Calendar No. 334

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1609

[Report No. 105–173]

A BILL

To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of

tivities, and for other purposes.port to the President and the Congress on its acof the Next Generation Internet program and reconcerning the development and implementationGeneration Internet to monitor and give advicetions, Information Technology, and the NextHigh-Performance Computing and Communicaprogram, to require the Advisory Committee on1999 and 2000 for the Next Generation Internet1991 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years

APRIL 2, 1998

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 334

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1609

[Report No. 105–173]

To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 for the Next Generation Internet

program, to require the Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet to monitor and give advice concerning the development

and implementation of the Next Generation Internet program and report

to the President and the Congress on its activities, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 4, 1998

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. ROCKFELLER, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr.

BURNS, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

APRIL 2, 1998

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, without amendment

A BILL

To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1999 and

2000 for the Next Generation Internet program, to require the Advisory Committee on High-Performance

Computing and Communications, Information Tech-
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nology, and the Next Generation Internet to monitor

and give advice concerning the development and implementation of the Next Generation Internet program and

report to the President and the Congress on its activities,

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 ‘‘Next Generation Inter5 net Research Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) TERMS USED IN THIS ACT.—For purposes of

8 this Act—

9 (1) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ has the

10 meaning given such term by section 230(e)(1) of the

11 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(e)(1)).

12 (2) GEOGRAPHIC PENALTY.—The term ‘‘geo13 graphic penalty’’ means the imposition of costs on

14 users of the Internet in rural or other locations at15 tributable to the distance of the user from network

16 facilities, the low population density of the area in

17 which the user is located, or other factors, that are

18 disproportionately greater than the costs imposed on

19 users in locations closer to such facilities or on users

20 in locations with significantly greater population

21 density.
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1 (b) DEFINITION OF NETWORK IN HIGH-PERFORM2 ANCE COMPUTING ACT OF 1991.—Paragraph (4) of sec3 tion 4 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

4 (15 U.S.C. 5503) is amended by striking ‘‘network re5 ferred to as the National Research and Education Net6 work established under section 102; and’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘network, including advanced computer networks of Fed8 eral agencies and departments; and’’.

9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Congress finds that—

11 (1) United States leadership in science and

12 technology has been vital to the Nation’s prosperity,

13 national and economic security, and international

14 competitiveness, and there is every reason to believe

15 that maintaining this tradition will lead to long-term

16 continuation of United States strategic advantages

17 in information technology;

18 (2) the United States’ investment in science

19 and technology has yielded a scientific and engineer20 ing enterprise without peer, and that Federal invest21 ment in research is critical to the maintenance of

22 United States leadership;

23 (3) previous Federal investment in computer

24 networking technology and related fields has resulted
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1 in the creation of new industries and new jobs in the

2 United States;

3 (4) the Internet is playing an increasingly im4 portant role in keeping citizens informed of the ac5 tions of their government; and

6 (5) continued inter-agency cooperation is nec7 essary to avoid wasteful duplication in Federal net8 working research and development programs.

9 (b) ADDITIONAL FINDINGS FOR THE 1991 ACT.—

10 Section 2 of the High-Performance Computing Act of

11 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501) is amended by—

12 (1) striking paragraph (4) and inserting the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(4) A high-capacity, flexible, high-speed na15 tional research and education computer network is

16 needed to provide researchers and educators with ac17 cess to computational and information resources, act

18 as a test bed for further research and development

19 for high-capacity and high-speed computer networks,

20 and provide researchers the necessary vehicle for

21 continued network technology improvement through

22 research.’’; and

23 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

24 ‘‘(7) Additional research must be undertaken to

25 lay the foundation for the development of new appli-
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1 cations that can result in economic growth, improved

2 health care, and improved educational opportunities.

3 ‘‘(8) Research in new networking technologies

4 holds the promise of easing the economic burdens of

5 information access disproportionately borne by rural

6 users of the Internet.

7 ‘‘(9) Information security is an important part

8 of computing, information, and communications sys9 tems and applications, and research into security ar10 chitectures is a critical aspect of computing, infor11 mation, and communications research programs.’’.

12 SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to serve as the first authorization in a series

15 of computing, information, and communication tech16 nology initiatives outlines in the High-Performance

17 Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.)

