The Science and Technology Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation recently approved legislation to reauthorize the competitiveness and innovation initiatives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology — “the first time Congress has taken a comprehensive look at NIST since 1992.” The bill would double the funding for two key innovation and competitiveness initiatives over the next 10 years.

In mid-April, the U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee on technology and innovation approved legislation to reauthorize and increase funding for two competitiveness and innovation initiatives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The subcommittee said that its passage of the bill, the Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007, or H.R. 1868, “marks the first time Congress has taken a comprehensive look at NIST since 1992.” The bill would double the funding for two of NIST’s key initiatives over the next 10 years.

According to the subcommittee, the most significant issues surrounding the reauthorization of NIST are the funding levels for laboratory research and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) initiative, and improving the Advanced Technology Program (ATP).

Under the legislation, funding for the laboratory research increases by 8 percent per year, which leads to doubling over a 10-year period. This is consistent with the American Competitiveness Initiative, which President George W. Bush introduced in his 2006 State of the Union address and which major industry players such as AMD and National Semiconductor have backed publicly, as noted by Electronics Design News.

Funding for MEP also increases by 8 percent per year and doubles over a 10-year period under the bill. The MEP is a hybrid funding initiative that provides federal, state, local and private capital to help small and medium manufacturers compete against overseas manufacturing firms, according to NIST. The goal is to maintain and create manufacturing jobs. The current Presidential administration’s proposed FY2008 budget would cut federal funding for MEP in half and eliminate the ATP.

The subcommittee said:

Cutting MEP federal funding by more than half, as proposed by the President, would mean that over 8,000 small manufacturing businesses would lose $650 million in cost savings and $3 billion in sales. Given MEP’s 10-1 return on investment, this means a loss of over $1 billion to the economy. MEP served 24,722 manufacturers in 2006.

Moreover, “The ATP, a frequent target for Bush administration budget cuts, may have a new lease on life,” as Federal Computer Week puts it.

The proposed bill would rename and expand the scope of the ATP program, which provides funding for companies to turn cutting-edge research into marketable products. Under the bill, the ATP would become the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) would retain its original mission, but it would provide more support for small and medium-sized high-tech entrepreneurial firms and would allow universities to participate in joint-venture projects. The Bush administration has proposed phasing out the program in recent budgets, only to have Congress restore funding.

“This legislation ensures that NIST’s Nobel Prize-winning research and successful public-private partnerships will continue to contribute to American innovation and competitiveness,” Rep. David Wu, the subcommittee’s chairman, said in a statement. “We are talking about investments in ideas and jobs for people here at home.”

In past Science and Technology Committee hearings on nanotechnology development, small businesses and venture capital firms have stated that ATP, or an ATP-like program, is needed to move nanotech to broad commercial applications.

On that note, NIST announced this week that its Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is now accepting proposals for nanotechnology-related research projects.

The one-year-old research center — located within NIST’s Advanced Measurement Laboratory, one of the most advanced research facilities of its kind in the world — focuses on overcoming major technical obstacles to cost-effective manufacturing of products made with components the size of atoms and molecules. In particular, the center’s mission is to support innovation in the field by developing measurement methods, standards and technology that help emerging nanotechnologies move from the laboratory to production.

The new legislation should help with that.