This article, by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., a Washington, D.C. law firm focusing on assisting clients in obtaining regulatory agency approval of their chemical, medical device, and diagnostic products, explores what the absence of reauthorization for the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) means. NNI, a program that recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has eluded reauthorization for the third straight Congressional session. The near term implications are minimal, according to the authors, and NNI will continue to operate under its original legislation and such operation is not time-limited. Over the longer term, the absence of reauthorization could have more ominous and potentially adverse implications. “As the relentless pressure to reduce federal funding increases, the absence of reauthorization could cause the NNI to get lost in the shuffle, as it were, and diminish the stature and critical role of the NNI as a ‘central locus of communication, cooperation, and collaboration for all Federal agencies’ for all things nano,” the article says. Another regrettable implication is the message Congress could be inadvertently sending in repeatedly not reauthorizing the NNI: the United States is not as interested in maintaining its current leadership role in this emerging technology. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., states that reauthorization legislation should be initiated promptly and nanotechnology stakeholders should do what they can to make this happen. The article can be viewed online at the link below.