II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4940

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Received

AN ACT

To designate the museum operated by the Secretary of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the ‘‘American Museum of Science and Energy’’, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 TITLE I—AMERICAN MUSEUM OF

2 SCIENCE AND ENERGY

3 SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF AMERICAN MUSEUM OF

4 SCIENCE AND ENERGY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Museum—

6 (1) is designated as the ‘‘American Museum of

7 Science and Energy’’; and

8 (2) shall be the official museum of science and

9 energy of the United States.

10 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg11 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United

12 States to the Museum is deemed to be a reference to the

13 ‘‘American Museum of Science and Energy’’.

14 (c) PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The name ‘‘American Mu16 seum of Science and Energy’’ is declared the prop17 erty of the United States.

18 (2) INJUNCTION.—Whoever, except as author19 ized by the Secretary, uses or reproduces the name

20 ‘‘American Museum of Science and Energy’’, or a

21 facsimile or simulation of such name in such manner

22 as suggests ‘‘American Museum of Science and En23 ergy’’, may be enjoined from such use or reproduc24 tion at the suit of the Attorney General upon com25 plaint by the Secretary.
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1 (3) EFFECT ON OTHER RIGHTS.—This sub2 section shall not be construed to conflict or interfere

3 with established or vested rights.

4 SEC. 102. AUTHORITY.

5 To carry out the activities of the Museum, the Sec6 retary may—

7 (1) accept and dispose of any gift, devise, or be8 quest of services or property, real or personal, that

9 is—

10 (A) designated in a written document by

11 the person making the gift, devise, or bequest

12 as intended for the Museum; and

13 (B) determined by the Secretary to be suit14 able and beneficial for use by the Museum;

15 (2) operate a retail outlet on the premises of

16 the Museum for the purpose of selling or distrib17 uting items (including mementos, food, educational

18 materials, replicas, and literature) that are—

19 (A) relevant to the contents of the Mu20 seum; and

21 (B) informative, educational, and tasteful;

22 (3) collect reasonable fees where feasible and

23 appropriate;
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1 (4) exhibit, perform, display, and publish mate2 rials and information of or relating to the Museum

3 in any media or place;

4 (5) consistent with guidelines approved by the

5 Secretary, lease space on the premises of the Mu6 seum at reasonable rates and for uses consistent

7 with such guidelines; and

8 (6) use the proceeds of activities authorized

9 under this section to pay the costs of the Museum.

10 SEC. 103. MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS.

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE VOLUNTEERS.—The Sec12 retary may recruit, train, and accept the services of indi13 viduals or entities as volunteers for services or activities

14 related to the Museum.

15 (b) STATUS OF VOLUNTEERS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), service by a volunteer under subsection

18 (a) shall not be considered Federal employment.

19 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—

20 (A) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT.—For

21 purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, United

22 States Code, a volunteer under subsection (a)

23 shall be treated as an employee of the govern24 ment (as defined in section 2671 of that title).
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1 (B) COMPENSATION FOR WORK INJU2 RIES.—For purposes of subchapter I of chapter

3 81 of title 5, United States Code, a volunteer

4 described in subsection (a) shall be treated as

5 an employee (as defined in section 8101 of title

6 5, United States Code).

7 (c) COMPENSATION.—A volunteer under subsection

8 (a) shall serve without pay, but may receive nominal

9 awards and reimbursement for incidental expenses, includ10 ing expenses for a uniform or transportation in further11 ance of Museum activities.

12 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

13 For purposes of this title:

14 (1) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the

15 museum operated by the Secretary of Energy and lo16 cated at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge,

17 Tennessee.

18 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

19 the Secretary of Energy or a designated representa20 tive of the Secretary.

21 TITLE II—NETWORKING AND

22 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

23 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Networking and Infor25 mation Technology Research and Development Act’’.
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1 SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Information technology will continue to

4 change the way Americans live, learn, and work. The

5 information revolution will improve the workplace

6 and the quality and accessibility of health care and

7 education and make Government more responsible

8 and accessible. It is important that access to infor9 mation technology be available to all citizens, includ10 ing elderly Americans and Americans with disabil11 ities.

