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WASHINGTON, July 12, 2004 – With little time left on the congressional legislative calendar, the prospects this year for new legislation recently introduced by Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., aimed at helping to bring nanotechnology advances to market appear dim.
The bill (H.R. 4656) would create a public-private partnership aimed at investing in nanomanufacturing. The measure calls for the establishment of a new program, the Nanomanufacturing Investment Partnership, within the Department of Commerce that would provide direct investments, which must be matched by private sector partners, in “pre-commercial nanomanufacturing research and development projects.”
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The bill would authorize a one-time appropriation of $750 million and require an investment of at least $250 million from the private sector before the program can be established. The program, however, would be funded after the initial appropriation is used by requiring that funding recipients to provide some return on the investments made by the partnership.
“Investing in innovation is the key to a vibrant U.S. manufacturing base and the continued generation of new jobs,” Honda said in a statement when he introduced the bill on June 23. “Nanotechnology has the potential to create entirely new industries and radically transform the basis of competition in other fields.”
But even the bill’s supporters say they do not think the measure, which has been referred to the House Science Committee, has much chance of advancing this year. “Realistically, we don’t expect that this will pass this year,” Honda spokesman Jay Staunton said. “We introduced the bill in response to a stated need from the community for funding to bridge the funding gap between the lab and the marketplace.”
While welcoming the proposal, an industry representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bill has no chance of moving this year in part because of the calendar but also because of the difficulty Honda will face gaining support from the House Republican leadership to advance a measure offered by a junior member of the minority party.
Mark Modzelewski, the outgoing executive director of the NanoBusiness Alliance, agrees that Honda’s measure is “potentially a good idea.” But like others, he said he didn’t have much faith that it would become law.
“It’s not the kind of thing that gets passed in Washington,” Modzelewski said.
Despite the obstacles, Honda is hoping the bill will “open a dialogue about the role of the federal government in this area and that we can build upon those discussions as we move into next year,” Staunton said.
He said that Honda was moved to offer the bill after an amendment he offered last month to restore authorized funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), a program similar to Honda’s concept that aims to bring a broad range of high-risk research projects to market, to the Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act (H.R. 3598) was defeated.
That bill, which the House passed Friday, would provide grants to help develop new manufacturing technologies and would reauthorize the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which like ATP, is run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Even though Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., supports ATP, he was concerned that adding language authorizing funding for the program to H.R. 3598 would hamper the bill’s progress, committee spokesman Joe Pouliot said.
The Bush administration has proposed eliminating funding for ATP, which has long been a target of conservative Republicans who view it as corporate welfare. A fiscal year 2005 spending bill approved last month by the House Appropriations Committee also zeroed out funding for ATP.
The House has attempted to eliminate funding for ATP in the past only to see it restored by supporters in the Senate. Still, supporters worry that the program’s days may be numbered.
Pouliot said he did not know if the Science Committee would take up Honda’s nanotech bill this year, noting the limited amount of time Congress has left to work before adjourning for the year.
Congress has less than three weeks left before it breaks for the political conventions and its traditional summer recess. It won’t return until early September when lawmakers will work for a few more weeks before their target adjournment date of Oct. 1.