GAITHERSBURG, MD-The U.S. president’s fiscal year 2013 budget for the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) submitted 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.

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. Initiative funding topics include advanced manufacturing (+$45 million), the establishment of NIST Centers of Excellence (+$20 million), forensic science (+$5 million), disaster resilience and natural hazard risk reduction (+$5 million), advanced communications networks (+$10 million) and work on the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC, +$8 million).

Industrial Technology Services (ITS), $149 million: The FY 2013 ITS request would fund the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)-a federal-state-industry partnership that provides small- and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers with access to technologies, resources and industry experts through a nationwide network of centers-at $128 million, a decrease of $443,000 from the FY 2012 budget. The funding decrease will not affect available MEP Center renewals in FY 2013.

It also would fund the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech) at $21 million. This new program will establish industry-led consortia to identify and prioritize research projects supporting long-term industrial research needs.

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 critically needed renovation of a 60-year-old central laboratory building at the NIST-Boulder campus.

For more details, visit www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/budget_2013.cfm .