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105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1609

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

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 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.
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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.

22 (b) DEFINITION OF NETWORK IN HIGH-PERFORM23 ANCE COMPUTING ACT OF 1991.—Paragraph (4) of sec24 tion 4 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

25 (15 U.S.C. 5503) is amended by striking ‘‘network re-
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1 ferred to as the National Research and Education Net2 work established under section 102; and’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘network, including advanced computer networks of Fed4 eral agencies and departments; and’’.

5 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

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

7 (1) United States leadership in science and

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

9 national and economic security, and international

10 competitiveness, and there is every reason to believe

11 that maintaining this tradition will lead to long-term

12 continuation of United States strategic advantages

13 in information technology;

14 (2) the United States’ investment in science

15 and technology has yielded a scientific and engineer16 ing enterprise without peer, and that Federal invest17 ment in research is critical to the maintenance of

18 United States leadership;

19 (3) previous Federal investment in computer

20 networking technology and related fields has resulted

21 in the creation of new industries and new jobs in the

22 United States;

23 (4) the Internet is playing an increasingly im24 portant role in keeping citizens informed of the ac25 tions of their government; and
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1 (5) continued inter-agency cooperation is nec2 essary to avoid wasteful duplication in Federal net3 working research and development programs.

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

5 Section 2 of the High-Performance Computing Act of

6 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501) is amended by—

7 (1) striking paragraph (4) and inserting the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(4) A high-capacity, flexible, high-speed na10 tional research and education computer network is

11 needed to provide researchers and educators with ac12 cess to computational and information resources, act

13 as a test bed for further research and development

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

15 and provide researchers the necessary vehicle for

16 continued network technology improvement through

17 research.’’; and

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

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

20 lay the foundation for the development of new appli21 cations that can result in economic growth, improved

22 health care, and improved educational opportunities.

23 ‘(8) Research in new networking technologies

24 holds the promise of easing the economic burdens of
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1 information access disproportionately borne by rural

2 users of the Internet.

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

4 of computing, information, and communications sys5 tems and applications, and research into security ar6 chitectures is a critical aspect of computing, infor7 mation, and communications research programs.’’.

8 SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

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

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

11 of computing, information, and communication tech12 nology initiatives outlines in the High-Performance

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

14 that will include research programs related to—

15 (A) high-end computing and computation;

16 (B) human-centered systems;

17 (C) high confidence systems; and

18 (D) education, training, and human re19 sources; and

20 (2) to provide for the development and coordi21 nation of a comprehensive and integrated United

22 States research program which will—

23 (A) focus on the research and development

24 of a coordinated set of technologies that seeks

25 to create a network infrastructure that can sup-
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1 port greater speed, robustness, and flexibility

2 than is currently available and promote

3 connectivity and interoperability among ad4 vanced computer networks of Federal agencies

5 and departments;

6 (B) focus on research in technology that

7 may result in high-speed data access for users

8 that is both economically viable and does not

9 impose a geographic penalty; and

10 (C) encourage researchers to pursue ap11 proaches to networking technology that lead to

12 maximally flexible and extensible solutions

13 wherever feasible.

14 (b) MODIFICATION OF PURPOSES OF THE 1991

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

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

17 (1) striking the section caption and inserting

18 the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 3. PURPOSES.’’;

20 (2) striking ‘‘purpose of this Act is’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘purposes of this Act are’’;

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

23 (1)(I) and inserting ‘‘universities;’’;
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1 (4) striking ‘‘efforts.’’ in paragraph (2) and in2 serting ‘‘network research and development pro3 grams;’’; and

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

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

6 information infrastructure of information stores,

7 services, access mechanisms, and research facilities

8 available for use through the Internet;

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

10 wider distribution of networking management and

11 development tools; and

12 ‘‘(5) promoting the rapid adoption of open net13 work standards.’’.

14 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

15 Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of

16 1991 (15 U.S.C 5511 et seq.) is amended by adding at

17 the end thereof the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 103. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

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

20 under Executive Order 13035 (62 F.R. 7231), the Advi21 sory Committee on High-Performance Computing and

22 Communications, Information Technology, and the Next

23 Generation Internet, established by Executive Order No.

24 13035 of February 11, 1997 (62 F.R. 7231) shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) assess the extent to which the Next Gen2 eration Internet program—

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

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

5 other matters—

6 ‘‘(i) geographic penalties (as defined

7 in section 2(2) of the Next Generation

8 Internet Research Act of 1998); and

9 ‘‘(ii) technology transfer to and from

10 the private sector; and

11 ‘‘(2) assess the extent to which—

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

13 department involved in implementing the Next

14 Generation Internet program is clear, com15 plementary to and non-duplicative of the roles

16 of other participating agencies and depart17 ments; and

18 ‘‘(B) each such agency and department

19 concurs with the rule of each other participat20 ing agency or department.

21 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall as22 sess implementation of the Next Generation Internet ini23 tiative and report, not less frequently than annually, to

24 the President, the United States Senate Committee on

25 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the United
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1 States House of Representatives Committee on Science on

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

3 report shall be submitted 6 months after the date of enact4 ment of the Next Generation Internet Research Act of

5 1998 the last report shall be submitted by September 30,

6 2000.’’.

7 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of

9 1991 (15 U.S.C 5511 et seq.), as amended by section 5

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

11 following:

12 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur14 pose of carrying out the Next Generation Internet pro15 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’’.

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