12 (2) Information technology is an imperative en13 abling technology that contributes to scientific dis14 ciplines. Major advances in biomedical research, pub15 lic safety, engineering, and other critical areas de16 pend on further advances in computing and commu17 nications.

18 (3) The United States is the undisputed global

19 leader in information technology.

20 (4) Information technology is recognized as a

21 catalyst for economic growth and prosperity.

22 (5) Information technology represents one of

23 the fastest growing sectors of the United States

24 economy, with electronic commerce alone projected

25 to become a trillion-dollar business by 2005.
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1 (6) Businesses producing computers, semi2 conductors, software, and communications equip3 ment account for one-third of the total growth in the

4 United States economy since 1992.

5 (7) According to the United States Census Bu6 reau, between 1993 and 1997, the information tech7 nology sector grew an average of 12.3 percent per

8 year.

9 (8) Fundamental research in information tech10 nology has enabled the information revolution.

11 (9) Fundamental research in information tech12 nology has contributed to the creation of new indus13 tries and new, high-paying jobs.

14 (10) Our Nation’s well-being will depend on the

15 understanding, arising from fundamental research,

16 of the social and economic benefits and problems

17 arising from the increasing pace of information tech18 nology transformations.

19 (11) Scientific and engineering research and the

20 availability of a skilled workforce are critical to con21 tinued economic growth driven by information tech22 nology.

23 (12) In 1997, private industry provided most of

24 the funding for research and development in the in25 formation technology sector. The information tech-
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1 nology sector now receives, in absolute terms, one2 third of all corporate spending on research and de3 velopment in the United States economy.

4 (13) The private sector tends to focus its

5 spending on short-term, applied research.

6 (14) The Federal Government is uniquely posi7 tioned to support long-term fundamental research.

8 (15) Federal applied research in information

9 technology has grown at almost twice the rate of

10 Federal basic research since 1986.

11 (16) Federal science and engineering programs

12 must increase their emphasis on long-term, high-risk

13 research.

14 (17) Current Federal programs and support for

15 fundamental research in information technology is

16 inadequate if we are to maintain the Nation’s global

17 leadership in information technology.

18 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section

20 201(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

21 (15 U.S.C. 5521(b)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author23 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘There’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘1995;’’; and

3 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert4 ing ‘‘; $580,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

5 $699,300,000 for fiscal year 2001; $728,150,000 for

6 fiscal year 2002; $801,550,000 for fiscal year 2003;

7 and $838,500,000 for fiscal year 2004. Amounts au8 thorized under this subsection shall be the total

9 amounts authorized to the National Science Founda10 tion for a fiscal year for the Program, and shall not

11 be in addition to amounts previously authorized by

12 law for the purposes of the Program.’’.

13 (b) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS14 TRATION.—Section 202(b) of the High-Performance Com15 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5522(b)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author17 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘There’’;

19 (2) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘1995;’’; and

21 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert22 ing ‘‘; $164,400,000 for fiscal year 2000;

23 $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $208,000,000 for

24 fiscal year 2002; $224,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

25 and $231,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.
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1 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—Section 203(e)(1) of

2 the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

3 5523(e)(1)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘1995;’’; and

6 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert7 ing ‘‘; $119,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;

8 $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $183,000,000 for

9 fiscal year 2002; $193,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

10 and $203,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

11 (d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

12 TECHNOLOGY.—(1) Section 204(d)(1) of the High-Per13 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)(1))

14 is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘1995;’’; and

17 (B) by striking ‘‘1996; and’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘1996; $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; $9,500,000

19 for fiscal year 2001; $10,500,000 for fiscal year

20 2002; $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

21 $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and’’.

