I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2020 

To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to authorize activities for support of networking and information technology research, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2009 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. LIPINSKI, 

Mr. EHLERS, Mr. WU, Mrs. BIGGERT, and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 

to authorize activities for support of networking and 

information technology research, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Networking and Infor5 mation Technology Research and Development Act of 

6 2009’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2020 IH

1 SEC. 2. PROGRAM PLANNING AND COORDINATION. 

2 (a) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—Section 101 of the High3 Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(d) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—The agencies identified in 

7 subsection (a)(3)(B) shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) periodically assess the contents and fund9 ing levels of the Program Component Areas and re10 structure the Program when warranted, taking into 

11 consideration any relevant recommendations of the 

12 advisory committee established under subsection (b); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(2) ensure that the Program includes large15 scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research and de16 velopment activities, including activities described in 

17 section 104.’’. 

18 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—Section 

19 101 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended further by 

20 adding after subsection (d), as added by subsection (a), 

21 the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The agencies identified in 

24 subsection (a)(3)(B), working through the National 

25 Science and Technology Council and with the assist26 ance of the National Coordination Office established 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2020 IH

1 under section 106, shall develop, within 12 months 

2 after the date of enactment of the Networking and 

3 Information Technology Research and Development 

4 Act of 2009, and update every 3 years thereafter, a 

5 5-year strategic plan to guide the activities described 

6 under subsection (a)(1). 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan shall 

8 specify near-term and long-term objectives for the 

9 Program, the anticipated time frame for achieving 

10 the near-term objectives, the metrics to be used for 

11 assessing progress toward the objectives, and how 

12 the Program will— 

13 ‘‘(A) foster the transfer of research and 

14 development results into new technologies and 

15 applications for the benefit of society, including 

16 through cooperation and collaborations with 

17 networking and information technology re18 search, development, and technology transition 

19 initiatives supported by the States; 

20 ‘‘(B) encourage and support mechanisms 

21 for interdisciplinary research and development 

22 in high-performance computing, including 

23 through collaborations across agencies, across 

24 Program Component Areas, with industry, with 

25 Federal laboratories (as defined in section 4 of 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2020 IH

1 the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

2 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703)), and with inter3 national organizations; 

4 ‘‘(C) address long-term challenges of na5 tional importance for which solutions require 

6 large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research 

7 and development; 

8 ‘‘(D) place emphasis on innovative and 

9 high-risk projects having the potential for sub10 stantial societal returns on the research invest11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(E) strengthen all levels of networking 

13 and information technology education and 

14 training programs to ensure an adequate, well15 trained workforce. 

16 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

17 strategic plan developed in accordance with paragraph (1) 

18 shall be accompanied by milestones and roadmaps for es19 tablishing and maintaining the national research infra20 structure required to support the Program, including the 

21 roadmap required by subsection (a)(2)(E). 

22 ‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The entities involved in 

23 developing the strategic plan under paragraph (1) shall 

24 take into consideration the recommendations— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2020 IH

1 ‘‘(A) of the advisory committee established 

2 under subsection (b); and 

3 ‘‘(B) of the stakeholders whose input was solic4 ited by the National Coordination Office, as required 

5 under section 106(b)(3). 

6 ‘‘(5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the 

7 National Coordination Office shall transmit the strategic 

8 plan required under paragraph (1) to the advisory com9 mittee, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans10 portation of the Senate, and the Committee on Science 

11 and Technology of the House of Representatives.’’. 

12 (c) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.— 

13 Section 101(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(2)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 

16 (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol18 lowing new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(E) encourage and monitor the efforts of 

20 the agencies participating in the Program to al21 locate the level of resources and management 

22 attention necessary to ensure that the strategic 

23 plan under subsection (e) is developed and exe24 cuted effectively and that the objectives of the 

25 Program are met;’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•HR 2020 IH

1 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 101(b)(1) of 

2 such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)) is amended by inserting 

3 after ‘‘an advisory committee on high-performance com4 puting,’’ the following: ‘‘in which the co-chairs shall be 

5 members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science 

6 and Technology and with the remainder of the com7 mittee’’. 

8 (e) REPORT.—Section 101(a)(3) of such Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 5511(a)(3)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (C)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘is submitted,’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘is submitted, the levels for the previous 

13 fiscal year,’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘each Program Component 

15 Area;’’ and inserting ‘‘each Program Compo16 nent Area and research area supported in ac17 cordance with section 104;’’; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘each Program Component 

20 Area,’’ and inserting ‘‘each Program Compo21 nent Area and research area supported in ac22 cordance with section 104,’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘is submitted,’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘is submitted, the levels for the previous 

25 fiscal year,’’; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•HR 2020 IH

1 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

2 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub3 paragraph (G); and 

4 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol5 lowing new subparagraphs: 

6 ‘‘(E) include a description of how the ob7 jectives for each Program Component Area, and 

8 the objectives for activities that involve multiple 

9 Program Component Areas, relate to the objec10 tives of the Program identified in the strategic 

11 plan required under subsection (e); 

12 ‘‘(F) include— 

13 ‘‘(i) a description of the funding re14 quired by the National Coordination Office 

15 to perform the functions specified under 

16 section 106(b) for the next fiscal year by 

17 category of activity; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a description of the funding re19 quired by such Office to perform the func20 tions specified under section 106(b) for the 

21 current fiscal year by category of activity; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iii) the amount of funding provided 

24 for such Office for the current fiscal year 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

•HR 2020 IH

1 by each agency participating in the Pro2 gram; and’’. 

3 (f) DEFINITION.—Section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 5503) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

6 (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re8 designated, the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(1) ‘cyber-physical systems’ means physical or 

10 engineered systems whose networking and informa11 tion technology functions and physical elements are 

12 deeply integrated and are actively connected to the 

13 physical world through sensors, actuators, or other 

14 means to perform monitoring and control func15 tions;’’. 

16 SEC. 3. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NATIONAL 

17 IMPORTANCE. 

18 Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 104. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NA21 TIONAL IMPORTANCE. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall encourage 

23 agencies identified in section 101(a)(3)(B) to support 

24 large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research and de25 velopment activities in high-performance computing diVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:05 Apr 23, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2020.IH H2020

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
9 

•HR 2020 IH

1 rected toward application areas that have the potential for 

2 significant contributions to national economic competitive3 ness and for other significant societal benefits. Such ac4 tivities, ranging from basic research to the demonstration 

5 of technical solutions, shall be designed to advance the de6 velopment of research discoveries. The advisory committee 

7 established under section 101(b) shall make recommenda8 tions to the Program for candidate research and develop9 ment areas for support under this section. 

10 ‘‘(b) CHARACTERISTICS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Research and development 

12 activities under this section shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) include projects selected on the basis 

14 of applications for support through a competi15 tive, merit-based process; 

16 ‘‘(B) involve collaborations among re17 searchers in institutions of higher education 

18 and industry, and may involve nonprofit re19 search institutions and Federal laboratories, as 

20 appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(C) when possible, leverage Federal in22 vestments through collaboration with related 

23 State initiatives; and 

24 ‘‘(D) include a plan for fostering the trans25 fer of research discoveries and the results of 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
10 

•HR 2020 IH

1 technology demonstration activities to industry 

2 for commercial development. 

3 ‘‘(2) COST-SHARING.—In selecting applications 

4 for support, the agencies shall give special consider5 ation to projects that include cost sharing from non6 Federal sources. 

7 ‘‘(3) AGENCY COLLABORATION.—If 2 or more 

8 agencies identified in section 101(a)(3)(B), or other 

9 appropriate agencies, are working on large-scale re10 search and development activities in the same area 

11 of national importance, then such agencies shall 

12 strive to collaborate through joint solicitation and se13 lection of applications for support and subsequent 

14 funding of projects. 

15 ‘‘(4) INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CEN16 TERS.—Research and development activities under 

17 this section may be supported through interdiscipli18 nary research centers that are organized to inves19 tigate basic research questions and carry out tech20 nology demonstration activities in areas described in 

21 subsection (a). Research may be carried out through 

22 existing interdisciplinary centers, including those au23 thorized under section 7024(b)(2) of the America 

24 COMPETES Act (Public Law 110–69; 42 U.S.C. 

25 1862o–10).’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
11 

•HR 2020 IH

1 SEC. 4. CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION 

2 MANAGEMENT. 

3 (a) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS.—Sec4 tion 101(a)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(1)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

7 after the semicolon; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(J) provide for increased understanding 

13 of the scientific principles of cyber-physical sys14 tems and improve the methods available for the 

15 design, development, and operation of cyber16 physical systems that are characterized by high 

17 reliability, safety, and security; and 

18 ‘‘(K) provide for research and development 

19 on human-computer interactions, visualization, 

20 and information management.’’. 

