WASHINGTON, D.C.-The President’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget for the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) submitted today to Congress proposes an appropriations funding level of $857 million, an increase of $106.2 million from FY 2012.

More than half of the proposed increased funding would be focused on advanced manufacturing research both at NIST laboratories and through a new industry-led consortia program.

“We want to work with the private sector to ensure U.S. manufacturers have the research support they need to make the best products in the world,” says Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher. “Through our laboratory programs and our standards development efforts, we can help American industry be agile, innovative and competitive.”

The total request of $857 million for NIST is divided into three appropriations:

Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS), $648 million

The FY 2013 STRS request funds NIST's laboratory programs as well as a number of other important initiatives. NIST research laboratories, facilities and services programs work at the cutting edge of science to ensure that U.S. industry, as well as the broader science and engineering communities, have the measurements, data and technologies to further innovation and industrial competitiveness. Initiative funding requests include:

1. Measurement Science for Advanced Manufacturing (+$45 million)

2. NIST Centers of Excellence (+$20 million)

3. Measurement Science and Standards in Support of Forensic Science (+$5 million)

4. Measurement and Standards for Disaster Resilience and Natural Hazards Risk Reduction (+$5 million)

5. Measurement Science to Support Advanced Communications Networks (+$10 million)

6. National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (+$8 million)

Industrial Technology Services (ITS), $149 million

Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)-$128 million. This proposed budget represents a decrease of $443,000 from the FY 2012 enacted appropriations. The MEP is a federal-state-industry partnership that provides U.S. manufacturers with access to technologies, resources and industry experts. MEP’s 1,300 field staff work with small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers to help them create and retain jobs, increase profits, and save time and money. The funding decrease will not affect available MEP Center renewals in FY 2013.

 

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech)-$21 million. This new program will establish industry-led consortia to identify and prioritize research projects supporting long-term industrial research needs. AMTech creates the incentive for manufacturers to share financial and scientific resources with universities, state and local governments and non-profits. The proposed program is a critical component of the Administration’s emphasis on advanced manufacturing as a way to accelerate innovation and create high-quality U.S. jobs.

Construction of Research Facilities (CRF), $60 million:

The CRF request includes funding for NIST’s routine maintenance and repair budget ($48.2 million) as well as the following:

Boulder Laboratories Building 1 Renovation-$11.8 million. Critically needed renovation of the 60-year-old Building 1 began in FY 2010. The building houses the majority of research and measurement laboratories on the NIST-Boulder campus, supporting discovery and development in areas such as homeland security, telecommunications, nanotechnology, precise timing, hydrogen energy sources, precision electrical standards, biotechnology, applications of lasers, electromagnetic interference testing, quantum computing, quantum communications and other national needs.

As part of the Administration's efforts to revitalize manufacturing, the President’s budget proposes $1 billion in mandatory funding to establish a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). Through a collaboration between NIST, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, the NNMI aims to promote the development of manufacturing technologies with broad applications.

 

The Administration has also submitted a National Wireless Initiative as part of the American Jobs Act that would provide NIST with up to $300 million for a Wireless Innovation Fund. The fund will help develop cutting-edge wireless technologies for public safety users. NIST would partner with industry and public safety organizations on research, development and demonstration activities aimed at new standards, technologies and applications that will advance public safety communications. The goal is to build a truly seamless and interoperable broadband system that allows first responders and other public-safety personnel anywhere in the nation to reliably send and receive data, voice and other communications to save lives, prevent casualties and avert acts of terror.