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Senate Supports ATP, MEP in FY '03; House Approves E-Manufacturing Bill
This week's Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY 2003 appropriations for the Department of Commerce includes $185.4 million is for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and $106.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). While ATP has taken the heat in past budget cycles, MEP was in the spotlight this year: MEP was slated to receive only $12.9 million in the President's budget request for FY 2003.
Administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP is a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in over 400 locations nationwide, whose sole purpose is to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with the technical assistance needed to succeed in a global economy. The program is jointly funded by state, industrial and federal sources.
More information on the progress of this and other appropriations bill will be available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app03.html
Other Manufacturing News from the Hill
Large and small businesses would be able to reduce cost and design cycle times under the Enterprise Integration Act (H.R. 2733), a bill passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives 397-22.
H.R. 2733 authorizes $47 million over four years for NIST to work with manufacturing industries to develop standards for information exchange. Using these standards, NIST would be able to help small businesses automate their processes to ensure the seamless flow of information up and down the supply chain.
The bill is now before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.