H. R. 3332
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight
An Act
To amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations
for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 for the Next Generation Internet program, to
require the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee to monitor
and give advice concerning the development and implementation of the Next
Generation Internet program and report to the President and the Congress on
its activities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Next Generation Internet
Research Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Congress finds that—
(1) United States leadership in science and technology has
been vital to the Nation’s prosperity, national and economic
security, and international competitiveness, and there is every
reason to believe that maintaining this tradition will lead to
long-term continuation of United States strategic advantages
in information technology;
(2) the United States investment in science and technology
has yielded a scientific and engineering enterprise without
peer, and that Federal investment in research is critical to
the maintenance of United States leadership;
(3) previous Federal investment in computer networking
technology and related fields has resulted in the creation of
new industries and new jobs in the United States;
(4) the Internet is playing an increasingly important role
in keeping citizens informed of the actions of their government;
and
(5) continued inter-agency cooperation is necessary to avoid
wasteful duplication in Federal networking research and
development programs.
(b) ADDITIONAL FINDINGS
FOR
THE 1991 ACT.—Section 2 of
the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501)
is amended by—
(1) striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
‘‘(4) A high-capacity, flexible, high-speed national research
and education computer network is needed to provide research-
ers and educators with access to computational and information
resources, act as a test bed for further research and develop-
ment for high-capacity and high-speed computer networks, and
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provide researchers the necessary vehicle for continued network
technology improvement through research.’’; and
(2) adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘(7) Additional research must be undertaken to lay the
foundation for the development of new applications that can
result in economic growth, improved health care, and improved
educational opportunities.
‘‘(8) Research in new networking technologies holds the
promise of easing the economic burdens of information access
disproportionately borne by rural users of the Internet.
‘‘(9) Information security is an important part of computing,
information, and communications systems and applications, and
research into security architectures is a critical aspect of
computing, information, and communications research pro-
grams.’’.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to authorize, through the High-Performance Computing
Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.), research programs related
to—
(A) high-end computing and computation;
(B) human-centered systems;
(C) high confidence systems; and
(D) education, training, and human resources; and
(2) to provide, through the High-Performance Computing
Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.), for the development
and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated United
States research program which will—
(A) focus on the research and development of a coordi-
nated set of technologies that seeks to create a network
infrastructure that can support greater speed, robustness,
and flexibility than is currently available and promote
connectivity and interoperability among advanced computer
networks of Federal agencies and departments;
(B) focus on research in technology that may result
in high-speed data access for users that is both economi-
cally viable and does not impose a geographic penalty;
and
(C) encourage researchers to pursue approaches to net-
working technology that lead to maximally flexible and
extensible solutions wherever feasible.
(b) MODIFICATION
OF PURPOSES
OF
THE 1991 ACT.—Section
3 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5502)
is amended by—
(1) striking the section caption and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 3. PURPOSES.’’;
(2) striking ‘‘purpose of this Act is’’ and inserting ‘‘purposes
of this Act are’’;
(3) striking subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and
redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (I) as subparagraphs
(A) through (H), respectively;
(4) striking ‘‘Network’’ and inserting ‘‘Internet’’ in para-
graph (1)(B), as so redesignated by paragraph (3) of this sub-
section;
(5) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1)(H), as so
redesignated by paragraph (3) of this subsection;
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(6) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘efforts.’’ and inserting
‘‘network research and development programs;’’; and
(7) adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘(3) promoting the more rapid development and wider dis-
tribution of networking management and development tools;
and
‘‘(4) promoting the rapid adoption of open network stand-
ards.’’.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING PROGRAM.
(a) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section
101(a)(2) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C.
5511(a)(2)(A) and (B)) are amended to read as follows:
‘‘(A) provide for the development of technologies to advance
the capacity and capabilities of the Internet;
‘‘(B) provide for high performance testbed networks to
enable the research, development, and demonstration of
advanced networking technologies and to develop and dem-
onstrate advanced applications made possible by the existence
of such testbed networks;’’.
(b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 101(b) of the High-Perform-
ance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)) is amended by
striking ‘‘HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING’’ in the subsection head-
ing.
SEC. 5. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.
Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15
U.S.C. 5511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 103. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Science Foundation, the
Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology may support the Next
Generation Internet program. The objectives of the Next Generation
Internet program shall be to—
‘‘(1) support research, development, and demonstration of
advanced networking technologies to increase the capabilities
and improve the performance of the Internet;
‘‘(2) develop an advanced testbed network connecting a
significant number of research sites, including universities, Fed-
eral research institutions, and other appropriate research part-
ner institutions, to support networking research and to dem-
onstrate new networking technologies; and
‘‘(3) develop and demonstrate advanced Internet applica-
tions that meet important national goals or agency mission
needs, and that are supported by the activities described in
paragraphs (1) and (2).
