GINGREY APPLAUDS FY09 NIST BUDGET REQUEST, SUPPORTS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR MEP PROGRAM

Washington , D.C. - March 11, 2008 – Today the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to evaluate the President’s fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget request for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Overall, Subcommittee Ranking Member Phil Gingrey (R-GA) applauded the President’s budget request that puts NIST back on a path to doubling its budget within ten years, as laid out in the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).  “NIST is simply exceptional in the quality and impact of its scientific research, services, and partnerships,” Gingrey said.  “Almost every federal agency and U.S. industry sector uses the standards, measurements, and certification services that NIST labs provide.”

However, Gingrey along with several Subcommittee Members also stressed their disappointment that the FY09 budget request zeroes out funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program.  MEP has been very successful in helping small and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers optimize their operations and remain competitive in the global economy. 

“It is unfortunate that the Administration has sought to end federal contributions to MEP,” Gingrey said.  “In Georgia, the MEP program served 834 manufacturing clients in Fiscal Year 2007 and helped create 761 jobs across the state.  Because of the positive impact that the MEP program has for our economy I intend to work with my colleagues to see it receives an adequate appropriation for FY 2009.”

NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the Department of Commerce that promotes US innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology.  NIST ensures that technical standards are used in a way that creates a level playing field for global trade, rather than a barrier to commerce.  For these reasons NIST was one of the agencies targeted by the President’s ACI, along with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.  The budgets of these key science agencies have all been put back on a doubling path by the President’s FY09 request.

Specifically, the FY09 request of $638M includes $634M for NIST’s core programs and $4M for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership.  The budget for the NIST core represents a 22 percent increase over the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations enacted levels.

“The President’s request focuses on high-impact research that will address critical national needs, spur economic growth and accomplish NIST’s mission to advance innovation and industrial competitiveness,” said Dr. James Turner, Acting Director of NIST.  “Today, more than at any other time in history, technological innovation and progress depend on NIST’s unique skills and capabilities.  Helping the U.S. to drive and take advantage of the increased pace of technological change is a top priority for NIST.”

Subcommittee Member, Dr. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) requested further information from the witnesses regarding what the NIST stakeholders feel a strong strategic plan should entail, stating, “In my experience there are some things such as basic research that probably should not be included in a strategic plan, since you always want to leave flexibility for unanticipated discoveries.”

Also testifying at today’s hearing were: Dr. James Serum, Chairman, NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology; Dr. Mary Good, Founding Dean, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR; Dr. Peter Fiske, Vice President for Research and Development, PAX Scientific, Inc.; and Mr. Michael Coast, President, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and Chairman of the Board, American Small Manufacturers Coalition.

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