115 STAT. 2478 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—MAR. 1, 2001 in the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of these United States, and is as old as the Republic itself; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology strengthens the United States economy and improves the quality of life by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards; Whereas in the past 100 years, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has helped to maintain United States technology at the leading edge, while also making solid contributions to our economy and international competitiveness; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology has served as a behind-the-scenes specialist, with its research, measurement tools, and technical services integrated deeply into many of the systems and operations that, collectively, drive the economy, including manufacturing cells, satellite systems, communication and transportation networks, laboratories, factories, hospitals, businesses, and the extended enterprises of the new economy; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology has also made solid contributions to improving our lives by helping develop image processing, DNA diagnostic "chips", smoke detectors, automated error correcting software for machine tools, atomic clocks, X-ray standards for mammography, scanning tunneling microscopy, pollution control technology, and highspeed dental drills; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology plays a major role in the National Conference on Weights and Measures, the organization of State and local officials who ensure fairness in sales of more than $4,000,000,000,000 worth of goods and services—^from deli meats to gasoline to railroad freight; Whereas National Institute of Standards and Technology research has additionally provided a broad and varied stream of benefits, such as decreases in train derailments as a result of standards ensuring the quality of steel, smoother riding, lower maintenance automobiles as a result of technology that improves the fit of assembled parts, and reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions as a result of improved measurements in the oil industry; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been a leader in helping small manufacturing companies in all 50 States to modernize and prepare for the 21st Century; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology, through its Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program, has helped define best practices in business, in education, and in health care, and has helped leading companies become even more competitive; Whereas the National Institute of Standards and Technology employs about 3,300 people, and operates primarily in 2 locations, Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado, with some of our Nation's finest and most dedicated Federal scientists, including Nobel Prize winners; Whereas the lack of laboratory space led to the establishment of a cryogenic engineering laboratory and radio facilities on land
�
