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individual projects and activities carried out under 
the Program.’’. 
SEC. 3. HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING RESEARCH AND 
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 
Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of 
1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in the title heading, by striking ‘‘AND 
THE NATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDU-
CATION NETWORK’’ and inserting ‘‘RE-
SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 
(2) in section 101— 
(A) the section heading, by striking ‘‘NA-
TIONAL
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
COM-
PUTING’’ and inserting ‘‘HIGH-PERFORM-
ANCE COMPUTING RESEARCH AND DEVEL-
OPMENT’’; 
(B) in subsection (a)— 
(i) in the subsection heading, by strik-
ing 
‘‘NATIONAL
HIGH-PERFORMANCE 
COMPUTING’’ and inserting ‘‘HIGH-PER-
FORMANCE COMPUTING RESEARCH
AND 
DEVELOPMENT’’; 
(ii) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) 
and inserting the following: ‘‘(1) The 
President shall implement a High-Perform-
HR 4218 RFS 
ance Computing Research and Develop-
ment Program, which shall— 
‘‘(A) provide for long-term basic and ap-
plied research on high-performance computing; 
‘‘(B) provide for research and development 
on, and demonstration of, technologies to ad-
vance the capacity and capabilities of high-per-
formance computing and networking systems; 
‘‘(C) provide for sustained access by the 
research community in the United States to 
high-performance computing systems that are 
among the most advanced in the world in terms 
of performance in solving scientific and engi-
neering problems, including provision for tech-
nical support for users of such systems; 
‘‘(D) provide for efforts to increase soft-
ware availability, productivity, capability, secu-
rity, portability, and reliability; 
‘‘(E) provide for high-performance net-
works, including experimental testbed networks, 
to enable research and development on, and 
demonstration of, advanced applications enabled 
by such networks; 
‘‘(F) provide for computational science and 
engineering research on mathematical modeling
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and algorithms for applications in all fields of 
science and engineering; 
‘‘(G) provide for the technical support of, 
and research and development on, high-per-
formance computing systems and software re-
quired to address Grand Challenges; 
‘‘(H) provide for educating and training 
additional undergraduate and graduate students 
in software engineering, computer science, com-
puter and network security, applied mathe-
matics, library and information science, and 
computational science; and 
‘‘(I) provide for improving the security of 
computing and networking systems, including 
Federal systems, including research required to 
establish security standards and practices for 
these systems.’’; 
(iii) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 
and (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respec-
tively; 
(iv) in paragraph (2), as so redesig-
nated by clause (iii) of this subpara-
graph— 
(I) by striking subparagraph (B);
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(II) by redesignating subpara-
graphs (A) and (C) as subparagraphs 
(D) and (F), respectively; 
(III) by inserting before subpara-
graph (D), as so redesignated by sub-
clause (II) of this clause, the following 
new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(A) establish the goals and priorities for Fed-
eral high-performance computing research, develop-
ment, networking, and other activities; 
‘‘(B) establish Program Component Areas that 
implement the goals established under subparagraph 
(A), and identify the Grand Challenges that the Pro-
gram should address; 
‘‘(C) provide for interagency coordination of 
Federal high-performance computing research, devel-
opment, networking, and other activities undertaken 
pursuant to the Program;’’; and 
(IV) by inserting after subpara-
graph (D), as so redesignated by sub-
clause (II) of this clause, the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) develop and maintain a research, develop-
ment, and deployment roadmap for the provision of
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high-performance computing systems under para-
graph (1)(C); and’’; and 
(v) in paragraph (3), as so redesig-
nated by clause (iii) of this subpara-
graph— 
(I) 
by 
striking 
‘‘paragraph 
(3)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(2)(D)’’; 
(II) by amending subparagraph 
(A) to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) provide a detailed description of the Pro-
gram Component Areas, including a description of 
any changes in the definition of or activities under 
the Program Component Areas from the preceding 
report, and the reasons for such changes, and a de-
scription of Grand Challenges supported under the 
Program;’’; 
(III) in subparagraph (C), by 
striking ‘‘specific activities’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘the Network’’ 
and inserting ‘‘each Program Compo-
nent Area’’; 
(IV) in subparagraph (D), by in-
serting ‘‘and for each Program Com-
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ponent Area’’ after ‘‘participating in 
the Program’’; 
(V) in subparagraph (D), by 
striking ‘‘applies;’’ and inserting ‘‘ap-
plies; and’’; 
(VI) by striking subparagraph 
(E) and redesignating subparagraph 
(F) as subparagraph (E); and 
(VII) in subparagraph (E), as so 
redesignated by subclause (VI) of this 
clause, by inserting ‘‘and the extent to 
which the Program incorporates the 
recommendations of the advisory com-
mittee established under subsection 
(b)’’ after ‘‘for the Program’’; 
(C) in subsection (b)— 
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through 
(E), respectively; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘Advisory 
Committee.—’’; 
(iii) in paragraph (1)(C), as so redes-
ignated by clauses (i) and (ii) of this sub-
paragraph, by inserting ‘‘, including fund-
HR 4218 RFS 
ing levels for the Program Component 
Areas’’ after ‘‘of the Program’’; 
(iv) in paragraph (1)(D), as so redes-
ignated by clauses (i) and (ii) of this sub-
paragraph, by striking ‘‘computing’’ and 
inserting 
‘‘high-performance 
computing 
and networking’’; and 
(v) by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) In addition to the duties outlined in paragraph 
(1), the advisory committee shall conduct periodic evalua-
tions of the funding, management, coordination, imple-
mentation, and activities of the Program, and shall report 
not less frequently than once every two fiscal years to the 
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate on its findings and recommendations. 
