Advanced Technology Program: victim of Congressional fervor?

The Republican Party-dominated House refused to allocate funds for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) in FY 1996. The House's refusal to grant appropriations for the program stems from the Republican philosophy which opposes the formulation of programs that can be interpreted as a federal industrial policy. Proponents of the ATP, however, argue that the Republicans overlooked the program's numerous contributions to industrial technology transfer when they decided to cut its funding.