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The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a Presidential research and development (R&D) initiative, originally proposed by President Clinton in 2000 and supported by Presidents Bush and Obama. Each year the NNI’s member agencies draft and submit an NNI Supplement to the President’s Budget, which includes funding requests for nanotechnology R&D across the NNI participating agencies. Congress then approves or modifies those requests through its Authorization and Appropriation process. Through this process, and over the course of more than a decade since the inception of the NNI, Federal nanotechnology R&D funding has grown from $464 million per year to $1.2 billion requested in FY 2018.
The NNI was officially created in 2003 when Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed into law, the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, (P.L. 108-153).
Congressional Events and Information
Congressional hearing activity has involved efforts to change and extend the NNI, as well as Appropriations Committee hearings which included NNI funding. Nanotechnology-related caucus meetings and events are also routinely held on Capitol Hill. Events have included:
May 20, 2014: Dr. Lloyd Whitman, NNCO Interim Director, testifies before the Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives. See the official transcript here.
April 29, 2014: Statement of Dr. John P. Holdren to Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. Senate on “Driving Innovation through Federal Investments”. See the full hearing video here.
April 17, 2013: Statement of Dr. John P. Holdren to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the United States House of Representatives (pdf)
June 20, 2012: Statement of Dr. John P. Holdren to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology United States House of Representatives (pdf)
February 17, 2012: Statement of Dr. John P. Holdren to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, on Research and Development in the President's Fiscal Year 2013 Budget (pdf)
April 14, 2011: Dr. Clayton Teague, NNCO Director, testifies before the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, Committee on Science, Space and Technology, United States House of Representatives for an Oversight on Nanotechnology hearing. See Dr. Teague's official transcript here. See the video of the full hearing here.
February 17, 2011: Statement of Dr. John P. Holdren to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on Research and Development in the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget
Congressional Committees
Below are the names and links to the key committees that address nanotechnology issues in the U.S. Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives
- Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Committee on Appropriations
