SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing America’s 
Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. PROGRAM PLANNING AND COORDINATION. 
(a) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—Section 101 of the High- 
Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—The agencies identified in 
subsection (a)(3)(B) shall— 
‘‘(1) periodically assess the contents and fund-
ing levels of the Program Component Areas and re-
structure the Program when warranted, taking into 
consideration any relevant recommendations of the 
advisory committee established under subsection (b); 
and 
‘‘(2) ensure that the Program includes large- 
scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research and de-
velopment activities, including activities described in 
section 104.’’. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—Section 
101 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended further by 
adding after subsection (d), as added by subsection (a) 
of this Act, the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) STRATEGIC PLAN.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The agencies identified in 
subsection (a)(3)(B), working through the National 
Science and Technology Council and with the assist-
ance of the National Coordination Office described 
under section 102, shall develop, within 12 months 
after the date of enactment of the Advancing Amer-
ica’s Networking and Information Technology Re-
search and Development Act of 2012, and update 
every 3 years thereafter, a 5-year strategic plan to 
guide the activities described under subsection 
(a)(1). 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan shall 
specify near-term and long-term objectives for the 
Program, the anticipated time frame for achieving 
the near-term objectives, the metrics to be used for 
assessing progress toward the objectives, and how 
the Program will— 
‘‘(A) foster the transfer of research and 
development results into new technologies and 
applications for the benefit of society, including 
through cooperation and collaborations with 
networking and information technology re-
search, development, and technology transition 
initiatives supported by the States;
‘‘(B) encourage and support mechanisms 
for interdisciplinary research and development 
in networking and information technology, in-
cluding through collaborations across agencies, 
across Program Component Areas, with indus-
try, with Federal laboratories (as defined in 
section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703)), and 
with international organizations; 
‘‘(C) address long-term challenges of na-
tional importance for which solutions require 
large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research 
and development; 
‘‘(D) place emphasis on innovative and 
high-risk projects having the potential for sub-
stantial societal returns on the research invest-
ment; 
‘‘(E) strengthen all levels of networking 
and information technology education and 
training programs to ensure an adequate, well- 
trained workforce; and 
‘‘(F) attract more women and underrep-
resented minorities to pursue postsecondary de-
grees in networking and information tech-
nology.
‘‘(3) 
NATIONAL
RESEARCH
INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—The strategic plan developed in accordance 
with paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by mile-
stones and roadmaps for establishing and maintain-
ing the national research infrastructure required to 
support the Program, including the roadmap re-
quired by subsection (a)(2)(E). 
‘‘(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The entities in-
volved in developing the strategic plan under para-
graph (1) shall take into consideration the rec-
ommendations— 
‘‘(A) of the advisory committee established 
under subsection (b); and 
‘‘(B) of the stakeholders whose input was 
solicited by the National Coordination Office, as 
required under section 102(b)(3). 
‘‘(5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of 
the National Coordination Office shall transmit the 
strategic plan required under paragraph (1) to the 
advisory committee, the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
House of Representatives.’’.
(c) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.— 
Section 101(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(2)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘edu-
cation,’’ before ‘‘and other activities’’; 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 
(F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) encourage and monitor the efforts of the 
agencies participating in the Program to allocate the 
level of resources and management attention nec-
essary to ensure that the strategic plan under sub-
section (e) is developed and executed effectively and 
that the objectives of the Program are met;’’. 
(d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 101(b)(1) of 
such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) after the first sentence, by inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The co-chairs of the advisory committee 
shall meet the qualifications of committee member-
ship and may be members of the President’s Council 
of Advisors on Science and Technology.’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘high-per-
formance’’ and inserting ‘‘high-end’’.
