Date: 2014-07-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak in support of H.R. 5035. a bill to reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology. I thank Chairman SMITH and Ranking Member EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of the Science. Space. and Technology House Committee for their work in advancing innovation and technology that will keep America strong and competitive into the future. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and former member of the House Committee on Science. where I served for many years. I am well acquainted with the important work done by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST is the nations premier entity for development of standards that govern the level of reliability. security. and operation of most products sold in the United States and around the world. Standards development is critical to our nations leadership in many manufacturing areas. Businesses large and small look to NIST for leadership in coordinating the development of voluntary standards in a wide range of areas that include office equipment. manufacturing materials. and encryption. Founded in 1901. NIST is a nonregulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NISTs mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science. standards. and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST carries out its mission through the following programs through research conducted at: NIST Laboratories that advance the nations technology infrastructure and helps U.S. companies continually improve products and services. The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. a nationwide network of local centers offering technical and business assistance to smaller manufacturers to help them create and retain jobs. and The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. which promote performance excellence among U.S. manufacturers. service companies. educational institutions. health care providers. and nonprofit organizations. Houston benefits from NISTs work in a wide range of areas. Houston is known as the "Energy Capital of the World" with almost half of its economic activity driven by the energy industry. Houston is home to 40 of the nations 145 publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production firms. including 11 of the top 25 as ranked by 2011 total assets. NISTs fossil fuel Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) continue to be in high demand by the petroleum industry and the fossil fuelbased electric utility industries. The fossil fuel SRM program is now 40 years old. and the current inventory of fossil fuel reference materials includes coals. cokes. residual fuel oils. distillates and gasolines. To support regulatory and industry requirements for reference materials and standards. NIST produces and maintains a large inventory of fossil fuel SRMs that are certified for crude oils. gasolines. fuel oils. and diesel fuels. The program is continually adapting to meet the rapidly changing needs of the energy sector. Houstons diverse workforce boasts a variety of skills and occupations. From medical professionals and engineers to production managers and accountants. Houstons labor force fills 2.7 million jobs and counting. Houston has a world class medical center that serves the health care needs of residents and brings to our city people from around the world for health care. NIST is responsible for leading the development of the core health IT testing infrastructure that will provide a scalable. multipartner. automated. remote capability for current and future medical technology testing needs. The objective of the NIST Health IT Testing Infrastructure Project is to harmonize the efforts of healthcare standards test development and delivery to meet the demands for conformance and interoperability within the healthcare domain. NIST works in collaboration with health care providers. IT stakeholders such as vendors. implementers. standards organizations and certification bodies to establish a testing infrastructure that will: Provide a variety of testing services. Support a broad range of test environments. Support numerous health data standards. Provide a componentbased user interface. Support changing user requirements. Leverage existing testing initiatives. Provide a method for feedback so that health standards can be improved. and Roll out tools and resources incrementally. Houston also hosts universities. research institutions and agencies that rely upon NISTs core areas of work including: Bioscience Health. Building and Fire Research. Chemistry. Electronics & Communications. Energy. Environment and Climate. Information Technology. Manufacturing. Mathematics. Nanotechnology. Neuro Research. and Physics. NISTs work touches the lives of every person in the United States from the smart electric power grid and electronic health records to atomic clocks. advanced nanomaterials. and computer chips. innumerable products and services rely in some way on the work of this small agency. I ask that my colleagues join me in support this reauthorization of NIST and that we work together to end the impact on Sequestration on NIST programs.