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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 46: April 9, 2003

Final FY 2003 NIST, USGS, and NIBIB Appropriations

As previously stated, the lengthy struggle to enact the 3,000  page
FY 2003 appropriations bill has been followed by further calculations
to determine final program figures for the current year.  This FYI
provides selected budget numbers for NIST, USGS, and NIBIB.  These
numbers are still subject to minor adjustments.  Selections from the
final conference report language in House Report 108-010 are
provided.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY:

The total NIST budget increased $23.0 million, or 3.4%, from $684.5
million in FY 2002 to $707.5 million in the current fiscal year.

The laboratory budget within the Scientific and Technical Research
and Services budget increased $27.1 million, or 8.3%, from $324.8
million in FY 2002 to $351.9 million in the current fiscal year.

The Advanced Technology Program budget decreased $6.5 million, or
3.5%, from $184.5 million in FY 2002 to $178.0 million in the current
fiscal year.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership budget decreased $0.6
million, or 0.6%, from $106.5 million in FY 2002 to $105.9 million in
the current fiscal year.

The conference report states:

"Recent economic downturns have had a devastating effect on the
manufacturing sector. Therefore, to ameliorate some of the effect on
this sector, the conferees have included . . . [funding] for the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program to fund all existing
centers." 

Advanced Technology Program: "The conference agreement includes
$180,000,000 for the program, of which $60,700,000 is for new awards
[note: these 2003 figures were not reduced by 0.65% across-the-board
reduction]. This amount, when combined with approximately $34,000,000
in prior year funds, provides ATP awards at the fiscal year 2002
level. Within the amounts made available, $45,000,000 shall be used
for administrative costs, internal laboratory support, and for Small
Business Innovation Research Program requirements."

In a section regarding the construction of NIST facilities, specific
amounts are provided for the Gaithersburg and Boulder laboratories.
The conference report concludes: "This account supports all NIST
activities by providing the state of the art facilities necessary to
carry out the NIST mission."

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The conference report does not provide FY 2003 figures for the six
major programs within USGS.

The total USGS budget (Surveys, Investigations and Research) budget
increased $5.3 million, or 0.6%, from $914.0 million in FY 2002 to
$919.3 million in the current fiscal year.

The conference report states:

"The managers recognize the need to implement The National Map for
the Nation's urban areas. These urban areas are the home to more than
160 million citizens, located in areas subject to many natural
hazards, such as coastal storms and wildland fires. The managers
believe it is important to have up-to-date information available to
Federal, State, and local governments, the private sector, and the
public for emergency response.  The managers recommend that the
Survey continue its efforts to develop and implement The National
Map, keeping the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
appraised of its progress and future plans through its budget
submissions." 

"The managers support strongly Survey partnerships with coalitions of
institutions that maintain a strong emphasis on collaborative
research, Federal-State partnerships, and public-private
partnerships.  Wherever possible, the managers encourage the Survey
to co-locate at these institutions when this furthers the goals of
the Survey, the Department, and the Administration."

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING:

The NIBIB budget increased $166.3 million, or 148.5%, from $112.0
million in FY 2002 to $278.3 million in the current fiscal year.

There was no conference report language providing guidance.

###############
Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi{at}aip.org
(301) 209-3094
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