21 (b) TASK FORCE.—Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 5511) is amended further by adding after section 104, as 

23 added by section 3, the following new section: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 105. UNIVERSITY/INDUSTRY TASK FORCE. 

25 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

26 after the date of enactment of the Networking and InforVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:05 Apr 23, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2020.IH H2020

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
12 

•HR 2020 IH

1 mation Technology Research and Development Act of 

2 2009, the Director of the National Coordination Office es3 tablished under section 106 shall convene a task force to 

4 explore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative research 

5 and development activities for cyber-physical systems, in6 cluding the related technologies required to enable these 

7 systems, through a consortium or other appropriate entity 

8 with participants from institutions of higher education, 

9 Federal laboratories, and industry. 

10 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The task force shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) develop options for a collaborative model 

12 and an organizational structure for such entity 

13 under which the joint research and development ac14 tivities could be planned, managed, and conducted 

15 effectively, including mechanisms for the allocation 

16 of resources among the participants in such entity 

17 for support of such activities; 

18 ‘‘(2) propose a process for developing a re19 search and development agenda for such entity, in20 cluding objectives and milestones; 

21 ‘‘(3) define the roles and responsibilities for the 

22 participants from institutions of higher education 

23 and industry in such entity; 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
13 

•HR 2020 IH

1 ‘‘(4) propose guidelines for assigning intellec2 tual property rights and for the transfer of research 

3 results to the private sector; and 

4 ‘‘(5) make recommendations for how such enti5 ty could be funded from Federal, State, and non6 governmental sources. 

7 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION.—In establishing the task force 

8 under subsection (a), the Director of the National Coordi9 nation Office shall appoint an equal number of individuals 

10 from institutions of higher education and from industry 

11 with knowledge and expertise in cyber-physical systems, 

12 of which 2 may be selected from Federal laboratories. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of the Networking and Information Tech15 nology Research and Development Act of 2009, the Direc16 tor of the National Coordination Office shall transmit to 

17 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Science and Tech19 nology of the House of Representatives a report describing 

20 the findings and recommendations of the task force.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE. 

22 Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended fur23 ther by adding after section 105, as added by section 4, 

24 the following new section: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
14 

•HR 2020 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 106. NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish 

3 a National Coordination Office with a Director and full4 time staff. 

5 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The National Coordination Office 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) provide technical and administrative sup8 port to— 

9 ‘‘(A) the agencies participating in planning 

10 and implementing the Program, including such 

11 support as needed in the development of the 

12 strategic plan under section 101(e); and 

13 ‘‘(B) the advisory committee established 

14 under section 101(b); 

15 ‘‘(2) serve as the primary point of contact on 

16 Federal high-performance computing activities for 

17 government organizations, academia, industry, pro18 fessional societies, State computing and networking 

19 technology programs, interested citizen groups, and 

20 others to exchange technical and programmatic in21 formation; 

22 ‘‘(3) solicit input and recommendations from a 

23 wide range of stakeholders during the development 

24 of each strategic plan required under section 101(e) 

25 through the convening of at least 1 workshop with 

26 invitees from academia, industry, Federal laboraVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:05 Apr 23, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2020.IH H2020

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
15 

•HR 2020 IH

1 tories, and other relevant organizations and institu2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(4) conduct public outreach, including the dis4 semination of findings and recommendations of the 

5 advisory committee, as appropriate; and 

6 ‘‘(5) promote access to and early application of 

7 the technologies, innovations, and expertise derived 

8 from Program activities to agency missions and sys9 tems across the Federal Government and to United 

10 States industry. 

11 ‘‘(c) SOURCE OF FUNDING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The operation of the Na13 tional Coordination Office shall be supported by 

14 funds from each agency participating in the Pro15 gram. 

16 ‘‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS.—The portion of the total 

17 budget of such Office that is provided by each agen18 cy for each fiscal year shall be in the same propor19 tion as each such agency’s share of the total budget 

20 for the Program for the previous fiscal year, as spec21 ified in the report required under section 

22 101(a)(3).’’. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS