“The Congress makes the following findings:“(1) Over 90 percent of United States companies engaged in manufacturing are small- and medium-sized businesses.
“(2) Most of these manufacturers produce goods for assemblage into products of large companies.
“(3) The emergence of the World Wide Web and the promulgation of international standards for product data exchange greatly accelerated the movement toward electronically integrated supply chains during the last half of the 1990’s.
“(4) European and Asian countries are investing heavily in electronic enterprise standards development, and in preparing their smaller manufacturers to do business in the new environment. European efforts are well advanced in the aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries and are beginning in other industries including home building, furniture manufacturing, textiles, and apparel. This investment could give overseas companies a major competitive advantage.
“(5) The National Institute of Standards and Technology, because of the electronic commerce expertise in its laboratories and quality program, its long history of working cooperatively with manufacturers, and the nationwide reach of its manufacturing extension program, is in a unique position to help United States large and smaller manufacturers alike in their responses to this challenge.
“(6) It is, therefore, in the national interest for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to accelerate its efforts in helping industry develop standards and enterprise integration processes that are necessary to increase efficiency and lower costs.
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