‘‘(b) 
DUTIES
OF
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.—The 
President’s
Information Technology Advisory Committee (established pursuant
to section 101(b) by Executive Order No. 13035 of February 11,
1997 (62 F.R. 7131), as amended by Executive Order No. 13092
of July 24, 1998), in addition to its functions under section 101(b),
shall—
‘‘(1) assess the extent to which the Next Generation Inter-
net program—
‘‘(A) carries out the purposes of this Act; and
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‘‘(B) addresses concerns relating to, among other mat-
ters—
‘‘(i) geographic penalties (as defined in section 7(1)
of the Next Generation Internet Research Act of 1998);
‘‘(ii) the adequacy of access to the Internet by
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic
Serving Institutions, and small colleges and univer-
sities (whose enrollment is less than 5,000) and the
degree of participation of those institutions in activities
described in subsection (a); and
‘‘(iii) technology transfer to and from the private
sector;
‘‘(2) review the extent to which the role of each Federal
agency and department involved in implementing the Next
Generation Internet program is clear and complementary to,
and non-duplicative of, the roles of other participating agencies
and departments;
‘‘(3) assess the extent to which Federal support of fun-
damental research in computing is sufficient to maintain the
Nation’s critical leadership in this field; and
‘‘(4) make recommendations relating to its findings under
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
‘‘(c) 
REPORTS.—The 
Advisory 
Committee 
shall 
review
implementation of the Next Generation Internet program and shall
report, not less frequently than annually, to the President, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Commit-
tee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Armed Services of
the Senate, and the Committee on Science, the Committee on Appro-
priations, and the Committee on National Security of the House
of Representatives on its findings and recommendations for the
preceding fiscal year. The first such report shall be submitted
6 months after the date of the enactment of the Next Generation
Internet Research Act of 1998 and the last report shall be submitted
by September 30, 2000.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated for the purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) for the Department of Energy, $22,000,000 for fiscal
year 1999 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
‘‘(2) for the National Science Foundation, $25,000,000 for
fiscal year 1999 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, as author-
ized in the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of
1998;
‘‘(3) for the National Institutes of Health, $5,000,000 for
fiscal year 1999 and $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000;
‘‘(4) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
$10,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $10,000,000 for fiscal
year 2000; and
‘‘(5) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
$5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $7,500,000 for fiscal year
2000.
Such funds may not be used for routine upgrades to existing feder-
ally funded communication networks.
SEC. 6. STUDY OF EFFECTS ON TRADEMARK RIGHTS OF ADDING
GENERIC TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS.
(a) STUDY BY NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.—Not later than
30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
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of Commerce shall request the National Research Council of the
National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study,
taking into account the diverse needs of domestic and international
Internet users, of the short-term and long-term effects on trademark
rights of adding new generic top-level domains and related dispute
resolution procedures.
(b) MATTERS TO BE ASSESSED
IN STUDY.—The study shall
assess and, as appropriate, make recommendations for policy, prac-
tice, or legislative changes relating to—
(1) the short-term and long-term effects on the protection
of trademark rights and consumer interests of increasing or
decreasing the number of generic top-level domains;
(2) trademark rights clearance processes for domain names,
including—
(A) whether domain name databases should be readily
searchable through a common interface to facilitate the
clearing of trademark rights and proposed domain names
across a range of generic top-level domains;
(B) the identification of what information from domain
name databases should be accessible for the clearing of
trademark rights; and
(C) whether generic top-level domain registrants
should be required to provide certain information;
(3) domain name trademark rights dispute resolution
mechanisms, including how to—
(A) reduce trademark rights conflicts associated with
the addition of any new generic top-level domains; and
(B) reduce trademark rights conflicts through new tech-
nical approaches to Internet addressing;
(4) choice of law or jurisdiction for resolution of trademark
rights disputes relating to domain names, including which juris-
dictions should be available for trademark rights owners to
file suit to protect such trademark rights;
(5) trademark rights infringement liability for registrars,
registries, or technical management bodies;
(6) short-term and long-term technical and policy options
for Internet addressing schemes and the impact of such options
on current trademark rights issues; and
(7) public comments on the interim report and on any
reports that are issued by intergovernmental bodies.
(c) COOPERATION WITH STUDY.—
(1) INTERAGENCY
COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Com-
merce shall—
(A) direct the Patent and Trademark Office, the
National Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion, and other Department of Commerce entities to
cooperate fully with the National Research Council in its
activities in carrying out the study under this section;
and
(B) request all other appropriate Federal departments,
Federal agencies, Government contractors, and similar
entities to provide similar cooperation to the National
Research Council.
(2) PRIVATE CORPORATION COOPERATION.—The Secretary of
Commerce shall request that any private, not-for-profit corpora-
tion established to manage the Internet root server system