22 (2) Section 204(d) of the High-Performance Com23 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)) is amended by

24 striking ‘‘From sums otherwise authorized to be appro25 priated, there’’ and inserting ‘‘There’’.
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1 (e) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN2 ISTRATION.—Section 204(d)(2) of the High-Performance

3 Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)(2)) is

4 amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘1995;’’; and

7 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert8 ing ‘‘; $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;

9 $13,900,000 for fiscal year 2001; $14,300,000 for

10 fiscal year 2002; $14,800,000 for fiscal year 2003;

11 and $15,200,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

12 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—Sec13 tion 205(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of

14 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(b)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author16 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘There’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘1995;’’; and

20 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert21 ing ‘‘; $4,200,000 for fiscal year 2000; $4,300,000

22 for fiscal year 2001; $4,500,000 for fiscal year

23 2002; $4,600,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

24 $4,700,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.
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1 (g) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—Title II of

2 the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

3 5521 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 205

4 the following new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 205A. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ACTIVITIES.

6 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the

7 Program described in title I, the National Institutes of

8 Health shall conduct research directed toward the ad9 vancement and dissemination of computational techniques

10 and software tools in support of its mission of biomedical

11 and behavioral research.

12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

14 Health and Human Services for the purposes of the Pro15 gram $223,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $233,000,000

16 for fiscal year 2001, $242,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

17 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $250,000,000 for

18 fiscal year 2004.’’.

19 SEC. 204. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

20 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

21 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section 201

22 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15

23 U.S.C. 5521) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsections:
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1 ‘‘(c) NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

2 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—(1) Of the amounts au3 thorized under subsection (b), $350,000,000 for fiscal

4 year 2000, $421,000,000 for fiscal year 2001,

5 $442,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $486,000,000 for fis6 cal year 2003, and $515,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 shall

7 be available for grants for long-term basic research on net8 working and information technology, with priority given

9 to research that helps address issues related to high end

10 computing and software; network stability, fragility, reli11 ability, security (including privacy and counterinitiatives),

12 and scalability; and the social and economic consequences

13 (including the consequences for healthcare) of information

14 technology.

15 ‘‘(2) In each of the fiscal years 2000 and 2001, the

16 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub17 section up to 25 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each,

18 and in each of the fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004, the

19 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub20 section up to 35 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each.

21 ‘‘(3)(A) Of the amounts described in paragraph (1),

22 $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $45,000,000 for fiscal

23 year 2001, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $55,000,000

24 for fiscal year 2003, and $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2004
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1 shall be available for grants of up to $5,000,000 each for

2 Information Technology Research Centers.

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘Infor4 mation Technology Research Centers’ means groups of six

5 or more researchers collaborating across scientific and en6 gineering disciplines on large-scale long-term research

7 projects which will significantly advance the science sup8 porting the development of information technology or the

9 use of information technology in addressing scientific

10 issues of national importance.

11 ‘‘(d) MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT.—(1) In addi12 tion to the amounts authorized under subsection (b), there

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science

14 Foundation $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2000,

15 $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $80,000,000 for fiscal

16 year 2002, $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and

17 $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 for grants for the devel18 opment of major research equipment to establish terascale

19 computing capabilities at one or more sites and to promote

20 diverse computing architectures. Awards made under this

21 subsection shall provide for support for the operating ex22 penses of facilities established to provide the terascale

23 computing capabilities, with funding for such operating

24 expenses derived from amounts available under subsection

25 (b).
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1 ‘‘(2) Grants awarded under this subsection shall be

2 awarded through an open, nationwide, peer-reviewed com3 petition. Awardees may include consortia consisting of

4 members from some or all of the following types of institu5 tions:

6 ‘‘(A) Academic supercomputer centers.

7 ‘‘(B) State-supported supercomputer centers.

8 ‘‘(C) Supercomputer centers that are supported

9 as part of federally funded research and development

10 centers.

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation, or

12 agency policy, a federally funded research and develop13 ment center may apply for a grant under this subsection,

14 and may compete on an equal basis with any other appli15 cant for the awarding of such a grant.

16 ‘‘(3) As a condition of receiving a grant under this

17 subsection, an awardee must agree—

18 ‘‘(A) to connect to the National Science Foun19 dation’s Partnership for Advanced Computational

20 Infrastructure network;

21 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable, to co22 ordinate with other federally funded large-scale com23 puting and simulation efforts; and

24 ‘‘(C) to provide open access to all grant recipi25 ents under this subsection or subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND

2 TRAINING GRANTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.—

4 The National Science Foundation shall provide

5 grants under the Scientific and Advanced Tech6 nology Act of 1992 for the purposes of section 3(a)

7 and (b) of that Act, except that the activities sup8 ported pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to

9 improving education in fields related to information

10 technology. The Foundation shall encourage institu11 tions with a substantial percentage of student enroll12 ments from groups underrepresented in information

13 technology industries to participate in the competi14 tion for grants provided under this paragraph.

15 ‘‘(2) INTERNSHIP GRANTS.—The National

16 Science Foundation shall provide—

17 ‘‘(A) grants to institutions of higher edu18 cation to establish scientific internship pro19 grams in information technology research at

20 private sector companies; and

21 ‘‘(B) supplementary awards to institutions

22 funded under the Louis Stokes Alliances for Mi23 nority Participation program for internships in

24 information technology research at private sec25 tor companies.
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1 ‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—Awards under para2 graph (2) shall be made on the condition that at

3 least an equal amount of funding for the internship

4 shall be provided by the private sector company at

5 which the internship will take place.

6 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub7 section, the term ‘institution of higher education’

8 has the meaning given that term in section 1201(a)

9 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

10 1141(a)).

11 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the

12 amounts described in subsection (c)(1), $10,000,000

13 for fiscal year 2000, $15,000,000 for fiscal year

14 2001, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

15 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $25,000,000

16 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for carrying

17 out this subsection.

18 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—

19 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—As part of its re20 sponsibilities under subsection (a)(1), the National

21 Science Foundation shall establish a research pro22 gram to develop, demonstrate, assess, and dissemi23 nate effective applications of information and com24 puter technologies for elementary and secondary

25 education. Such program shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) support research projects, including

2 collaborative projects involving academic re3 searchers and elementary and secondary

4 schools, to develop innovative educational mate5 rials, including software, and pedagogical ap6 proaches based on applications of information

7 and computer technology;

8 ‘‘(B) support empirical studies to deter9 mine the educational effectiveness and the cost

10 effectiveness of specific, promising educational

11 approaches, techniques, and materials that are

12 based on applications of information and com13 puter technologies; and

14 ‘‘(C) include provision for the widespread

15 dissemination of the results of the studies car16 ried out under subparagraphs (A) and (B), in17 cluding maintenance of electronic libraries of

18 the best educational materials identified acces19 sible through the Internet.

20 ‘‘(2) REPLICATION.—The research projects and

21 empirical studies carried out under paragraph (1)(A)

22 and (B) shall encompass a wide variety of edu23 cational settings in order to identify approaches,

24 techniques, and materials that have a high potential
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1 for being successfully replicated throughout the

2 United States.

3 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the

4 amounts authorized under subsection (b),

5 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $10,500,000 for

6 fiscal year 2001, $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

7 $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $12,500,000

8 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for the pur9 poses of this subsection.

10 ‘‘(g) PEER REVIEW.—All grants made under this sec11 tion shall be made only after being subject to peer review

12 by panels or groups having private sector representation.’’.

13 (b) OTHER PROGRAM AGENCIES.—

14 (1) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE AD15 MINISTRATION.—Section 202(a) of the High-Per16 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

17 5522(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may par18 ticipate in or support research described in section

19 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘and experimentation’’.

20 (2) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—Section 203(a)

21 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

22 (15 U.S.C. 5523(a)) is amended by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting a comma, and by add24 ing after paragraph (4) the following:
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1 ‘‘conduct an integrated program of research, development,

2 and provision of facilities to develop and deploy to sci3 entific and technical users the high performance com4 puting and collaboration tools needed to fulfill the statu5 tory mission of the Department of Energy, and may par6 ticipate in or support research described in section

7 201(c)(1).’’.

8 (3) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

9 TECHNOLOGY.—Section 204(a)(1) of the High-Per10 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

11 5524(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the

12 end of subparagraph (C) and inserting a comma,

13 and by adding after subparagraph (C) the following:

14 ‘‘and may participate in or support research de15 scribed in section 201(c)(1); and’’.

16 (4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD17 MINISTRATION.—Section 204(a)(2) of the High-Per18 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

19 5524(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may

20 participate in or support research described in sec21 tion 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘agency missions’’.

22 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—

23 Section 205(a) of the High-Performance Computing

24 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(a)) is amended by in25 serting ‘‘, and may participate in or support re-
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1 search described in section 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘dynam2 ics models’’.

3 (6) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—

4 Title II of the High-Performance Computing Act of

5 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5521 et seq.) is amended—

6 (A) by redesignating sections 207 and 208

7 as sections 208 and 209, respectively; and

8 (B) by inserting after section 206 the fol9 lowing new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 207. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

11 ‘‘The United States Geological Survey may partici12 pate in or support research described in section

13 201(c)(1).’’.

14 SEC. 205. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(d) of the High-Per16 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513(d)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (1)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘1999,’’; and

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘, $15,000,000 for fiscal

22 year 2001, and $15,000,000 for fiscal year

23 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and

2 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and $25,000,000

3 for fiscal year 2002’’ after ‘‘Act of 1998’’;

4 (3) in paragraph (4)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘1999,’’; and

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘, $10,000,000 for fiscal

8 year 2001, and $10,000,000 for fiscal year

9 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’; and

10 (4) in paragraph (5)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘1999,’’; and

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘, $5,500,000 for fiscal

14 year 2001, and $5,500,000 for fiscal year

15 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’.

16 (b) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Section 103 of the

17 High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

18 5513) is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(e) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Out of appropriated

21 amounts authorized by subsection (d), not less than 10

22 percent of the total amounts shall be made available to

23 fund research grants for making high-speed connectivity

24 more accessible to users in geographically remote areas.

25 The research shall include investigations of wireless, hy-
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1 brid, and satellite technologies. In awarding grants under

2 this subsection, the administering agency shall give pri3 ority to qualified, post-secondary educational institutions

4 that participate in the Experimental Program to Stimu5 late Competitive Research.’’.

6 (c) MINORITY AND SMALL COLLEGE INTERNET AC7 CESS.—Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing

8 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513), as amended by subsection

9 (b), is further amended by adding at the end thereof the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(f) MINORITY AND SMALL COLLEGE INTERNET AC12 CESS.—Not less than 5 percent of the amounts made

13 available for research under subsection (d) shall be used

14 for grants to institutions of higher education that are His15 panic-serving, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Native

16 Alaskan, Historically Black, or small colleges and univer17 sities.’’.

18 (d) DIGITAL DIVIDE STUDY.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Academy of

20 Sciences shall conduct a study to determine the ex21 tent to which the Internet backbone and network in22 frastructure contribute to the uneven ability to ac23 cess to Internet-related technologies and services by

24 rural and low-income Americans. The study shall

25 include—
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1 (A) an assessment of the existing geo2 graphical penalty (as defined in section 7(a)(1)

3 of the Next Generation Internet Research Act

4 of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 5501 nt.)) and its impact

5 on all users and their ability to obtain secure

6 and reliable Internet access;

7 (B) a review of all current federally funded

8 research to decrease the inequity of Internet ac9 cess to rural and low-income users; and

10 (C) an estimate of the potential impact of

11 Next Generation Internet research institutions

12 acting as aggregators and mentors for nearby

13 smaller or disadvantaged institutions.

14 (2) REPORT.—The National Academy of

15 Sciences shall transmit a report containing the re16 sults of the study and recommendations required by

17 paragraph (1) to the House of Representatives Com18 mittee on Science and the Senate Committee on

19 Commerce, Science, and Transportation within 1

20 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na23 tional Academy of Sciences such sums as may be

24 necessary to carry out this subsection.
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1 SEC. 206. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

2 Section 101 of the High-Performance Computing Act

3 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (b)—

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

6 through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E),

7 respectively;

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘ADVISORY

9 COMMITTEE.—’’; and

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new

11 paragraph:

12 ‘‘(2) In addition to the duties outlined in paragraph

13 (1), the advisory committee shall conduct periodic evalua14 tions of the funding, management, implementation, and

15 activities of the Program, the Next Generation Internet

16 program, and the Networking and Information Tech17 nology Research and Development program, and shall re18 port not less frequently than once every 2 fiscal years to

19 the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives

20 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate on its findings and recommendations.

22 The first report shall be due within 1 year after the date

23 of the enactment of the Networking and Information

24 Technology Research and Development Act.’’; and

25 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A) and (2), by inserting

26 ‘‘, including the Next Generation Internet program
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1 and the Networking and Information Technology

2 Research and Development program’’ after ‘‘Pro3 gram’’ each place it appears.

4 SEC. 207. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

5 Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing Act

6 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513), as amended by section 205 of

7 this title, is further amended by redesignating subsections

8 (b), (c), and (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respec9 tively, and by inserting after subsection (a) the following

10 new subsection:

11 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Director of the Na13 tional Science Foundation shall conduct a study of

14 the issues described in paragraph (3), and not later

15 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the

16 Networking and Information Technology Research

17 and Development Act, shall transmit to the Congress

18 a report including recommendations to address those

19 issues. Such report shall be updated annually for 6

20 additional years.

21 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the reports

22 under paragraph (1), the Director of the National

23 Science Foundation shall consult with the National

24 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National

25 Institute of Standards and Technology, and such
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1 other Federal agencies and educational entities as

2 the Director of the National Science Foundation

3 considers appropriate.

4 ‘‘(3) ISSUES.—The reports shall—

5 ‘‘(A) identify the current status of high6 speed, large bandwidth capacity access to all

7 public elementary and secondary schools and li8 braries in the United States;

9 ‘‘(B) identify how high-speed, large band10 width capacity access to the Internet to such

11 schools and libraries can be effectively utilized

12 within each school and library;

13 ‘‘(C) consider the effect that specific or re14 gional circumstances may have on the ability of

15 such institutions to acquire high-speed, large

16 bandwidth capacity access to achieve universal

17 connectivity as an effective tool in the education

18 process; and

19 ‘‘(D) include options and recommendations

20 for the various entities responsible for elemen21 tary and secondary education to address the

22 challenges and issues identified in the reports.’’.
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1 SEC. 208. STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION

2 TECHNOLOGY.

3 Section 201 of the High-Performance Computing Act

4 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524), as amended by sections 3(a)

5 and 4(a) of this Act, is amended further by inserting after

6 subsection (g) the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(h) STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION

8 TECHNOLOGY.—

9 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Not later than 90 days after the

10 date of the enactment of the Networking and Infor11 mation Technology Research and Development Act,

12 the Director of the National Science Foundation, in

13 consultation with the National Institute on Dis14 ability and Rehabilitation Research, shall enter into

15 an arrangement with the National Research Council

16 of the National Academy of Sciences for that Coun17 cil to conduct a study of accessibility to information

18 technologies by individuals who are elderly, individ19 uals who are elderly with a disability, and individ20 uals with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(2) SUBJECTS.—The study shall address—

22 ‘‘(A) current barriers to access to informa23 tion technologies by individuals who are elderly,

24 individuals who are elderly with a disability,

25 and individuals with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(B) research and development needed to

2 remove those barriers;

3 ‘‘(C) Federal legislative, policy, or regu4 latory changes needed to remove those barriers;

5 and

6 ‘‘(D) other matters that the National Re7 search Council determines to be relevant to ac8 cess to information technologies by individuals

9 who are elderly, individuals who are elderly with

10 a disability, and individuals with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Direc12 tor of the National Science Foundation shall trans13 mit to the Congress within 2 years of the date of the

14 enactment of the Networking and Information Tech15 nology Research and Development Act a report set16 ting forth the findings, conclusions, and rec17 ommendations of the National Research Council.

18 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—Fed19 eral agencies shall cooperate fully with the National

20 Research Council in its activities in carrying out the

21 study under this subsection.

22 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funding for

23 the study described in this subsection shall be avail24 able, in the amount of $700,000, from amounts de25 scribed in subsection (c)(1).’’.
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1 SEC. 209. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment

3 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the

4 Congress a report on the results of a detailed study ana5 lyzing the effects of this title, and the amendments made

6 by this title, on lower income families, minorities, and

7 women.

Passed the House of Representatives October 24,

2000.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.