(e) REPORT.—Section 101(a)(3) of such Act (15 
U.S.C. 5511(a)(3)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (C)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘is submitted,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘is submitted, the levels for the previous 
fiscal year,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘each Program Component 
Area;’’ and inserting ‘‘each Program Compo-
nent Area and research area supported in ac-
cordance with section 104;’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (D)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘each Program Component 
Area,’’ and inserting ‘‘each Program Compo-
nent Area and research area supported in ac-
cordance with section 104,’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘is submitted,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘is submitted, the levels for the previous 
fiscal year,’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (G); and 
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(E) include a description of how the objectives 
for each Program Component Area, and the objec-
deeply integrated and are actively connected to the 
physical world through sensors, actuators, or other 
means to perform monitoring and control func-
tions;’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘high-performance computing’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘networking and information technology’’; 
(4) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘high-performance com-
puting’’ and inserting ‘‘networking and infor-
mation technology’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘supercomputer’’ and in-
serting ‘‘high-end computing’’; 
(5) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘network referred to as’’ and all that fol-
lows through the semicolon and inserting ‘‘network, 
including advanced computer networks of Federal 
agencies and departments;’’; and 
(6) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘National High-Performance Computing 
Program’’ and inserting ‘‘networking and informa-
tion technology research and development program’’.
SEC. 3. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NATIONAL 
IMPORTANCE. 
Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 104. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NA-
TIONAL IMPORTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall encourage 
agencies identified in section 101(a)(3)(B) to support 
large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary research and de-
velopment activities in networking and information tech-
nology directed toward application areas that have the po-
tential for significant contributions to national economic 
competitiveness and for other significant societal benefits. 
Such activities, ranging from basic research to the dem-
onstration of technical solutions, shall be designed to ad-
vance the development of research discoveries. The advi-
sory committee established under section 101(b) shall 
make recommendations to the Program for candidate re-
search and development areas for support under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(b) CHARACTERISTICS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Research and development 
activities under this section shall— 
‘‘(A) include projects selected on the basis 
of applications for support through a competi-
tive, merit-based process;
‘‘(B) involve collaborations among re-
searchers in institutions of higher education 
and industry, and may involve nonprofit re-
search institutions and Federal laboratories, as 
appropriate; 
‘‘(C) when possible, leverage Federal in-
vestments through collaboration with related 
State initiatives; and 
‘‘(D) include a plan for fostering the trans-
fer of research discoveries and the results of 
technology demonstration activities, including 
from institutions of higher education and Fed-
eral laboratories, to industry for commercial de-
velopment. 
‘‘(2) COST-SHARING.—In selecting applications 
for support, the agencies shall give special consider-
ation to projects that include cost sharing from non- 
Federal sources. 
‘‘(3) AGENCY COLLABORATION.—If 2 or more 
agencies identified in section 101(a)(3)(B), or other 
appropriate agencies, are working on large-scale re-
search and development activities in the same area 
of national importance, then such agencies shall 
strive to collaborate through joint solicitation and se-
lection of applications for support and subsequent 
funding of projects. 
‘‘(4) 
INTERDISCIPLINARY
RESEARCH
CEN-
TERS.—Research and development activities under 
this section may be supported through interdiscipli-
nary research centers that are organized to inves-
tigate basic research questions and carry out tech-
nology demonstration activities in areas described in 
subsection (a). Research may be carried out through 
existing interdisciplinary centers, including those au-
thorized under section 7024(b)(2) of the America 
COMPETES Act (Public Law 110–69; 42 U.S.C. 
1862o–10).’’. 
SEC. 4. CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS. 
(a) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS.—Sec-
tion 101(a)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(1)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraphs: 
‘‘(J) provide for increased understanding of the 
scientific principles of cyber-physical systems and
improve the methods available for the design, devel-
opment, and operation of cyber-physical systems 
that are characterized by high reliability, safety, and 
security; and 
‘‘(K) provide for research and development on 
human-computer interactions, visualization, and big 
data.’’. 
(b) TASK FORCE.—Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
5511) is amended further by adding after section 104, as 
added by section 3 of this Act, the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 105. UNIVERSITY/INDUSTRY TASK FORCE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Advancing America’s 
Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Act of 2012, the Director of the National 
Coordination Office shall convene a task force to explore 
mechanisms for carrying out collaborative research and 
development activities for cyber-physical systems, includ-
ing the related technologies required to enable these sys-
tems, through a consortium or other appropriate entity 
with participants from institutions of higher education, 
Federal laboratories, and industry. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The task force shall— 
‘‘(1) develop options for a collaborative model 
and an organizational structure for such entity