II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2086

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 22, 2000

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation

AN ACT

To authorize funding for networking and information technology research and development for fiscal years 2000

through 2004, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Networking and Infor3 mation Technology Research and Development Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) Information technology will continue to

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

8 information revolution will improve the workplace

9 and the quality and accessibility of health care and

10 education and make government more responsible

11 and accessible. It is important that access to infor12 mation technology be available to all citizens, includ13 ing elderly Americans and Americans with disabil14 ities.

15 (2) Information technology is an imperative en16 abling technology that contributes to scientific dis17 ciplines. Major advances in biomedical research, pub18 lic safety, engineering, and other critical areas de19 pend on further advances in computing and commu20 nications.

21 (3) The United States is the undisputed global

22 leader in information technology.

23 (4) Information technology is recognized as a

24 catalyst for economic growth and prosperity.

25 (5) Information technology represents one of

26 the fastest growing sectors of the United States
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1 economy, with electronic commerce alone projected

2 to become a trillion-dollar business by 2005.

3 (6) Businesses producing computers, semi4 conductors, software, and communications equip5 ment account for one-third of the total growth in the

6 United States economy since 1992.

7 (7) According to the United States Census Bu8 reau, between 1993 and 1997, the information tech9 nology sector grew an average of 12.3 percent per

10 year.

11 (8) Fundamental research in information tech12 nology has enabled the information revolution.

13 (9) Fundamental research in information tech14 nology has contributed to the creation of new indus15 tries and new, high-paying jobs.

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

17 understanding, arising from fundamental research,

18 of the social and economic benefits and problems

19 arising from the increasing pace of information tech20 nology transformations.

21 (11) Scientific and engineering research and the

22 availability of a skilled workforce are critical to con23 tinued economic growth driven by information tech24 nology.
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1 (12) In 1997, private industry provided most of

2 the funding for research and development in the in3 formation technology sector. The information tech4 nology sector now receives, in absolute terms, one5 third of all corporate spending on research and de6 velopment in the United States economy.

7 (13) The private sector tends to focus its

8 spending on short-term, applied research.

9 (14) The Federal Government is uniquely posi10 tioned to support long-term fundamental research.

11 (15) Federal applied research in information

12 technology has grown at almost twice the rate of

13 Federal basic research since 1986.

14 (16) Federal science and engineering programs

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

16 research.

17 (17) Current Federal programs and support for

18 fundamental research in information technology is

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

20 leadership in information technology.

21 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section

23 201(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

24 (15 U.S.C. 5521(b)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author2 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘There’’;

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

5 ‘‘1995;’’; and

6 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert7 ing ‘‘; $520,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

8 $645,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $672,000,000 for

9 fiscal year 2002; $736,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

10 and $771,000,000 for fiscal year 2004. Amounts au11 thorized under this subsection shall be the total

12 amounts authorized to the National Science Founda13 tion for a fiscal year for the Program, and shall not

14 be in addition to amounts previously authorized by

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

16 (b) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS17 TRATION.—Section 202(b) of the High-Performance Com18 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5522(b)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author20 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘There’’;

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

23 ‘‘1995;’’; and

24 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert25 ing ‘‘; $164,400,000 for fiscal year 2000;
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1 $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $208,000,000 for

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

3 and $231,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

4 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—Section 203(e)(1) of

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

6 5523(e)(1)) is amended—

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

8 ‘‘1995;’’; and

9 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert10 ing ‘‘; $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

11 $108,600,000 for fiscal year 2001; $112,300,000 for

12 fiscal year 2002; $131,100,000 for fiscal year 2003;

13 and $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

14 (d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

15 TECHNOLOGY.—(1) Section 204(d)(1) of the High-Per16 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)(1))

17 is amended—

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

19 ‘‘1995;’’; and

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

21 ‘‘1996; $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; $9,500,000

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

23 2002; $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

24 $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and’’.
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1 (2) Section 204(d) of the High-Performance Com2 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)) is amended by

3 striking ‘‘From sums otherwise authorized to be appro4 priated, there’’ and inserting ‘‘There’’.

5 (e) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN6 ISTRATION.—Section 204(d)(2) of the High-Performance

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

8 amended—

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

10 ‘‘1995;’’; and

11 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert12 ing ‘‘; $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;

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

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

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

16 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—Sec17 tion 205(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of

18 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(b)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author20 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘There’’;

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

23 ‘‘1995;’’; and

24 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert25 ing ‘‘; $4,200,000 for fiscal year 2000; $4,300,000
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1 for fiscal year 2001; $4,500,000 for fiscal year

2 2002; $4,600,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

3 $4,700,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

4 (g) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—Title II of

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

6 5521 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 205

7 the following new section:

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

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

10 Program described in title I, the National Institutes of

11 Health shall conduct research directed toward the ad12 vancement and dissemination of computational techniques

13 and software tools in support of its mission of biomedical

14 and behavioral research.

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

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

17 Health and Human Services for the purposes of the Pro18 gram $223,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $233,000,000

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

20 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $250,000,000 for

21 fiscal year 2004.’’.

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

23 (1) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Not24 withstanding the amendment made by subsection

25 (a)(3) of this section, the total amount authorized
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1 for the National Science Foundation under section

2 201(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of

3 1991 shall be $580,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

4 $699,300,000 for fiscal year 2001; $728,150,000 for

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

6 and $838,500,000 for fiscal year 2004.

7 (2) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—Notwith8 standing the amendment made by subsection (c)(2)

9 of this section, the total amount authorized for the

10 Department of Energy under section 203(e)(1) of

11 the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 shall

12 be $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; $54,300,000

13 for fiscal year 2001; $56,150,000 for fiscal year

14 2002; $65,550,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

15 $67,500,000 for fiscal year 2004.

16 SEC. 4. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

17 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

18 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section 201

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

20 U.S.C. 5521) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subsections:

22 ‘‘(c) NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

23 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—(1) Of the amounts au24 thorized under subsection (b), $350,000,000 for fiscal

25 year 2000; $421,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
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1 $442,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; $486,000,000 for fis2 cal year 2003; and $515,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 shall

3 be available for grants for long-term basic research on net4 working and information technology, with priority given

5 to research that helps address issues related to high end

6 computing and software; network stability, fragility, reli7 ability, security (including privacy and counterinitiatives),

8 and scalability; and the social and economic consequences

9 (including the consequences for healthcare) of information

10 technology.

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

12 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub13 section up to 25 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each,

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

15 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub16 section up to 35 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each.

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

18 $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; $45,000,000 for fiscal

19 year 2001; $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; $55,000,000

20 for fiscal year 2003; and $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2004

21 shall be available for grants of up to $5,000,000 each for

22 Information Technology Research Centers.

23 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘Infor24 mation Technology Research Centers’ means groups of six

25 or more researchers collaborating across scientific and en-
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1 gineering disciplines on large-scale long-term research

2 projects which will significantly advance the science sup3 porting the development of information technology or the

4 use of information technology in addressing scientific

5 issues of national importance.

6 ‘‘(d) MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT.—(1) In addi7 tion to the amounts authorized under subsection (b), there

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science

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

10 $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $80,000,000 for fiscal

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

12 $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 for grants for the devel13 opment of major research equipment to establish terascale

14 computing capabilities at one or more sites and to promote

15 diverse computing architectures. Awards made under this

16 subsection shall provide for support for the operating ex17 penses of facilities established to provide the terascale

18 computing capabilities, with funding for such operating

19 expenses derived from amounts available under subsection

20 (b).

21 ‘‘(2) Grants awarded under this subsection shall be

22 awarded through an open, nationwide, peer-reviewed com23 petition. Awardees may include consortia consisting of

24 members from some or all of the following types of institu25 tions:
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1 ‘‘(A) Academic supercomputer centers.

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

3 ‘‘(C) Supercomputer centers that are supported

4 as part of federally funded research and development

5 centers.

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation, or

7 agency policy, a federally funded research and develop8 ment center may apply for a grant under this subsection,

9 and may compete on an equal basis with any other appli10 cant for the awarding of such a grant.

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

12 subsection, an awardee must agree—

13 ‘‘(A) to connect to the National Science Foun14 dation’s Partnership for Advanced Computational

15 Infrastructure network;

16 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable, to co17 ordinate with other federally funded large-scale com18 puting and simulation efforts; and

19 ‘‘(C) to provide open access to all grant recipi20 ents under this subsection or subsection (c).

21 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND

22 TRAINING GRANTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.—

24 The National Science Foundation shall provide

25 grants under the Scientific and Advanced Tech-
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1 nology Act of 1992 for the purposes of section 3(a)

2 and (b) of that Act, except that the activities sup3 ported pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to

4 improving education in fields related to information

5 technology. The Foundation shall encourage institu6 tions with a substantial percentage of student enroll7 ments from groups underrepresented in information

8 technology industries to participate in the competi9 tion for grants provided under this paragraph.

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

11 Science Foundation shall provide—

12 ‘‘(A) grants to institutions of higher edu13 cation to establish scientific internship pro14 grams in information technology research at

15 private sector companies; and

16 ‘‘(B) supplementary awards to institutions

17 funded under the Louis Stokes Alliances for Mi18 nority Participation program for internships in

19 information technology research at private sec20 tor companies.

21 ‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—Awards under para22 graph (2) shall be made on the condition that at

23 least an equal amount of funding for the internship

24 shall be provided by the private sector company at

25 which the internship will take place.
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1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub2 section, the term ‘institution of higher education’

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

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

5 1141(a)).

6 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the

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

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

9 2001, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

10 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $25,000,000

11 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for carrying

12 out this subsection.

13 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—

14 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—As part of its re15 sponsibilities under subsection (a)(1), the National

16 Science Foundation shall establish a research pro17 gram to develop, demonstrate, assess, and dissemi18 nate effective applications of information and com19 puter technologies for elementary and secondary

20 education. Such program shall—

21 ‘‘(A) support research projects, including

22 collaborative projects involving academic re23 searchers and elementary and secondary

24 schools, to develop innovative educational mate25 rials, including software, and pedagogical ap-
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1 proaches based on applications of information

2 and computer technology;

3 ‘‘(B) support empirical studies to deter4 mine the educational effectiveness and the cost

5 effectiveness of specific, promising educational

6 approaches, techniques, and materials that are

7 based on applications of information and com8 puter technologies; and

9 ‘‘(C) include provision for the widespread

10 dissemination of the results of the studies car11 ried out under subparagraphs (A) and (B), in12 cluding maintenance of electronic libraries of

13 the best educational materials identified acces14 sible through the Internet.

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

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

17 and (B) shall encompass a wide variety of edu18 cational settings in order to identify approaches,

19 techniques, and materials that have a high potential

20 for being successfully replicated throughout the

21 United States.

22 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the

23 amounts authorized under subsection (b),

24 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $10,500,000 for

25 fiscal year 2001, $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,
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1 $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $12,500,000

2 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for the pur3 poses of this subsection.

4 ‘‘(g) PEER REVIEW.—All grants made under this sec5 tion shall be made only after being subject to peer review

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

7 (b) OTHER PROGRAM AGENCIES.—

8 (1) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE AD9 MINISTRATION.—Section 202(a) of the High-Per10 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

11 5522(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may par12 ticipate in or support research described in section

13 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘and experimentation’’.

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

15 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

16 (15 U.S.C. 5523(a)) is amended by striking the pe17 riod at the end and inserting a comma, and by add18 ing after paragraph (4) the following:

19 ‘‘and may participate in or support research described in

20 section 201(c)(1).’’.

21 (3) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

22 TECHNOLOGY.—Section 204(a)(1) of the High-Per23 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

24 5524(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the
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1 end of subparagraph (C) and inserting a comma,

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

3 ‘‘and may participate in or support research de4 scribed in section 201(c)(1); and’’.

5 (4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD6 MINISTRATION.—Section 204(a)(2) of the High-Per7 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

8 5524(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may

9 participate in or support research described in sec10 tion 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘agency missions’’.

11 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—

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

13 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(a)) is amended by in14 serting ‘‘, and may participate in or support re15 search described in section 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘dynam16 ics models’’.

17 (6) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—

18 Title II of the High-Performance Computing Act of

19 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5521 et seq.) is amended—

20 (A) by redesignating sections 207 and 208

21 as sections 208 and 209, respectively; and

22 (B) by inserting after section 206 the fol23 lowing new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 207. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

2 ‘‘The United States Geological Survey may partici3 pate in or support research described in section

4 201(c)(1).’’.

5 SEC. 5. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.

6 Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing Act

7 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513) is amended—

8 (1) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol9 lows:

10 ‘‘(c) STUDY OF INTERNET PRIVACY.—

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

12 date of the enactment of the Networking and Infor13 mation Technology Research and Development Act,

14 the National Science Foundation may enter into an

15 arrangement with the National Research Council of

16 the National Academy of Sciences for that Council

17 to conduct a study of privacy on the Internet.

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

19 ‘‘(A) research needed to develop technology

20 for protection of privacy on the Internet;

21 ‘‘(B) current public and private plans for

22 the deployment of privacy technology, stand23 ards, and policies;

24 ‘‘(C) policies, laws, and practices under

25 consideration or formally adopted in other
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1 countries and jurisdictions to protect privacy on

2 the Internet;

3 ‘‘(D) Federal legislation and other regu4 latory steps needed to ensure the development

5 of privacy technology, standards, and policies;

6 and

7 ‘‘(E) other matters that the National Re8 search Council determines to be relevant to

9 Internet privacy.

10 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Na11 tional Science Foundation shall transmit to the Con12 gress within 21 months of the date of the enactment

13 of the Networking and Information Technology Re14 search and Development Act a report setting forth

15 the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of

16 the National Research Council.

17 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—Fed18 eral agencies shall cooperate fully with the National

19 Research Council in its activities in carrying out the

20 study under this subsection.

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

22 amounts described in subsection (d)(2), $900,000

23 shall be available for the study conducted under this

24 subsection.’’; and

25 (2) in subsection (d)—
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1 (A) in paragraph (1)—

2 (i) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘1999,’’; and

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, $15,000,000 for

5 fiscal year 2001, and $15,000,000 for fis6 cal year 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’;

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and

8 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and

9 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2002’’ after ‘‘Act of

10 1998’’;

11 (C) in paragraph (4)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘1999,’’; and

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, $10,000,000 for

15 fiscal year 2001, and $10,000,000 for fis16 cal year 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’;

17 and

18 (D) in paragraph (5)—

19 (i) by striking ‘‘1999 and’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘1999,’’; and

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, $5,500,000 for fis22 cal year 2001, and $5,500,000 for fiscal

23 year 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 6. 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. 7. EVALUATION OF CAPABILITIES OF FOREIGN

5 ENCRYPTION.

6 (a) STUDY.—The National Science Foundation shall

7 undertake a study comparing the availability of encryption

8 technologies in foreign countries to the encryption tech9 nologies subject to export restrictions in the United

10 States.

11 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6

12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

13 National Science Foundation shall transmit to the Con14 gress a report on the results of the study undertaken

15 under subsection (a).

16 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

17 Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing Act

18 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513), as amended by section 5 of

19 this Act, is further amended by redesignating subsections

20 (b), (c), and (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respec21 tively, and by inserting after subsection (a) the following

22 new subsection:

23 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Director of the Na25 tional Science Foundation shall conduct a study of
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1 the issues described in paragraph (3), and not later

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

3 Networking and Information Technology Research

4 and Development Act, shall transmit to the Congress

5 a report including recommendations to address those

6 issues. Such report shall be updated annually for 6

7 additional years.

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

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

10 Science Foundation shall consult with the National

11 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National

12 Institute of Standards and Technology, and such

13 other Federal agencies and educational entities as

14 the Director of the National Science Foundation

15 considers appropriate.

16 ‘‘(3) ISSUES.—The reports shall—

17 ‘‘(A) identify the current status of high18 speed, large bandwidth capacity access to all

19 public elementary and secondary schools and li20 braries in the United States;

21 ‘‘(B) identify how high-speed, large band22 width capacity access to the Internet to such

23 schools and libraries can be effectively utilized

24 within each school and library;
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1 ‘‘(C) consider the effect that specific or re2 gional circumstances may have on the ability of

3 such institutions to acquire high-speed, large

4 bandwidth capacity access to achieve universal

5 connectivity as an effective tool in the education

6 process; and

7 ‘‘(D) include options and recommendations

8 for the various entities responsible for elemen9 tary and secondary education to address the

10 challenges and issues identified in the reports.’’.

11 SEC. 9. STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION TECH12 NOLOGY.

13 Section 201 of the High-Performance Computing Act

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

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

16 subsection (g) the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(h) STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION

18 TECHNOLOGY.—

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

20 date of the enactment of the Networking and Infor21 mation Technology Research and Development Act,

22 the Director of the National Science Foundation, in

23 consultation with the National Institute on Dis24 ability and Rehabilitation Research, shall enter into

25 an arrangement with the National Research Council
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1 of the National Academy of Sciences for that Coun2 cil to conduct a study of accessibility to information

3 technologies by individuals who are elderly, individ4 uals who are elderly with a disability, and individ5 uals with disabilities.

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

7 ‘‘(A) current barriers to access to informa8 tion technologies by individuals who are elderly,

9 individuals who are elderly with a disability,

10 and individuals with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(B) research and development needed to

12 remove those barriers;

13 ‘‘(C) Federal legislative, policy, or regu14 latory changes needed to remove those barriers;

15 and

16 ‘‘(D) other matters that the National Re17 search Council determines to be relevant to ac18 cess to information technologies by individuals

19 who are elderly, individuals who are elderly with

20 a disability, and individuals with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Direc22 tor of the National Science Foundation shall trans23 mit to the Congress within 2 years of the date of the

24 enactment of the Networking and Information Tech25 nology Research and Development Act a report set-
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1 ting forth the findings, conclusions, and rec2 ommendations of the National Research Council.

3 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—Fed4 eral agencies shall cooperate fully with the National

5 Research Council in its activities in carrying out the

6 study under this subsection.

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

8 the study described in this subsection shall be avail9 able, in the amount of $700,000, from amounts de10 scribed in subsection (c)(1).’’.

11 SEC. 10. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.

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

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

14 Congress a report on the results of a detailed study ana15 lyzing the effects of this Act, and the amendments made

16 by this Act, on lower income families, minorities, and

17 women.

18 SEC. 11. BUY AMERICAN.

19 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.—No

20 funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may be expended

21 by an entity unless the entity agrees that in expending

22 the assistance the entity will comply with sections 2

23 through 4 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c).

24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—In the case of any equip25 ment or products that may be authorized to be purchased
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1 with financial assistance provided under this Act, it is the

2 sense of the Congress that entities receiving such assist3 ance should, in expending the assistance, purchase only

4 American-made equipment and products.

5 (c) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In

6 providing financial assistance under this Act, the head of

7 each Federal agency shall provide to each recipient of the

8 assistance a notice describing the statement made in sub9 section (b) by the Congress.

Passed the House of Representatives February 15,

2000.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.