I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2046

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 22, 2000

Referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on

Commerce, the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

To reauthorize the Next Generation Internet Act, 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 ‘‘Federal Research In5 vestment Act’’.
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1 TITLE I—FEDERAL RESEARCH

2 INVESTMENT

3 SEC. 101. GENERAL FINDINGS REGARDING FEDERAL IN4 VESTMENT IN RESEARCH.

5 (a) VALUE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The

6 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

7 value of research and development to the United States:

8 (1) Federal investment in research has resulted

9 in the development of technology that has saved lives

10 in the United States and around the world.

11 (2) The research and development investment

12 across all Federal agencies has been effective in cre13 ating technology that has enhanced the American

14 quality of life.

15 (3) The Federal investment in research and de16 velopment conducted or underwritten by both mili17 tary and civilian agencies has produced benefits that

18 have been felt in both the private and public sector.

19 (4) Discoveries across the spectrum of scientific

20 inquiry have the potential to raise the standard of

21 living and the quality of life for all Americans.

22 (5) Science, engineering, and technology play a

23 critical role in shaping the modern world.

24 (6) Studies show that about half of all United

25 States post-World War II economic growth is a di-
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1 rect result of technical innovation; science, engineer2 ing, and technology contribute to the creation of new

3 goods and services, new jobs and new capital.

4 (7) Technical innovation is the principal driving

5 force behind the long-term economic growth and in6 creased standards of living of the world’s modern in7 dustrial societies. Other nations are well aware of

8 the pivotal role of science, engineering, and tech9 nology, and they are seeking to exploit it wherever

10 possible to advance their own global competitiveness.

11 (8) Federal programs for investment in re12 search, which lead to technological innovation and

13 result in economic growth, should be structured to

14 address current funding disparities and develop en15 hanced capability in States and regions that cur16 rently are underrepresented in the national science

17 and technology enterprise.

18 (b) STATUS OF THE FEDERAL INVESTMENT.—The

19 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

20 status of the Federal investment in research and develop21 ment activities:

22 (1) Civilian research and development expendi23 tures reached their pinnacle in the mid-1960s due to

24 the Apollo Space program, declining for several

25 years thereafter. Despite significant growth in the
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1 late 1980s and early 1990s, these expenditures, in

2 constant dollars, have not returned to the levels of

3 the 1960s.

4 (2) Fiscal realities now challenge Congress and

5 the President to steer the Federal Government’s role

6 in science, engineering, and technology in a manner

7 that ensures a prudent use of limited public re8 sources. There is both a long-term problem—ad9 dressing the ever-increasing level of mandatory

10 spending—and a near-term challenge—apportioning

11 a dwindling amount of discretionary funding to an

12 increasing range of targets in science, engineering,

13 and technology. This confluence of increased na14 tional dependency on technology, increased targets

15 of opportunity, and decreased fiscal flexibility has

16 created a problem of national urgency. Many indica17 tors show that more funding for science, engineer18 ing, and technology is needed but, even with in19 creased funding, priorities must be established

20 among different programs. The United States can21 not afford the luxury of fully funding all deserving

22 programs.
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1 SEC. 102. SPECIAL FINDINGS REGARDING HEALTH-RE2 LATED RESEARCH.

3 The Congress makes the following findings with re4 spect to health-related research:

5 (1) HEALTH AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS PRO6 VIDED BY HEALTH-RELATED RESEARCH.—Because

7 of health-related research, cures for many debili8 tating and fatal diseases have been discovered and

9 deployed. At present, the medical research commu10 nity is on the cusp of creating cures for a number

11 of leading diseases and their associated burdens. In

12 particular, medical research has the potential to de13 velop treatments that can help manage the esca14 lating costs associated with the aging of the United

15 States population.

16 (2) FUNDING OF HEALTH-RELATED RE17 SEARCH.—Many studies have recognized that clinical

18 and basic science are in a state of crisis because of

19 a failure of resources to meet the opportunity. Con20 sequently, health-related research has emerged as a

21 national priority and has been given significantly in22 creased funding by Congress in both fiscal year

23 1999 and fiscal year 2000. In order to continue ad24 dressing this urgent national need, the pattern of

25 substantial budgetary expansion begun in fiscal year

26 1999 should be maintained.
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1 (3) INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF HEALTH2 RELATED RESEARCH.—Because all fields of science

3 and engineering are interdependent, full realization

4 of the Nation’s historic investment in health will de5 pend on major advances both in the biomedical

6 sciences and in other science and engineering dis7 ciplines. Hence, the vitality of all disciplines must be

8 preserved, even as special considerations are given to

9 the health research field.

10 SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS REGARDING THE LINK BE11 TWEEN RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY.

12 The Congress makes the following findings:

13 (1) FLOW OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND

14 TECHNOLOGY.—The process of science, engineering,

15 and technology involves many steps. The present

16 Federal science, engineering, and technology struc17 ture reinforces the increasingly artificial distinctions

18 between basic and applied activities. The result too

19 often is a set of discrete programs that each support

20 a narrow phase of research or development and are

21 not coordinated with one another. The Government

22 should maximize its investment by encouraging the

23 progression of science, engineering, and technology

24 from the earliest stages of research up to a pre-com25 mercialization stage, through funding agencies and
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1 vehicles appropriate for each stage. This creates a

2 flow of technology, subject to merit review at each

3 stage, so that promising technology is not lost in a

4 bureaucratic maze.

