ARLINGTON, Va. – Two bills to increase federal funding for basic research passed by the U.S. House of Representatives mark important progress toward the goal of doubling the programs over five years, the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) said today.

On Wednesday evening lawmakers voted 399-17 to approve the National Science Foundation Authorization Act (H.R 1867) and today they endorsed the Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act (H.R. 1868) on a 385-23 roll call. Both proposals will dramatically boost the budgets of two of the government’s leading research entities, the National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), a goal EIA has long championed.

"These federal research and development programs are critical to advancing American competitiveness and innovation," said Matt Flanigan, EIA’s interim president and CEO. "The cutting-edge work supported by the NSF and NIST helps U.S. companies bring new products and services to the marketplace and, as a result, our economy, workers and consumers all benefit."

H.R. 1867 authorizes over $20 billion for the National Science Foundation over the next three years – $6.5 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2008, $6.98 billion in FY 2009 and $7.49 billion in FY 2010. The NSF supports research and education in the areas of science and engineering through grants to and agreements with more than 2,000 colleges and universities, elementary and secondary schools, businesses and other research organizations throughout the United States. The NSF’s current budget is $5.91 billion and the agency accounts for approximately 25 percent of all federal support for basic research at academic institutions. (Source: www.NSF.gov)

H.R. 1868 authorizes about $2.5 billion through FY 2010 for the National Institute of Standards of Technology. Congress appropriated about $676 million for NIST in FY 2007. The work conducted at NIST has contributed to the development of everything from automatic teller machines (ATMs) to compact disc players to semiconductors. (Source: www.NIST.gov)

For years EIA has led the fight for increased funding for basic research. In January, EIA joined 36 corporations and trade associations in a Jan. 18 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., supporting FY 2007 funding increases passed by the House and by the Senate Appropriations Committees last year and ultimately enacted into law. The letter was a product of the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, of which EIA is a member. Basic research funding was also a key part of EIA’s competitiveness agenda outlined in its 2004 policy playbook, The Technology Industry at an Innovation Crossroads.

Contact Name: Kevin Schweers
Contact Email: kschweers@eia.org