Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2160 - National Bureau of Standards Authorization Act

(House Rules)
(Walgren (D) Pennsylvania and Boehlert (R) New York)

The administration opposes House passage of H.R. 2160 unless it is amended to:

— authorize appropriations (sections 2 and 3) at levels consistent with the President's 1988 Budget: (1) $138,625,000, instead of $142,997,000, for the National Bureau of Standards (and, within this level, a total of $5 million instead of $9.4 million for the Center for Fire Research and the Center for Building Technology) and (2) $1,900,000 for the Office of Productivity, Technology and Innovation (OPTI) instead of $2,400,000.

— delete the $500,000 authorization (section 4) for National Technical Information Service (NTIS) patent licensing activities because these activities should be financed by fees derived from royalties.

— delete section 9, which gives. NBS specific authority to undertake research related to the protection of computer systems, because the administration supports an alternative provision in H.R. 145, the Computer Security Act, which is under consideration by Congress.

— delete section 11, which would preclude NBS from administtatively charging fees to research associates.

— delete section 15, which would prohibit NTIS from contracting out activities not now performed by contractors, because this conflicts with the administration's proposal to offer the private sector the opportunity to perform services under contract.

— provide an exemption for NTIS from GPO printing procurement requirements, thereby enabling NTIS and its contractors to procure printing services at the most cost-effective rate.