Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
April 15, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1073 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY April 15, 1999 CONSTANCE A. MORELLA HOUSE
APPROPRIATIONS LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION FISCAL 2000
LABOR-HHS APPROPRIATIONS
BODY:
Testimony of the
Hon. Constance A. Morella Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
State, and the Judiciary April 15,1999 Mr. Chairman, thank you for providing me
with this opportunity to testify today on behalf of several funding priorities.
I appreciate the difficult job that you have to adequately fund a number of
important programs within a limited allocation. NIST I would like to thank you
for your historic support of the laboratory programs on the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST is the nation's oldest federal
laboratory, established by Congress in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards.
Its roots date back to the 1800's, when it existed as the bureau of weights and
measures. As part of the Department of Commerce, NIST's mission is to promote
economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements, and standards. As the nation's arbiter of standards, NIST enables
U.S. businesses to engage each other in commerce and participate in the global
marketplace. The precise measurements required for establishing standards
associated with today's increasingly complex technologies require NIST
laboratories to maintain the most sophisticated equipment and most talented
scientists in the world. NIST's infrastructure, however, is failing and in need
of repair and replacement. NIST currently has a maintenance backlog of over $300
million. In addition, NIST requires new laboratory space that includes a higher
level of environmental control of both air quality and vibration than can be
achieved through the retrofitting of any existing facilities. In order to meet
this pressing need, NIST must construct an Advanced Measurement Laboratory
(AML). Mr. Chairman, over the past two years, your appropriations subcommittee
has supported the AML, appropriating well-over half of the total needed to
complete the protect. Following your lead, the Administration has requested
enough money to complete funding for the AML and begin construction in FY 2000.
I strongly support beginning construction of the AML this year, and ask that you
include the full $106.8 million requested by the Administration. In addition to
construction and maintenance, I strongly support fully funding NIST's Scientific
and Technical Research and Services (STRS) account. STRS not only funds all of
NIST's laboratory facilities, but also includes the Malcolm Baldrige Quality
Awards program. Under the President's request, STRS actually declines slightly
compared to its base funding requirements for FY 2000. At a minimum, I believe
that STRS base funding requirement should be met. I also want to reiterate my
strong support for an appropriation of $ 1 0 million in fiscal year 2000 to
begin the first of a three-year effort to establish the Emergency Services
Advanced Technology (ESAT) Program. ESAT is an innovative initiative that would
take existing technologies, that have been developed for other applications, and
apply these technologies in a way which will benefit fire services communities
across the nation. The program is a collaborative research and development
project between the Fire Research Laboratories at NIST and Yale Medical School
that would help to protect the lives of our nation's 1.2 million firefighters
and local emergency responders. NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), a vital component of the Department of Commerce, plays an
invaluable role in contributing to the nation's economic and environmental
health. NOAA's FY 2000 budget request of $2.5 billion in total budget authority
will allow NOAA to build on a number of significant accomplishments. I am
pleased that legislation was enacted last year which preserves the NOAA Corps.
This legislation provided a specific five-year authorization for this valuable
national asset, and assures that a commissioned officer will lead the NOAA Corps
into the 2 1st century. Congress has relieved the hiring freeze for NOAA Corps
officers, allowing their continued service to our nation. I thank the committee
for support of this fundamental component of NOAA. The NOAA budget request will
allow the organization to perform an essential role in a number of important
initiatives, including the Natural Disaster Reduction Initiative (NDRI). In FY
2000, NOAA requests an increase of $42.1 million to implement a second phase of
the Department's strategy to reduce and mitigate against the impacts of extreme
natural events. The National Weather Service and the Office of Atmospheric
Research, both headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, are the primary NOAA
players in this initiative. The budget request will support NOAA's continued
efforts to improve the accuracy of warnings and forecasts. Violence Against
Women I want to once again urge that you continue to fund Violence Against Women
Act programs at the Department of Justice. Enacted in 1994 with strong
bipartisan support, and up for reauthorization this year, VAWA was the first
comprehensive bill to address domestic violence and sexual assault. It has
improved law enforcement on the local level through STOP grants to the states
for training police officers, for victims services, and for implementation of
pro-arrest policies in cases of domestic violence. Funds have helped communities
deal with the problems of teenage runaways and with fighting child abuse. Legal
Services As you know, I have always been a strong supporter of funding for the
Legal Services Corporation. LSC is important to assisting
vulnerable people in our society. Women and children are among the vulnerable
who without assistance often find themselves in abusive situations that they
cannot control. The impact of these situations is significant and may result in
homelessness and the loss of necessary financial resources for food,
maintenance, and health care. In addition, LSC has been invaluable in allowing
impoverished people to access the judicial system in support of their just
claims. Much of their case load, and almost half of the caseload in Maryland,
deals with such issues as divorce, child custody, and domestic violence.
Conclusion Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this opportunity to testify today, and
I look forward to working with you to make these priorities a reality in the
Fiscal Year 2000 appropriations bill.
LOAD-DATE: April
21, 1999 