5 (2) EXCELLENCE IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

6 RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.—Federal investment

7 in science, engineering, and technology programs

8 must foster a close relationship between research

9 and education. Investment in research at the univer10 sity level creates more than simply world-class re11 search. It creates world-class researchers as well.

12 The Federal strategy must continue to reflect this

13 commitment to a strong geographically-diverse re14 search infrastructure. Furthermore, the United

15 States must find ways to extend the excellence of its

16 university system to primary and secondary edu17 cational institutions and to better utilize the commu18 nity college system to prepare many students for vo19 cational opportunities in an increasingly technical

20 workplace.

21 (3) COMMITMENT TO A BROAD RANGE OF RE22 SEARCH INITIATIVES.—An increasingly common

23 theme in many recent technical breakthroughs has

24 been the importance of revolutionary innovations

25 that were sparked by overlapping of research dis-
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1 ciplines. The United States must continue to encour2 age this trend by providing and encouraging oppor3 tunities for interdisciplinary projects that foster col4 laboration among fields of research.

5 (4) PARTNERSHIPS AMONG INDUSTRY, UNIVER6 SITIES, AND FEDERAL LABORATORIES.—Each of

7 these contributors to the national science and tech8 nology delivery system has special talents and abili9 ties that complement the others. In addition, each

10 has a central mission that must provide their focus

11 and each has limited resources. The Nation’s invest12 ment in science, engineering, and technology can be

13 optimized by seeking opportunities for leveraging the

14 resources and talents of these three major players

15 through partnerships that do not distort the mis16 sions of each partner. For that reason, Federal dol17 lars are wisely spent forming such partnerships.

18 SEC. 104. MAINTENANCE OF FEDERAL RESEARCH EFFORT;

19 GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

20 (a) MAINTAINING UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN

21 SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY.—It is im22 perative for the United States to nurture its superb re23 sources in science, engineering, and technology carefully

24 in order to maintain its own globally competitive position.
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1 (b) GUIDING PRINCIPLES.—Federal research and de2 velopment programs should be conducted in accordance

3 with the following guiding principles:

4 (1) GOOD SCIENCE.—Federal science, engineer5 ing, and technology programs include both knowl6 edge-driven science together with its applications,

7 and mission-driven, science-based requirements. In

8 general, both types of programs must be focused,

9 peer- and merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily du10 plicative, although the details of these attributes

11 must vary with different program objectives.

12 (2) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Congress

13 must exercise oversight to ensure that programs

14 funded with scarce Federal dollars are well man15 aged. The United States cannot tolerate waste of

16 money through inefficient management techniques,

17 whether by Government agencies, by contractors, or

18 by Congress itself. Fiscal resources would be better

19 utilized if program and project funding levels were

20 predictable across several years to enable better

21 project planning; a benefit of such predictability

22 would be that agencies and Congress can better ex23 ercise oversight responsibilities through comparisons

24 of a project’s and program’s progress against care-
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1 fully planned milestones and international bench2 marks.

3 (3) PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS.—The United

4 States needs to make sure that Government pro5 grams achieve their goals. As the Congress crafts

6 science, engineering, and technology legislation, it

7 must include a process for gauging program effec8 tiveness, selecting criteria based on sound scientific

9 judgment and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.

10 The Congress should also avoid the trap of meas11 uring the effectiveness of a broad science, engineer12 ing, and technology program by passing judgment

13 on individual projects. Lastly, the Congress must

14 recognize that a negative result in a well-conceived

15 and executed project or program may still be criti16 cally important to the funding agency.

17 (4) CRITERIA FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING.—

18 Program selection for Federal funding should con19 tinue to reflect the Nation’s 2 traditional research

20 and development priorities: (A) basic, scientific, and

21 technological research that represents investments in

22 the Nation’s long-term future scientific and techno23 logical capacity, for which Government has tradition24 ally served as the principal resource; and (B) mis25 sion research investments, that is, investments in re-
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1 search that derive from necessary public functions,

2 such as defense, health, education, environmental

3 protection, all of which may also raise the standard

4 of living, which may include pre-commercial, pre5 competitive engineering research and technology de6 velopment. Additionally, Government funding should

7 not compete with or displace the short-term, market8 driven, and typically more specific nature of private9 sector funding. Government funding should be re10 stricted to pre-competitive activities, leaving com11 petitive activities solely for the private sector. As a

12 rule, the Government should not invest in commer13 cial technology that is in the product development

14 stage, very close to the broad commercial market15 place, except to meet a specific agency goal. When

16 the Government provides funding for any science,

17 engineering, and technology investment program, it

18 must take reasonable steps to ensure that the poten19 tial benefits derived from the program will accrue

20 broadly.

21 SEC. 105. POLICY STATEMENT.

22 (a) POLICY.—This title is intended to—

23 (1) assure a doubling of the base level of Fed24 eral funding for basic scientific, biomedical, and pre25 competitive engineering research, achieved by stead-
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1 ily increasing the annual funding of civilian research

2 and development programs so that the total annual

3 investment equals 10 percent of the Federal Govern4 ment’s discretionary budget by fiscal year 2011;

5 (2) invest in the future economic growth of the

6 United States by expanding the research activities

7 referred to in paragraph (1);

8 (3) enhance the quality of life and health for all

9 people of the United States through expanded sup10 port for health-related research;

11 (4) allow for accelerated growth of individual

12 agencies to meet critical national needs;

13 (5) guarantee the leadership of the United

14 States in science, engineering, medicine, and tech15 nology;

16 (6) ensure that the opportunity and the support

17 for undertaking good science is widely available

18 throughout the United States by supporting a geo19 graphically-diverse research and development enter20 prise; and

21 (7) continue aggressive Congressional oversight

22 and annual budgetary authorization of the individual

23 agencies listed in subsection (b).

24 (b) AGENCIES COVERED.—The agencies and trust in25 strumentality intended to be covered to the extent that
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1 they are engaged in science, engineering, and technology

2 activities for basic scientific, medical, or pre-competitive

3 engineering research by this title are—

4 (1) the National Institutes of Health, within the

5 Department of Health and Human Services;

6 (2) the National Science Foundation;

7 (3) the National Institute for Standards and

8 Technology, within the Department of Commerce;

9 (4) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin10 istration;

11 (5) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad12 ministration, within the Department of Commerce;

13 (6) the Centers for Disease Control, within the

14 Department of Health and Human Services;

15 (7) the Department of Energy (to the extent

16 that it is not engaged in defense-related activities);

17 (8) the Department of Agriculture;

18 (9) the Department of Transportation;

19 (10) the Department of the Interior;

20 (11) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

21 (12) the Smithsonian Institution;

22 (13) the Department of Education;

23 (14) the Environmental Protection Agency;

24 (15) the Food and Drug Administration, within

25 the Department of Health and Human Services; and
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1 (16) the Federal Emergency Management

2 Agency.

3 (c) DAMAGE TO RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.—A

4 funding trend equal to or lower than current budgetary

5 levels will lead to permanent damage to the United States

6 research infrastructure. This could threaten American

7 dominance of high-technology industrial leadership.

8 (d) FUTURE FISCAL YEAR ALLOCATIONS.—

9 (1) GOAL.—The goal of this title is to increase

10 the percentage of the Federal discretionary budget

11 allocated for civilian research and development by

12 0.3 percent annually to realize a total of 10 percent

13 of the Federal discretionary budget by fiscal year

14 2011.

15 (2) AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED.—There are author16 ized to be appropriated to the agencies listed in sub17 section (b) for civilian research and development the

18 following amounts:

19 (A) $43,080,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

20 (B) $45,160,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.

21 (C) $47,820,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

22 (D) $50,540,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

23 (E) $53,410,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

24 (3) FISCAL YEARS 2006–2011.—There is author25 ized to be appropriated to the agencies listed in sub-
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1 section (b) for civilian research and development for

2 each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2011 an

3 amount that, on the basis of projections of Federal

4 discretionary budget amounts as such projections be5 come available, will meet the goal established by

6 paragraph (1).

7 (4) ACCELERATION TO MEET NATIONAL

8 NEEDS.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an agency listed in

10 subsection (b) has an accelerated funding fiscal

11 year, then, except as provided by subparagraph

12 (C), the amount authorized by paragraph (2) or

13 determined under paragraph (3) for the fiscal

14 year following the accelerated funding fiscal

15 year shall be determined in accordance with

16 subparagraph (B).

17 (B) EXCLUSION OF ACCELERATED FUND18 ING AGENCY.—The amount authorized to be ap19 propriated for civilian research and development

20 under this subparagraph for a fiscal year shall

21 be determined—

22 (i) by reducing the total amount that,

23 but for subparagraph (A), would be au24 thorized to be appropriated by paragraph

25 (2) or paragraph (3) by a percentage equal
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1 to the percentage of the total amount au2 thorized by that paragraph for the fiscal

3 year preceding the accelerated funding fis4 cal year to the agency that had the acceler5 ated funding fiscal year; and

6 (ii) allocating the reduced amount

7 among all agencies listed in subsection (b)

8 other than the agency that had the acceler9 ated funding fiscal year.

10 (C) EXCEPTION TO ACCELERATED FUND11 ING AGENCY RULE.—Subparagraph (B) does

12 not apply if the amount appropriated to an

13 agency for civilian research and development

14 purposes for a fiscal year, adjusted for inflation

15 (assuming an annual rate of inflation of 3 per16 cent), does not exceed the amount appropriated

17 to that agency for those purposes for fiscal year

18 2000 increased by 2.5 percent a year for each

19 fiscal year after fiscal year 2000.

20 (D) ACCELERATED FUNDING FISCAL YEAR

21 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘accel22 erated funding fiscal year’’ means a fiscal year

23 for which the amount appropriated to an agen24 cy for civilian research and development pur25 poses is an increase of more than 8 percent
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1 over the amount appropriated to that agency

2 for the preceding fiscal year for those purposes.

3 (e) CONFORMANCE WITH BUDGETARY CAPS.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, no funds may be

5 made available under this title in a manner that does not

6 conform with the discretionary spending caps provided in

7 the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the

8 budget or threatens the economic stability of the annual

9 budget.

10 (f) BALANCED RESEARCH PORTFOLIO.—Because of

11 the interdependent nature of the scientific and engineering

12 disciplines, the aggregate funding levels authorized by the

13 section assume that the Federal research portfolio will be

14 well-balanced among the various scientific and engineering

15 disciplines, and geographically dispersed throughout the

16 States.

17 (g) CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION PROCESS.—

18 The policies and authorizations in this Act establish min19 imum levels for the overall Federal civilian research port20 folio across the agencies listed in subsection (b) under the

21 procedures defined in subsection (d). The amounts author22 ized by subsection (d) establish a framework within which

23 the authorizing committees of the Congress are to work

24 when authorizing funding for specific Federal agencies en25 gaged in science, engineering, and technology activities.
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1 SEC. 106. ANNUAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ANAL2 YSES.

3 The Director of the Office of Science and Technology

4 shall provide, no later than February 15th of each year,

5 a report to Congress that includes—

6 (1) a detailed summary of the total level of

7 funding for civilian research and development pro8 grams throughout all Federal agencies;

9 (2) a focused strategy that is consistent with

10 the funding projections of this title for each future

11 fiscal year until 2011, including specific targets for

12 each agency that funds civilian research and devel13 opment;

14 (3) an analysis which details funding levels

15 across Federal agencies by methodology of funding,

16 including grant agreements, procurement contracts,

17 and cooperative agreements (within the meaning

18 given those terms in chapter 63 of title 31, United

19 States Code);

20 (4) a Federal strategy for infrastructure devel21 opment and research and development capacity

22 building in States with less concentrated research

23 and development resources in order to create a na24 tionwide research and development community; and

25 (5) an annual analysis of the total level of fund26 ing for civilian research and development programs
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1 throughout all Federal agencies as compared to the

2 previous fiscal year’s Congressional budget appro3 priations for science, engineering, and technology ac4 tivities of the agencies described in section 105(b),

5 that details for the current fiscal year—

6 (A) how total funding levels compare to

7 those authorized according to section 105(d);

8 (B) how the differences in those funding

9 levels will affect the health, stability, and inter10 national standing of the Federal civilian re11 search and development infrastructure;

12 (C) how the disparities in those levels af13 fect the ability of the agencies covered by this

14 Act to perform their missions; and

15 (D) which agencies are excluded under this

16 Act due to accelerated funding and the aggre17 gate amount to be authorized to other agencies

18 under section 105(d).

19 SEC. 107. COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY STUDY FOR

20 FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH.

21 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the Office of Science

22 and Technology Policy shall enter into agreement with the

23 National Academy of Sciences for the Academy to conduct

24 a comprehensive study to develop methods for evaluating

25 federally funded research and development programs. The
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1 Director shall report the results of the study to the Con2 gress not later than 18 months after the date of enactment

3 of this Act. This study shall—

4 (1) recommend processes to determine an ac5 ceptable level of success for federally funded re6 search and development programs by—

7 (A) describing the research process in the

8 various scientific and engineering disciplines;

9 (B) describing in the different sciences

10 what measures and what criteria each commu11 nity uses to evaluate the success or failure of a

12 program, and on what time scales these meas13 ures are considered reliable—both for explor14 atory long-range work and for short-range

15 goals; and

16 (C) recommending how these measures

17 may be adapted for use by the Federal Govern18 ment to evaluate federally funded research and

19 development programs;

20 (2) assess the extent to which civilian research

21 and development agencies incorporate independent

22 merit-based review into the formulation of their stra23 tegic plans and performance plans;
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1 (3) recommend mechanisms for identifying fed2 erally funded research and development programs

3 which are unsuccessful or unproductive;

4 (4) evaluate the extent to which independent,

5 merit-based evaluation of federally funded research

6 and development programs and projects achieves the

7 goal of eliminating unsuccessful or unproductive pro8 grams and projects; and

9 (5) investigate and report on the validity of

10 using quantitative performance goals for aspects of

11 programs which relate to administrative manage12 ment of the program and for which such goals would

13 be appropriate, including aspects related to—

14 (A) administrative burden on contractors

15 and recipients of financial assistance awards;

16 (B) administrative burdens on external

17 participants in independent, merit-based evalua18 tions;

19 (C) cost and schedule control for construc20 tion projects funded by the program;

21 (D) the ratio of overhead costs of the pro22 gram relative to the amounts expended through

23 the program for equipment and direct funding

24 of research; and
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1 (E) the timeliness of program responses to

2 requests for funding, participation, or equip3 ment use.

4 (6) examine the extent to which program selec5 tion for Federal funding across all agencies exempli6 fies our Nation’s historical research and development

7 priorities—

8 (A) basic, scientific, and technological re9 search in the long-term future scientific and

10 technological capacity of the Nation; and

11 (B) mission research derived from a high12 priority public function.

13 (b) ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR PERFORMANCE

14 GOALS.—Not later than 6 months after transmitting the

15 report under subsection (a) to Congress, the Director of

16 the Office of Management and Budget, after public notice,

17 public comment, and approval by the Director of the Of18 fice of Science and Technology Policy and in consultation

19 with the National Science and Technology Council shall

20 promulgate one or more alternative forms for performance

21 goals under section 1115(b)(10)(B) of title 31, United

22 States Code, based on the recommendations of the study

23 under subsection (a) of this section. The head of each

24 agency containing a program activity that is a research

25 and development program may apply an alternative form
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1 promulgated under this section for a performance goal to

2 such a program activity without further authorization by

3 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

4 (c) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Not later than one year

5 after promulgation of the alternative performance goals in

6 subsection (b) of this section, the head of each agency car7 rying out research and development activities, upon updat8 ing or revising a strategic plan under subsection 306(b)

9 of title 5, United States Code, shall describe the current

10 and future use of methods for determining an acceptable

11 level of success as recommended by the study under sub12 section (a).

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

14 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

15 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology

16 Policy.

17 (2) PROGRAM ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘program

18 activity’’ has the meaning given that term by section

19 1115(f)(6) of title 31, United States Code.

20 (3) INDEPENDENT MERIT-BASED EVALUA21 TION.—The term ‘‘independent merit-based evalua22 tion’’ means review of the scientific or technical

23 quality of research or development, conducted by ex24 perts who are chosen for their knowledge of sci-
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1 entific and technical fields relevant to the evaluation

2 and who—

3 (A) in the case of the review of a program

4 activity, do not derive long-term support from

5 the program activity; or

6 (B) in the case of the review of a project

7 proposal, are not seeking funds in competition

8 with the proposal.

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the study

11 required by subsection (a) $600,000, which shall remain

12 available until expended.

13 SEC. 108. EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PRO14 GRAM FOR FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

17 following:

18 ‘‘§ 1120. Accountability for research and develop19 ment programs

20 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF UNSUCCESSFUL PRO21 GRAMS.—Based upon program performance reports for

22 each fiscal year submitted to the President under section

23 1116, the Director of the Office of Management and

24 Budget shall identify the civilian research and develop25 ment program activities, or components thereof, which do
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1 not meet an acceptable level of success as defined in sec2 tion 1115(b)(1)(B). Not later than 30 days after the sub3 mission of the reports under section 1116, the Director

4 shall furnish a copy of a report listing the program activi5 ties or component identified under this subsection to the

6 President and the Congress.

7 ‘‘(b) ACCOUNTABILITY IF NO IMPROVEMENT

8 SHOWN.—For each program activity or component that

9 is identified by the Director under subsection (a) as being

10 below the acceptable level of success for 2 fiscal years in

11 a row, the head of the agency shall no later than 30 days

12 after the Director submits the second report so identifying

13 the program, submit to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees of jurisdiction—

15 ‘‘(1) a concise statement of the steps necessary

16 to—

17 ‘‘(A) bring such program into compliance

18 with performance goals; or

19 ‘‘(B) terminate such program should com20 pliance efforts fail; and

21 ‘‘(2) any legislative changes needed to put the

22 steps contained in such statement into effect.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The chapter

24 analysis for chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code,

25 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

‘‘1120. Accountability for research and development programs.’’.
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1 (2) Section 1115(f) of title 31, United States Code,

2 is amended by striking ‘‘section and sections 1116 through

3 1119,’’ and inserting ‘‘section, sections 1116 through

4 1120,’’.

5 TITLE II—NETWORKING AND

6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

7 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Networking and Infor9 mation Technology Research and Development Act’’.

10 SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

11 The Congress makes the following findings:

12 (1) Information technology will continue to

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

14 information revolution will improve the workplace

15 and the quality and accessibility of health care and

16 education and make Government more responsible

17 and accessible. It is important that access to infor18 mation technology be available to all citizens, includ19 ing elderly Americans and Americans with disabil20 ities.

21 (2) Information technology is an imperative en22 abling technology that contributes to scientific dis23 ciplines. Major advances in biomedical research, pub24 lic safety, engineering, and other critical areas de-
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1 pend on further advances in computing and commu2 nications.

3 (3) The United States is the undisputed global

4 leader in information technology.

5 (4) Information technology is recognized as a

6 catalyst for economic growth and prosperity.

7 (5) Information technology represents one of

8 the fastest growing sectors of the United States

9 economy, with electronic commerce alone projected

10 to become a trillion-dollar business by 2005.

11 (6) Businesses producing computers, semi12 conductors, software, and communications equip13 ment account for one-third of the total growth in the

14 United States economy since 1992.

15 (7) According to the United States Census Bu16 reau, between 1993 and 1997, the information tech17 nology sector grew an average of 12.3 percent per

18 year.

19 (8) Fundamental research in information tech20 nology has enabled the information revolution.

21 (9) Fundamental research in information tech22 nology has contributed to the creation of new indus23 tries and new, high-paying jobs.

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

25 understanding, arising from fundamental research,
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1 of the social and economic benefits and problems

2 arising from the increasing pace of information tech3 nology transformations.

4 (11) Scientific and engineering research and the

5 availability of a skilled workforce are critical to con6 tinued economic growth driven by information tech7 nology.

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

9 the funding for research and development in the in10 formation technology sector. The information tech11 nology sector now receives, in absolute terms, one12 third of all corporate spending on research and de13 velopment in the United States economy.

14 (13) The private sector tends to focus its

15 spending on short-term, applied research.

16 (14) The Federal Government is uniquely posi17 tioned to support long-term fundamental research.

18 (15) Federal applied research in information

19 technology has grown at almost twice the rate of

20 Federal basic research since 1986.

21 (16) Federal science and engineering programs

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

23 research.

24 (17) Current Federal programs and support for

25 fundamental research in information technology is
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1 inadequate if we are to maintain the Nation’s global

2 leadership in information technology.

3 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section

5 201(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

6 (15 U.S.C. 5521(b)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘From sums otherwise author8 ized to be appropriated, there’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘There’’;

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

11 ‘‘1995;’’; and

12 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert13 ing ‘‘; $580,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

14 $699,300,000 for fiscal year 2001; $728,150,000 for

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

16 and $838,500,000 for fiscal year 2004. Amounts au17 thorized under this subsection shall be the total

18 amounts authorized to the National Science Founda19 tion for a fiscal year for the Program, and shall not

20 be in addition to amounts previously authorized by

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

22 (b) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS23 TRATION.—Section 202(b) of the High-Performance Com24 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5522(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 ‘‘; $164,400,000 for fiscal year 2000;

8 $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $208,000,000 for

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

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

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

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

13 5523(e)(1)) is amended—

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

15 ‘‘1995;’’; and

16 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert17 ing ‘‘; $119,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;

18 $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $220,000,000 for

19 fiscal year 2002; $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

20 and $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

21 (d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

22 TECHNOLOGY.—(1) Section 204(d)(1) of the High-Per23 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)(1))

24 is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘1995; and’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘1995;’’; and

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

4 ‘‘1996; $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; $9,500,000

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

6 2002; $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

7 $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and’’.

8 (2) Section 204(d) of the High-Performance Com9 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524(d)) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘From sums otherwise authorized to be appro11 priated, there’’ and inserting ‘‘There’’.

12 (e) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN13 ISTRATION.—Section 204(d)(2) of the High-Performance

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

15 amended—

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

17 ‘‘1995;’’; and

18 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert19 ing ‘‘; $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;

20 $13,900,000 for fiscal year 2001; $14,300,000 for

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

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

23 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—Sec24 tion 205(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of

25 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(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 ‘‘; $4,200,000 for fiscal year 2000; $4,300,000

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

9 2002; $4,600,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

10 $4,700,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

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

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

13 5521 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 205

14 the following new section:

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

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

17 Program described in title I, the National Institutes of

18 Health shall support activities directed toward estab19 lishing University-based centers of excellence pursuing re20 search and training in areas of intersection of information

21 technology and the biomedical, life sciences, and behav22 ioral research; research and development on technologies

23 and processes to better manage genomic and related life

24 science data bases; and, computation infrastructure for

25 and related research on modeling and simulation, as ap-
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1 plied to biomedical, life science, and behavioral research.

2 In pursuing the above programs and in support of its mis3 sion of biomedical, life sciences, and behavioral research,

4 National Institutes of Health should work in close co5 operation with agencies involved in related information

6 technology research and application efforts.

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

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

9 Health and Human Services for the purposes of the Pro10 gram $223,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $233,000,000

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

12 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $250,000,000 for

13 fiscal year 2004.’’.

14 SEC. 204. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

15 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

16 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section 201

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

18 U.S.C. 5521) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new subsections:

20 ‘‘(c) NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

21 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—(1) Of the amounts au22 thorized under subsection (b), $350,000,000 for fiscal

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

24 $442,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $486,000,000 for fis25 cal year 2003, and $515,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 shall
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1 be available for grants for long-term basic research on net2 working and information technology, with priority given

3 to research that helps address issues related to high end

4 computing and software; network stability, fragility, reli5 ability, security (including privacy and counterinitiatives),

6 and scalability; and the social and economic consequences

7 (including the consequences for healthcare) of information

8 technology.

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

10 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub11 section up to 25 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each,

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

13 National Science Foundation shall award under this sub14 section up to 35 large grants of up to $1,000,000 each.

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

16 $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $45,000,000 for fiscal

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

18 for fiscal year 2003, and $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2004

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

20 Information Technology Research Centers.

21 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘Infor22 mation Technology Research Centers’ means groups of six

23 or more researchers collaborating across scientific and en24 gineering disciplines on large-scale long-term research

25 projects which will significantly advance the science sup-
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1 porting the development of information technology or the

2 use of information technology in addressing scientific

3 issues of national importance.

4 ‘‘(d) MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT.—(1) In addi5 tion to the amounts authorized under subsection (b), there

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science

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

8 $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $80,000,000 for fiscal

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

10 $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 for grants for the devel11 opment of major research equipment to establish terascale

12 computing capabilities at one or more sites and to promote

13 diverse computing architectures. Awards made under this

14 subsection shall provide for support for the operating ex15 penses of facilities established to provide the terascale

16 computing capabilities, with funding for such operating

17 expenses derived from amounts available under subsection

18 (b).

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

20 awarded through an open, nationwide, peer-reviewed com21 petition. Awardees may include consortia consisting of

22 members from some or all of the following types of institu23 tions:

24 ‘‘(A) Academic supercomputer centers.

25 ‘‘(B) State-supported supercomputer centers.
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1 ‘‘(C) Supercomputer centers that are supported

2 as part of federally funded research and development

3 centers.

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation, or

5 agency policy, a federally funded research and develop6 ment center may apply for a grant under this subsection,

7 and may compete on an equal basis with any other appli8 cant for the awarding of such a grant.

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

10 subsection, an awardee must agree—

11 ‘‘(A) to connect to the National Science Foun12 dation’s Partnership for Advanced Computational

13 Infrastructure network;

14 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable, to co15 ordinate with other federally funded large-scale com16 puting and simulation efforts; and

17 ‘‘(C) to provide open access to all grant recipi18 ents under this subsection or subsection (c).

19 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND

20 TRAINING GRANTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.—

22 The National Science Foundation shall provide

23 grants under the Scientific and Advanced Tech24 nology Act of 1992 for the purposes of section 3 (a)

25 and (b) of that Act, except that the activities sup-
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1 ported pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to

2 improving education in fields related to information

3 technology. The Foundation shall encourage institu4 tions with a substantial percentage of student enroll5 ments from groups underrepresented in information

6 technology industries to participate in the competi7 tion for grants provided under this paragraph.

