[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1609 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1609

   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 Advisory Committee on High-Performance 
  Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next 
     Generation Internet 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 1998

 Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Rockfeller, Mr. McCain, Mr. Hollings, Mr. 
  Burns, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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 Advisory Committee on High-Performance 
  Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next 
     Generation Internet 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. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Terms Used in This Act.--For purposes of this Act--
            (1) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' has the meaning given 
        such term by section 230(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(e)(1)).
            (2) Geographic penalty.--The term ``geographic penalty'' 
        means the imposition of costs on users of the Internet in rural 
        or other locations attributable to the distance of the user 
        from network facilities, the low population density of the area 
        in which the user is located, or other factors, that are 
        disproportionately greater than the costs imposed on users in 
        locations closer to such facilities or on users in locations 
        with significantly greater population density.
    (b) Definition of Network in High-Performance Computing Act of 
1991.--Paragraph (4) of section 4 of the High-Performance Computing Act 
of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5503) is amended by striking ``network referred to 
as the National Research and Education Network established under 
section 102; and'' and inserting ``network, including advanced computer 
networks of Federal agencies and departments; and''.

SEC. 3. 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 
        researchers and educators with access to computational and 
        information resources, act as a test bed for further research 
        and development for high-capacity and high-speed computer 
        networks, and 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 programs.''.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to serve as the first authorization in a series of 
        computing, information, and communication technology 
        initiatives outlines in the High-Performance Computing Act of 
        1991 (15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.) that will include 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 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 
                coordinated 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 
                economically viable and does not impose a geographic 
                penalty; and
                    (C) encourage researchers to pursue approaches to 
                networking 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 ``universities; and'' in paragraph (1)(I) and 
        inserting ``universities;'';
            (4) striking ``efforts.'' in paragraph (2) and inserting 
        ``network research and development programs;''; and
            (5) adding at the end thereof the following:
            ``(3) promoting the further development of an information 
        infrastructure of information stores, services, access 
        mechanisms, and research facilities available for use through 
        the Internet;
            ``(4) promoting the more rapid development and wider 
        distribution of networking management and development tools; 
        and
            ``(5) promoting the rapid adoption of open network 
        standards.''.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C 
5511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``SEC. 103. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    ``(a) In General.--In addition to its functions under Executive 
Order 13035 (62 F.R. 7231), the Advisory Committee on High-Performance 
Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next 
Generation Internet, established by Executive Order No. 13035 of 
February 11, 1997 (62 F.R. 7231) shall--
            ``(1) assess the extent to which the Next Generation 
        Internet program--
                    ``(A) carries out the purposes of this Act;
                    ``(B) addresses concerns relating to, among other 
                matters--
                            ``(i) geographic penalties (as defined in 
                        section 2(2) of the Next Generation Internet 
                        Research Act of 1998); and
                            ``(ii) technology transfer to and from the 
                        private sector; and
            ``(2) assess the extent to which--
                    ``(A) the role of each Federal agency and 
                department involved in implementing the Next Generation 
                Internet program is clear, complementary to and non-
                duplicative of the roles of other participating 
                agencies and departments; and
                    ``(B) each such agency and department concurs with 
                the rule of each other participating agency or 
                department.
    ``(b) Reports.--The Advisory Committee shall assess implementation 
of the Next Generation Internet initiative and report, not less 
frequently than annually, to the President, the United States Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the United 
States House of Representatives Committee on Science on its findings 
for the preceding fiscal year. The first such report shall be submitted 
6 months after the date of enactment of the Next Generation Internet 
Research Act of 1998 the last report shall be submitted by September 
30, 2000.''.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C 
5511 et seq.), as amended by section 5 of this Act, is amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following:

SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of 
carrying out the Next Generation Internet program the following 
amounts:


                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  ``Agency                     FY 1999        FY 2000   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Department of Defense....................  $42,500,000     $45,000,000
``Department of Energy.....................  $20,000,000     $25,000,000
``National Science Foundation..............  $25,000,000     $25,000,000
``National Institutes of Health............   $5,000,000      $7,500,000
``National Aeronautics and Space                                        
 Administration............................   $5,000,000      $5,000,000
``National Institute of Standards and                                   
 Technology................................   $5,000,000   $7,500,000''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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