The first report shall be due within one year after the date 
of enactment of this paragraph.’’; and 
(D) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking 
‘‘Program or’’ and inserting ‘‘Program Compo-
nent Areas or’’; and 
(3) by striking sections 102 and 103.
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SEC. 4. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 
Title II of the High-Performance Computing Act of 
1991 (15 U.S.C. 5521 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) of section 201 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the 
Program described in title I, the National Science Foun-
dation shall— 
‘‘(1) support research and development to gen-
erate fundamental scientific and technical knowledge 
with the potential of advancing high-performance 
computing and networking systems and their appli-
cations; 
‘‘(2) provide computing and networking infra-
structure support to the research community in the 
United States, including the provision of high-per-
formance computing systems that are among the 
most advanced in the world in terms of performance 
in solving scientific and engineering problems, and 
including support for advanced software and applica-
tions development, for all science and engineering 
disciplines; and 
‘‘(3) support basic research and education in all 
aspects of high-performance computing and net-
working.’’;
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(2) by amending subsection (a) of section 202 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the 
Program described in title I, the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration shall conduct basic and applied re-
search in high-performance computing and networking, 
with emphasis on— 
‘‘(1) computational fluid dynamics, computa-
tional thermal dynamics, and computational aero-
dynamics; 
‘‘(2) scientific data dissemination and tools to 
enable data to be fully analyzed and combined from 
multiple sources and sensors; 
‘‘(3) remote exploration and experimentation; 
and 
‘‘(4) tools for collaboration in system design, 
analysis, and testing.’’; 
(3) in section 203— 
(A) by striking subsections (a) through (d) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the 
Program described in title I, the Secretary of Energy 
shall— 
‘‘(1) conduct and support basic and applied re-
search in high-performance computing and net-
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working to support fundamental research in science 
and engineering disciplines related to energy applica-
tions; and 
‘‘(2) provide computing and networking infra-
structure support, including the provision of high- 
performance computing systems that are among the 
most advanced in the world in terms of performance 
in solving scientific and engineering problems, and 
including support for advanced software and applica-
tions development, for science and engineering dis-
ciplines related to energy applications.’’; and 
(B) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (b); 
(4) by amending subsection (a) of section 204 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the 
Program described in title I— 
‘‘(1) the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall— 
‘‘(A) conduct basic and applied metrology 
research needed to support high-performance 
computing and networking systems; 
‘‘(B) develop benchmark tests and stand-
ards for high-performance computing and net-
working systems and software;
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‘‘(C) develop and propose voluntary stand-
ards and guidelines, and develop measurement 
techniques and test methods, for the interoper-
ability of high-performance computing systems 
in networks and for common user interfaces to 
high-performance computing and networking 
systems; and 
‘‘(D) work with industry and others to de-
velop, and facilitate the implementation of, 
high-performance computing applications to 
solve science and engineering problems that are 
relevant to industry; and 
‘‘(2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall conduct basic and applied research 
on high-performance computing applications, with 
emphasis on— 
‘‘(A) improving weather forecasting and 
climate prediction; 
‘‘(B) collection, analysis, and dissemination 
of environmental information; and 
‘‘(C) development of more accurate models 
of the ocean-atmosphere system.’’; and 
(5) by amending subsection (a) of section 205 
to read as follows:
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‘‘(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—As part of the 
Program described in title I, the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency shall conduct basic and applied research di-
rected toward advancement and dissemination of computa-
tional techniques and software tools for high-performance 
computing systems with an emphasis on modeling to— 
‘‘(1) develop robust decision support tools; 
‘‘(2) predict pollutant transport and the effects 
of pollutants on humans and on ecosystems; and 
‘‘(3) better understand atmospheric dynamics 
and chemistry.’’. 
SEC. 5. SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION TECH-
NOLOGY. 
In carrying out its programs on the social, economic, 
legal, ethical, and cultural implications of information 
technology, the National Science Foundation shall support 
research into the implications of computers (including 
both hardware and software) that would be capable of 
mimicking human abilities to learn, reason, and make de-
cisions. 
SEC. 6. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE. 
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 23 of the National 
Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
1862n–9) is amended—
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(1) by striking ‘‘and the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration’’ each place it appears in 
subsections (a) and (b) and inserting ‘‘, the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the De-
partment of Energy’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting ‘‘the Sec-
retary of Energy,’’ after ‘‘the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration,’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘5’’ in each of paragraphs 
(1) and (2) and inserting ‘‘4’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (2); 
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4), and in that paragraph by strik-
ing ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’; and 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) 3 members selected by the Secretary of 
Energy; and’’; and 
(4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘the advisory 
bodies of other Federal agencies, such as the De-
partment of Energy, which may engage in related 
research activities’’ and inserting ‘‘other Federal ad-
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visory committees that advise Federal agencies 
which engage in related research activities’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on March 15, 2005. 
SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF SUNSET PROVISION FROM SAVINGS 
IN CONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1996. 
Section 14(e) of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 
(15 U.S.C. 205l(e)) is repealed. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 7, 2004. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.