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

9 Science Foundation shall provide—

10 ‘‘(A) grants to institutions of higher edu11 cation to establish scientific internship pro12 grams in information technology research at

13 private sector companies; and

14 ‘‘(B) supplementary awards to institutions

15 funded under the Louis Stokes Alliances for Mi16 nority Participation program for internships in

17 information technology research at private sec18 tor companies.

19 ‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—Awards under para20 graph (2) shall be made on the condition that at

21 least an equal amount of funding for the internship

22 shall be provided by the private sector company at

23 which the internship will take place.

24 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub25 section, the term ‘institution of higher education’
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1 has the meaning given that term in section 1201(a)

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

3 1141(a)).

4 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the

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

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

7 2001, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

8 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $25,000,000

9 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for carrying

10 out this subsection.

11 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—

12 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—As part of its re13 sponsibilities under subsection (a)(1), the National

14 Science Foundation shall establish a research pro15 gram to develop, demonstrate, assess, and dissemi16 nate effective applications of information and com17 puter technologies for elementary and secondary

18 education. Such program shall—

19 ‘‘(A) support research projects, including

20 collaborative projects involving academic re21 searchers and elementary and secondary

22 schools, to develop innovative educational mate23 rials, including software, and pedagogical ap24 proaches based on applications of information

25 and computer technology;
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1 ‘‘(B) support empirical studies to deter2 mine the educational effectiveness and the cost

3 effectiveness of specific, promising educational

4 approaches, techniques, and materials that are

5 based on applications of information and com6 puter technologies; and

7 ‘‘(C) include provision for the widespread

8 dissemination of the results of the studies car9 ried out under subparagraphs (A) and (B), in10 cluding maintenance of electronic libraries of

11 the best educational materials identified acces12 sible through the Internet.

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

14 empirical studies carried out under paragraph (1)

15 (A) and (B) shall encompass a wide variety of edu16 cational settings in order to identify approaches,

17 techniques, and materials that have a high potential

18 for being successfully replicated throughout the

19 United States.

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

21 amounts authorized under subsection (b),

22 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $10,500,000 for

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

24 $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $12,500,000
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1 for fiscal year 2004 shall be available for the pur2 poses of this subsection.

3 ‘‘(g) PEER REVIEW.—All grants made under this sec4 tion shall be made only after being subject to peer review

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

6 (b) OTHER PROGRAM AGENCIES.—

7 (1) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE AD8 MINISTRATION.—Section 202(a) of the High-Per9 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

10 5522(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may par11 ticipate in or support research described in section

12 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘and experimentation’’.

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

14 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991

15 (15 U.S.C. 5523(a)) is amended by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting a comma, and by add17 ing after paragraph (4) the following:

18 ‘‘conduct an integrated program of research, development,

19 and provision of facilities to develop and deploy to sci20 entific and technical users the high performance com21 puting and collaboration tools needed to fulfill the statu22 tory mission of the Department of Energy, and may par23 ticipate in or support research described in section

24 201(c)(1).’’.
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1 (3) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

2 TECHNOLOGY.—Section 204(a)(1) of the High-Per3 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

4 5524(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the

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

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

7 ‘‘and may participate in or support research de8 scribed in section 201(c)(1); and’’.

9 (4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD10 MINISTRATION.—Section 204(a)(2) of the High-Per11 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.

12 5524(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and may

13 participate in or support research described in sec14 tion 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘agency missions’’.

15 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—

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

17 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525(a)) is amended by in18 serting ‘‘, and may participate in or support re19 search described in section 201(c)(1)’’ after ‘‘dynam20 ics models’’.

21 (6) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—

22 Title II of the High-Performance Computing Act of

23 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5521 et seq.) is amended—

24 (A) by redesignating sections 207 and 208

25 as sections 208 and 209, respectively; and
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1 (B) by inserting after section 206 the fol2 lowing new section:

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

4 ‘‘The United States Geological Survey may partici5 pate in or support research described in section

6 201(c)(1).’’.

7 SEC. 205. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(d) of the High-Per9 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513(d)) is

10 amended—

11 (1) in paragraph (1)—

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

13 ‘‘1999,’’; and

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

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

16 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’;

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and

18 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and $25,000,000

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

20 (3) in paragraph (4)—

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

22 ‘‘1999,’’; and

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

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

25 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’; and
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1 (4) in paragraph (5)—

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

3 ‘‘1999,’’; and

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

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

6 2002’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2000’’.

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

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

9 5513) is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol10 lowing:

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

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

13 percent of the total amounts shall be made available to

14 fund research grants for making high-speed connectivity

15 more accessible to users in geographically remote areas.

16 The research shall include investigations of wireless, hy17 brid, and satellite technologies. In awarding grants under

18 this subsection, the administering agency shall give pri19 ority to qualified, post-secondary educational institutions

20 that participate in the Experimental Program to Stimu21 late Competitive Research.’’.