18 that will include research programs related to—

19 (A) high-end computing and computation;

20 (B) human-centered systems;

21 (C) high confidence systems; and

22 (D) education, training, and human re23 sources; and
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1 (2) to provide for the development and coordi2 nation of a comprehensive and integrated United

3 States research program which will—

4 (A) focus on the research and development

5 of a coordinated set of technologies that seeks

6 to create a network infrastructure that can sup7 port greater speed, robustness, and flexibility

8 than is currently available and promote

9 connectivity and interoperability among ad10 vanced computer networks of Federal agencies

11 and departments;

12 (B) focus on research in technology that

13 may result in high-speed data access for users

14 that is both economically viable and does not

15 impose a geographic penalty; and

16 (C) encourage researchers to pursue ap17 proaches to networking technology that lead to

18 maximally flexible and extensible solutions

19 wherever feasible.

20 (b) MODIFICATION OF PURPOSES OF THE 1991

21 ACT.—Section 3 of the High-Performance Computing Act

22 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5502) is amended by—

23 (1) striking the section caption and inserting

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. PURPOSES.’’;

2 (2) striking ‘‘purpose of this Act is’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘purposes of this Act are’’;

4 (3) striking ‘‘universities; and’’ in paragraph

5 (1)(I) and inserting ‘‘universities;’’;

6 (4) striking ‘‘efforts.’’ in paragraph (2) and in7 serting ‘‘network research and development pro8 grams;’’; and

9 (5) adding at the end thereof the following:

10 ‘‘(3) promoting the further development of an

11 information infrastructure of information stores,

12 services, access mechanisms, and research facilities

13 available for use through the Internet;

14 ‘‘(4) promoting the more rapid development and

15 wider distribution of networking management and

16 development tools; and

17 ‘‘(5) promoting the rapid adoption of open net18 work standards.’’.

19 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

20 Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of

21 1991 (15 U.S.C 5511 et seq.) is amended by adding at

22 the end thereof the following:

23 ‘‘SEC. 103. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to its functions

25 under Executive Order 13035 (62 F.R. 7231), the Advi26 sory Committee on High-Performance Computing and
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1 Communications, Information Technology, and the Next

2 Generation Internet, established by Executive Order No.

3 13035 of February 11, 1997 (62 F.R. 7231) shall—

4 ‘‘(1) assess the extent to which the Next Gen5 eration Internet program—

6 ‘‘(A) carries out the purposes of this Act;

7 ‘‘(B) addresses concerns relating to, among

8 other matters—

9 ‘‘(i) geographic penalties (as defined

10 in section 2(2) of the Next Generation

11 Internet Research Act of 1998); and

12 ‘‘(ii) technology transfer to and from

13 the private sector; and

14 ‘‘(2) assess the extent to which—

15 ‘‘(A) the role of each Federal agency and

16 department involved in implementing the Next

17 Generation Internet program is clear, com18 plementary to and non-duplicative of the roles

19 of other participating agencies and depart20 ments; and

21 ‘‘(B) each such agency and department

22 concurs with the rule of each other participat23 ing agency or department.

24 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall as25 sess implementation of the Next Generation Internet ini-
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1 tiative and report, not less frequently than annually, to

2 the President, the United States Senate Committee on

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the United

4 States House of Representatives Committee on Science on

5 its findings for the preceding fiscal year. The first such

6 report shall be submitted 6 months after the date of enact7 ment of the Next Generation Internet Research Act of

8 1998 the last report shall be submitted by September 30,

9 2000.’’.

10 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of

12 1991 (15 U.S.C 5511 et seq.), as amended by section 5

13 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

14 following:

15 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur17 pose of carrying out the Next Generation Internet pro18 gram the following amounts:

‘‘Agency FY 1999 FY 2000

‘‘Department of Defense .................................... $42,500,000 $45,000,000

‘‘Department of Energy ..................................... $20,000,000 $25,000,000

‘‘National Science Foundation ........................... $25,000,000 $25,000,000

‘‘National Institutes of Health ........................... $5,000,000 $7,500,000

‘‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration ................................................................. $5,000,000 $5,000,000

‘‘National Institute of Standards and Technology ............................................................. $5,000,000 $7,500,000’’.