[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 77 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1052-E1053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING 
                       REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JUDY BIGGERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 4, 2004

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 4516, the 
Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004, 
which outlines how the Department of Energy will help ensure that 
America remains a leader in the development and use of supercomputers.
  On April 27, I introduced H.R. 4218, the High-Performance Computing 
Revitalization Act of 2004. H.R. 4218 addresses the need for an on-
going, coordinated interagency process to guide federal decision-making 
in high-performance computing investments. That bill strengthens the 
interagency process by requiring the Director of the Office of Science 
and Technology Policy (OSTP) at the White House to ``develop and 
maintain a research, development, and deployment roadmap for the 
provision of high-performance computing systems for use by the research 
community in the United States.'' By putting OSTP in charge of 
developing the program's long-term vision, this provision will help 
ensure a robust planning process so that our national high-performance 
computing effort is not allowed to lag in the future.
  H.R. 4218 lays out the foundation for a planning process involving 
several Federal agencies. It also makes clear that the Department of 
Energy, through its Office of Science, and the National Science 
Foundation, are the two lead agencies within the Federal Government 
responsible for providing U.S. researchers with access to the most 
advanced computing facilities in the world.
  The legislation I am offering today complements H.R. 4218 by 
addressing in more detail the high-performance computing activities at 
the Department of Energy. This new legislation authorizes the 
implementation of a specific program that the Department will need to 
meet the mandate laid out in H.R. 4218.
  More specifically, the bill I offer today requires the Secretary of 
Energy to establish and operate high-end computing facilities that are 
among the most elite machines in the world--truly ``leadership-class'' 
machines, sometimes referred to as ``ultrascale'' computers. My bill 
directs the Secretary to conduct advanced scientific and engineering 
research and development using these leadership class systems, and to 
continue to advance the capabilities of high-end computing hardware and 
software. These leadership-class computing facilities will be available 
on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to researchers in U.S. industry, 
institutions of higher education, national laboratories, and other 
Federal agencies.
  Last fall, the Department of Energy's Office of Science released its 
20-year facilities plan, a prioritized list of the most important 
scientific facilities needed to advance multiple fields of scientific 
endeavor over the next two decades. The second highest priority 
identified on the Department's list was ``ultrascale computing.''
  Ultrascale computing ranks highly on the Department of Energy's 
priority list because these computers are essential tools for achieving 
the next suite of scientific breakthroughs in a variety of disciplines. 
These powerful machines are used in the development of pharmaceuticals, 
in modeling the Earth's climate, and in applications critical to 
ensuring our national and homeland security. Computational science 
complements theory and experimentation in fields such as plasma physics 
and fusion, astrophysics, nuclear physics, and genomics. In many cases, 
dramatic breakthroughs will require increasing computing power by a 
factor of a hundred, or in some cases, by a factor of a thousand. While 
attaining these increases may seem daunting, the history of computer 
development has taught us that with a sustained commitment to research, 
such gains are within our reach.
  I am pleased that the legislation I am offering today also 
complements a new initiative recently advanced by the Department. Last 
month, Secretary Abraham announced the selection of a team including 
Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and other 
partners to develop and build a new, ultrascale computing facility. 
When completed, this new facility will outpace the world's current 
``number one'' computer, Japan's Earth Simulator. By renewing our 
commitment to high-end computing research and development at the 
Department of Energy and other

[[Page E1053]]

Federal agencies, the United States can regain its distinction as home 
to the world's most powerful computer.

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