22 (c) MINORITY AND SMALL COLLEGE INTERNET AC23 CESS.—Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing

24 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513), as amended by subsection
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1 (b), is further amended by adding at the end thereof the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(f) MINORITY AND SMALL COLLEGE INTERNET AC4 CESS.—Not less than 5 percent of the amounts made

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

6 for grants to institutions of higher education that are His7 panic-serving, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Native

8 Alaskan, Historically Black, or small colleges and univer9 sities.’’.

10 (d) DIGITAL DIVIDE STUDY.—

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

12 Sciences shall conduct a study to determine the ex13 tent to which the Internet backbone and network in14 frastructure contribute to the uneven ability to ac15 cess to Internet-related technologies and services by

16 rural and low-income Americans. The study shall

17 include—

18 (A) an assessment of the existing geo19 graphical penalty (as defined in section 7(a)(1)

20 of the Next Generation Internet Research Act

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

22 on all users and their ability to obtain secure

23 and reliable Internet access;
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1 (B) a review of all current federally funded

2 research to decrease the inequity of Internet ac3 cess to rural and low-income users; and

4 (C) an estimate of the potential impact of

5 Next Generation Internet research institutions

6 acting as aggregators and mentors for nearby

7 smaller or disadvantaged institutions.

8 (2) REPORT.—The National Academy of

9 Sciences shall transmit a report containing the re10 sults of the study and recommendations required by

11 paragraph (1) to the Senate Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House

13 of Representatives Committee on Science within 1

14 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

15 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na17 tional Academy of Sciences such sums as may be

18 necessary to carry out this subsection.

19 SEC. 206. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

20 Section 101 of the High-Performance Computing Act

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

22 (1) in subsection (b)—

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

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

25 respectively;
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘ADVISORY

2 COMMITTEE.—’’; and

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

4 paragraph:

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

6 (1), the advisory committee shall conduct periodic evalua7 tions of the funding, management, implementation, and

8 activities of the Program, the Next Generation Internet

9 program, and the Networking and Information Tech10 nology Research and Development program, and shall re11 port not less frequently than once every 2 fiscal years to

12 the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives

13 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation of the Senate on its findings and recommendations.

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

16 of the enactment of the Federal Research Investment

17 Act.’’; and

18 (2) in subsection (c) (1)(A) and (2), by insert19 ing ‘‘, including the Next Generation Internet pro20 gram and the Networking and Information Tech21 nology Research and Development program’’ after

22 ‘‘Program’’ each place it appears.

23 SEC. 207. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

24 Section 103 of the High-Performance Computing Act

25 of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5513), as amended by section 205 of
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1 this title, is further amended by redesignating subsections

2 (b), (c), and (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respec3 tively, and by inserting after subsection (a) the following

4 new subsection:

5 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

6 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Director of the Na7 tional Science Foundation shall conduct a study of

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

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

10 Federal Research Investment Act, shall transmit to

11 the Congress a report including recommendations to

12 address those issues. Such report shall be updated

13 annually for 6 additional years.

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

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

16 Science Foundation shall consult with the National

17 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National

18 Institute of Standards and Technology, and such

19 other Federal agencies and educational entities as

20 the Director of the National Science Foundation

21 considers appropriate.

22 ‘‘(3) ISSUES.—The reports shall—

23 ‘‘(A) identify the current status of high24 speed, large bandwidth capacity access to all
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1 public elementary and secondary schools and li2 braries in the United States;

3 ‘‘(B) identify how high-speed, large band4 width capacity access to the Internet to such

5 schools and libraries can be effectively utilized

6 within each school and library;

7 ‘‘(C) consider the effect that specific or re8 gional circumstances may have on the ability of

9 such institutions to acquire high-speed, large

10 bandwidth capacity access to achieve universal

11 connectivity as an effective tool in the education

12 process; and

13 ‘‘(D) include options and recommendations

14 for the various entities responsible for elemen15 tary and secondary education to address the

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

17 SEC. 208. STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION

18 TECHNOLOGY.

19 Section 201 of the High-Performance Computing Act

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

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

22 subsection (g) the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(h) STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION

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

2 date of the enactment of the Federal Research In3 vestment Act, the Director of the National Science

4 Foundation, in consultation with the National Insti5 tute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, shall

6 enter into an arrangement with the National Re7 search Council of the National Academy of Sciences

8 for that Council to conduct a study of accessibility

9 to information technologies by individuals who are

10 elderly, individuals who are elderly with a disability,

11 and individuals with disabilities.

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

13 ‘‘(A) current barriers to access to informa14 tion technologies by individuals who are elderly,

15 individuals who are elderly with a disability,

16 and individuals with disabilities;

17 ‘‘(B) research and development needed to

18 remove those barriers;

19 ‘‘(C) Federal legislative, policy, or regu20 latory changes needed to remove those barriers;

21 and

22 ‘‘(D) other matters that the National Re23 search Council determines to be relevant to ac24 cess to information technologies by individuals
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1 who are elderly, individuals who are elderly with

2 a disability, and individuals with disabilities.

3 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Direc4 tor of the National Science Foundation shall trans5 mit to the Congress within 2 years of the date of the

6 enactment of the Federal Research Investment Act

7 a report setting forth the findings, conclusions, and

8 recommendations of the National Research Council.

9 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—Fed10 eral agencies shall cooperate fully with the National

11 Research Council in its activities in carrying out the

12 study under this subsection.

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

14 the study described in this subsection shall be avail15 able, in the amount of $700,000, from amounts de16 scribed in subsection (c)(1).’’.

17 SEC. 209. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.

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

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

20 Congress a report on the results of a detailed study ana21 lyzing the effects of this Act, and the amendments made

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

23 women.

Passed the Senate September 21, 2000.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.