[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE H.R. 28, THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING 
                       REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2005

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                           HON. JUDY BIGGERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 4, 2005

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the High-
Performance Computing--or HPC--Revitalization Act of 2005, which will 
ensure that America remains a leader in the development and use of 
supercomputers.
  When we think of how computers affect our lives, we probably think of 
the work we do on our office desktop machines, or maybe the Internet 
surfing we do in our spare time. We don't normally think of the 
enormous contribution that supercomputers--also called high performance 
computers--make to the world around us.
  These powerful machines are used in the development of 
pharmaceuticals, in modeling the earth's climate, in applications 
critical to ensuring our national and homeland security, and to 
strengthen our economic competitiveness. High-performance computers 
also are central to maintaining U.S. leadership in many scientific 
fields. Computational science complements theory and experimentation in 
fields such as plasma physics and fusion, astrophysics, nuclear 
physics, and genomics.
  Mr. Speaker, dramatic scientific and commercial 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.
  For nearly three years, Japan was home to the world's fastest 
supercomputer, the Earth Simulator. But during those years, the United 
States remained a leader in high performance computing as home to many 
of the world's fastest supercomputers. For example, a list of the 
world's fastest computers released last spring documented that 10 of 
the top 20 supercomputers were in the United States at that time.
  Then, just two months ago, the United States regained the lead when 
IBM's Blue Gene/L supercomputer was recognized as the fastest computer 
in the world. IBM and the U.S. supercomputing industry are to be 
commended for their impressive accomplishments.
  These are accomplishments upon which we must build if the United 
States is to retain its leading role in the development and use of 
supercomputers.
  That's why my legislation updates an important law not revised since 
it passed in 1991. The HPC Revitalization Act of 2005 clarifies the 
federal government's role in supporting supercomputing research and 
development in the United States. More specifically, my bill does four 
things:
  First, it requires that federal agencies provide the U.S. research 
community access to the most advanced high-performance computing 
systems, and technical support for their users.
  Second, there's more to supercomputing than building big machines. 
That's why the bill requires federal agencies to support all aspects of 
high-performance computing for scientific and engineering applications, 
including: Software, algorithm and applications development; 
Development of technical standards; and Education and training.
  Third, the bill requires the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy to direct an interagency planning process to develop 
and maintain a research, development, and deployment roadmap for the 
provision of high-performance computing resources for the U.S. research 
community. This provision will help ensure an ongoing, robust planning 
process for our national high-performance computing efforts.
  Finally, the bill clarifies the missions of each of the federal 
agencies that have a role in developing or using High Performance 
Computing.
  Mr. Speaker, at a full committee hearing on May 13 of last year, Dr. 
John Marburger, Director of the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, communicated the Administration's support for this 
bill.
  Dr. Marburger and the Bush Administration recognize that we can't 
have world-class science if we don't have world-class computers. We 
cannot imagine the kinds of problems that the supercomputers of 
tomorrow will be able to solve. But we can imagine the kind of problems 
we will have if we fail to provide researchers in the United States 
with the computing resources they need to remain world-class.
  That's why the House passed this same bill in the 109th Congress. It 
will guide federal agencies in providing needed support to high-
performance computing and its user communities. Our nation's scientific 
enterprise, and our economy, will be the stronger for it.
  To conclude, I want to recognize the bill's cosponsors, Chairman 
Sherwood Boehlert and Congressman Lincoln Davis, and thank them for 
their support. I hope the rest of my colleagues will again support this 
legislation when it comes to the floor for consideration in the 109th 
Congress. With your help, we will ensure that the United States 
maintains its distinction as home to the world's most powerful 
computer.

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