NIST's Unobligated Funds

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) unobligated funds for its Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and Manufacturing Extension Partnership program (MEP), focusing on whether NIST will obligate all available funds for these programs by the end of fiscal year (FY) 1995. GAO noted that: (1) NIST estimates that ATP will award $421 million through a series of competitions during FY 1995; (2) it is unclear whether NIST will be able to obligate all funds by the end of FY 1995, due to its increased workload; (3) even if all ATP activities are completed in FY 1995, some award money will not be disbursed until 1996; and (4) NIST will not be able to obligate $41 million in MEP funds until October 30, 1995.