NIST / WWVx update: I posted this over in the NASWA and SWL Fest FB groups, and I'm reposting here since I know we don't have 100% overlap. Apologies in advance for its length. Apologies if you're seeing this for a second time.
First, Conversations with others who have experience working with NIST and the time & frequency stations mentioned that this same thing happened last year -- the NIST budget for Fiscal 2017-18 as submitted did not include funding for the stations. Once the NIST budget was approved, funds were shuffled around and the stations remained on the air. All of this happened "under the radar" last year -- apparently no one in the hobby noticed. It's important to note that there are plenty of industrial and scientific users of the time & frequency stations other than us hobbyists and those who own "atomic watches" and "atomic clocks", and the loss of the stations would significantly affect these other users. Outside the hobby community, the general feeling now in 2018 is that the same thing will happen this time -- funds will be shifted as needed to keep WWV / WWVH / WWVB on the air. But, one can never be sure, and it would still make sense to send letters / faxes / phone calls of support to members of Congress, NIST leadership, and other relevant agencies. Secondly, I did some digging and, indeed, this process (though not specifically mentioning WWV etc) happened last year too. Google led me to the American Academy of Science and the American Institute of Physics website, which each have tracked Federal spending and the budgetary process for NIST. For FY 2018 (which began in September 2017), here's how things shook out. Note that the time stations reside in NIST's Science and Technology Research Services (STRS) segment: FY 2017 actual, NIST STRS: $621 Million FY 2018 budget, NIST STRS: $536 Million FY 2018 omnibus (as passed by House / Senate), NIST STRS: $647 Million, reflecting a 20.8% increase over the requested budget. Overall, the FY 2018 omnibus for NIST was $1,055 Million, fully 61.8% higher than the budget of $652 Million. The FY 2019 process has been through a similar round of Congressional input already -- this happened in May and June -- and a comparison of the numbers actually shows that Congress has added back funding for FY 2019 that matches what they approved for FY 2018: Note specifically that STRS line item for FY 19 nearly matches what was approved for FY 18 -- $720 Million for the House, $725 Million for the Senate. (Why those numbers differ from the $647 Million number I haven't checked yet). While the two versions of Appropriations haven't yet been reconciled, it's worth noting that the NIST STRS line item is about the same in both. So it would appear that, as long as there are no major surprises, the stations should be safe...and I would add that letters of support to AAAS and the AIP would be worth sending too. Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA Relevant URLs: AAAS: https://www.aaas.org/news/nist-fy-2018-omnibus-manufacturing-and-labs-funding-safeguarded AIP: https://www.aip.org/fyi/federal-science-budget-tracker#tabs-section-nist
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