Technology (known as EPSCoT) to foster
technology-based growth in areas traditionally under-represented
by federal R&D funding; (5) the National Medal of Technology;
and (6) the OTPs role as the Executive Branchs principal
civilian technology policy analyst and advocate.
- $713 million for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology to operatein
close partnership with the private sectorcivilian technology
support programs that focus on a key element for the nations
continued economic growth and global competitiveness: the best science
and innovation in the world.
NISTs challenge is to anticipate,
develop and provide American industry with the
technology, measurements and standards support it needs now and in
the future.
The FY 2001 budget request for NIST
is divided into three appropriations:
- $337.5 million for efforts under
the Scientific and Technical Research Services (STRS) appropriation
that includes funding for (1) the NIST Measurement
and Standards Laboratories and (2) the Baldrige
National Quality Program.
Included in the STRS are the initiatives described previously for
information infrastructure protection R&D, the Critical Infrastructure
Protection Expert Review Team, nanotechnology, combinatorial methods,
minority-serving institutions, expanded postdoctoral sponsorships,
manufacturing interoperability and wireless/IT measurement techniques.
This request includes:
- $332.3 million for the Measurement
and Standards Laboratories to provide U.S.
industry and the science/technology community with the measurement
capabilities, standards, evaluated reference data and test methods
needed to support innovation,
improve quality and lower transaction costs in virtually
all technology-intensive sectors.
- $5.2 million for the Baldrige
National Quality Program to manage the
annual award competition, conduct the annual Quest for Excellence
conference where Baldrige award winners share their performance
excellence strategies, maintain
a comprehensive database on state and local
quality awards, continually improve the performance excellence criteria,
and facilitate information sharing among all sectors of the U.S.
economy.
- $339.6 million for technology
development and industrial outreach under the Industrial Technology
Services (ITS) appropriation that includes (1) cost-shared funding
to industry for high-risk research and development through the Advanced
Technology Program; and (2) more widely distributed services
and expanded hands-on technical assistance to smaller manufacturers
through a nationwide network of centers under the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership.
This request provides:
- $175.5 million for the Advanced
Technology Program. Included is the
$31.8 million increase described previously as part of the initiative
to expand the technology horizon.
This new funding, when combined with anticipated carryover
and prior year recoveries, will fund $65 million in new awards in
FY 2001.
- $114.1 million for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership. The request will permit
NIST to continue providing the federal contributions to support
the network of centers serving
smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico. This includes the $9 million initiative for a new
emphasis on e-commerce.
- $50 million for the IIIP initiative
described previously.
- $35.9 million for improving NISTs
30- to 45-year-old research facilities under the Construction of
Research Facilities (CRF) appropriations described previously
as part of the initiative to strengthen the science and technology
infrastructure.
The FY 2001 budget proposal also requests
elimination of the $1.4 million disaster research program on the effects
of windstorms and a $6 million decrease in MEP base funding due to
a redirection of funds to support the e-commerce outreach initiative.
National Technical Information Service
The Commerce Department has proposed
legislation to cease operations of NTIS by the end of FY 2000. The
legislation would maintain the NTIS collection of scientific and technical
information by transferring the collection to the Library of Congress
effective Oct. 1, 2000. A supplemental transfer from NIST of $4.5
million is being requested in FY 2000 for NTIS closure costs.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Reporters needing more detail may obtain a more comprehensive document,
"FY 2001 Technology
Administration Budget Highlights," by calling (301) 975-2762,
faxing a request to (301) 926-1630, or sending an electronic mail
request to media@nist.gov.
This detailed budget summary, supplemental
fact sheets, a budget process flowchart, last years budget process
history and other relevant materials are
available on the World Wide Web at www.ta.doc.gov
or www.nist.gov/budget2001.
Additionally at the same web site, reporters
and others may sign up online for comprehensive TA FY 2001 budget
updates from NIST throughout the appropriations legislative process.
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