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Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1617 - National Bureau of Standards 1986 Authorization Act

April 12, 1985

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)
(Fuqua (D) Florida)

The Administration opposes the enactment of H.R. 1617 as reported by the House Science and Technology Committee, and urges that the Administration's bill — H.R. 1617, as introduced on March 20, 1985 — be enacted instead. The major provisions of the Administration's bill would authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1986 of: (1) $120,001,000 for National Bureau of Standards (NBS) programs; (2) $1,762,000 for the Office of Productivity, Technology and Innovation (OPTI); and (3) $537,000 for operation of the National Technical Information Services (NTIS) patent licensing program.

Objectionable provisions in H.R. 1617, as reported, include:

— the authorization of appropriations for NBS and OPTI that exceed the Administration's 1986 Budget request by 15 percent and almost 60 percent, respectively;

— ah authorization of appropriations for the Center for Fire Research and the Center for Building Technology, for which no funds were requested in the 1986 Budget;

— an authorization of $10 million, twice the amount requested by the Administration, for the Institute for Computer Science and Technology;

— restoration of over half ($4.7 million) of NBS's share of government side proposed reductions in the 1986 Budget for administrative expenses and a freeze on funding at the 1985 level;

— authorization of an additional $2.0 million for transfer to the working capital fund for replacement of equipment and inventories, as well as authority for NBS to assess fees based on the future replacement cost of its equipment and inventories, instead of current cost;

— requiring in section 2(b) that minimum amounts be available for specified activities, thereby unduly restricting program management flexibility; and

— raising the Director of NBS from Level V to Level IV of the Executive Schedule.

APP Note: Original document provided by Samuel Kernell, UC San Diego.

Ronald Reagan, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1617 - National Bureau of Standards 1986 Authorization Act Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/326912

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