Date: 2016-06-13
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 5312. the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act of 2016. The bill before us modernizes the original HighPerformance Computing Act of 1991. In the 25 years that have passed since that bill established the framework for Federal investment in computing research. networking and information technologies. NIT. has transformed how we communicate with each other. how we get around. how we bank. and how we shop. NIT has helped provide teachers and students in diverse communities across our Nation access to resources and learning opportunities that were previously out of reach. NIT has transformed every industry sector. increasing efficiency and productivity. while creating higher skilled. better paying jobs. NIT made possible the decoding of the human genome and has led to myriad improvements in medical diagnostics and treatments. Over these past 25 years. networking and information technologies have created opportunities across all aspects of our lives that were previously unimaginable. With those opportunities. NIT has also created new challenges for individual and collective safety and security and for our privacy. Our critical infrastructure. our banks. our commercial enterprises. and our own personal wallets and identities are vulnerable to criminals and state actors alike. Our privacy is being compromised daily. whether we are public figures or private citizens. We cannot go back to a world before NIT. nor should we. However. while investing in advancements in NIT and its many applications. we must also invest in protecting our security and privacy. The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program. or NITRD. which grew out of the original 1991 HighPerformance Computing Act. does just that. The interagency NITRD Program supports a full range of research and development that provides the foundation of scientific understanding and accelerates the development of advanced information technologies. while strengthening cybersecurity and privacy. The program also advances NIT to accelerate discovery in many other areas of science and engineering. from astronomy to biomedical research. The legislation we are considering today. the Networking" and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act. continues to strengthen the management. coordination. and oversight of the NITRD Program. It helps ensure that Federal investments in NIT R&D remain at the cutting edge and continuously evolve to include important emerging areas of NIT. In addition. it encourages largescale interdisciplinary and crossagency collaborations in "grand challenge" areas of R&D. Finally. the bill encourages strong collaboration and coordination with industry and other stakeholders. Over time. there have been some amendments to the 1991 Act. H.R. 5312. represents the committees fourth attempt in as many Congresses to enact a comprehensive modernization of the 25yearold law. For the first time since our first effort in 2009. the Senate has proposed draft language of its own. I am hopeful that we can get a NITRD modernization bill to the Presidents desk before years end. Given the profound implications for our economic and national security. NIT is not an area of science and technology for which the U.S. can afford to cede leadership. I want to thank Representative LAHOOD. Chairman SMITH. and committee staff for an open. collaborative. and good process which has led to a very good bill. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the bill. and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.