[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 42 (Monday, March 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2406-H2408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          AMENDING THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ACT OF 1991

  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1068) to amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1068

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. 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 EDUCATION NETWORK'' and inserting ``RESEARCH AND 
     DEVELOPMENT'';
       (2) in section 101(a)--
       (A) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(A) provide for long-term basic and applied research on 
     high-performance computing;
       ``(B) provide for research and development on, and 
     demonstration of, technologies to advance the capacity and 
     capabilities of high-performance 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 engineering 
     problems, including provision for technical support for users 
     of such systems;
       ``(D) provide for efforts to increase software 
     availability, productivity, capability, security, 
     portability, and reliability;
       ``(E) provide for high-performance networks, 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 and algorithms for 
     applications in all fields of science and engineering;
       ``(G) provide for the technical support of, and research 
     and development on, high-performance computing systems and 
     software required to address Grand Challenges;
       ``(H) provide for educating and training additional 
     undergraduate and graduate students in software engineering, 
     computer science, computer and network security, applied 
     mathematics, 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.'';
       (B) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs 
     (3) and (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively;
       (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (B) of this paragraph--
       (i) by striking subparagraph (B);
       (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (C) as 
     subparagraphs (D) and (F), respectively;
       (iii) by inserting before subparagraph (D), as so 
     redesignated by clause (ii) of this subparagraph, the 
     following new subparagraphs:
       ``(A) establish the goals and priorities for Federal high-
     performance computing research, development, networking, and 
     other activities;
       ``(B) establish Program Component Areas that implement the 
     goals established under subparagraph (A), and identify the 
     Grand Challenges that the Program should address;
       ``(C) provide for interagency coordination of Federal high-
     performance computing research, development, networking, and 
     other activities undertaken pursuant to the Program;''; and
       (iv) by inserting after subparagraph (D), as so 
     redesignated by clause (ii) of this subparagraph, the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(E) develop and maintain a research, development, and 
     deployment roadmap for the provision of high-performance 
     computing systems under paragraph (1)(C); and''; and
       (D) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated by subparagraph 
     (B) of this paragraph--
       (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 Program 
     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 description 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 Component Area'';
       (iv) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``and for each 
     Program Component Area'' after ``participating in the 
     Program'';
       (v) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``applies;'' and 
     inserting ``applies; and'';
       (vi) by striking subparagraph (E) and redesignating 
     subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (E); and
       (vii) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated by clause 
     (vi) of this subparagraph, by inserting ``and the extent to 
     which the Program incorporates the recommendations of the 
     advisory committee established under subsection (b)'' after 
     ``for the Program'';
       (3) by striking subsection (b) of section 101 and inserting 
     the following:
       ``(b) Advisory Committee.--(1) The President shall 
     establish an advisory committee on high-performance computing 
     consisting of non-Federal members, including representatives 
     of the research, education, and library communities, network 
     providers, and industry, who are specially qualified to 
     provide the Director with advice and information on high-
     performance computing. The recommendations of the advisory 
     committee shall be considered in reviewing and revising the 
     Program. The advisory committee shall provide the Director 
     with an independent assessment of--
       ``(A) progress made in implementing the Program;
       ``(B) the need to revise the Program;
       ``(C) the balance between the components of the Program, 
     including funding levels for the Program Component Areas;
       ``(D) whether the research and development undertaken 
     pursuant to the Program is helping to maintain United States 
     leadership in high-performance computing and networking 
     technology; and
       ``(E) other issues identified by the Director.
       ``(2) In addition to the duties outlined in paragraph (1), 
     the advisory committee shall conduct periodic evaluations of 
     the funding, management, coordination, implementation, 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 Transportation 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.
       ``(3) Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
     shall not apply to the advisory committee established by this 
     subsection.''; and
       (4) in section 101(c)(1)(A), by striking ``Program or'' and 
     inserting ``Program Component Areas or''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 4 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 
     U.S.C. 5503) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and multidisciplinary 
     teams of researchers'' after ``high-performance computing 
     resources'';
       (2) in paragraph (3)--
       (A) by striking ``scientific workstations,'';
       (B) by striking ``(including vector supercomputers and 
     large scale parallel systems)'';

[[Page H2407]]

       (C) by striking ``and applications'' and inserting 
     ``applications''; and
       (D) by inserting ``, and the management of large data 
     sets'' after ``systems software'';
       (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ``packet switched'';
       (4) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5);
       (5) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(7) `Program Component Areas' means the major subject 
     areas under which are grouped related individual projects and 
     activities carried out under the Program.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Baird) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous materials on H.R. 1068, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 1068, a bill to amend the High-Performance 
Computing Act of 1991. This is a bipartisan bill which Congresswoman 
Biggert and I introduced.
  I want particularly to acknowledge the role Mrs. Biggert has played 
in working to develop this legislation over the past several years. 
This bill is based on a bill introduced by Congresswoman Biggert and 
Congressman Lincoln Davis during the past two Congresses. And in both 
those Congresses, the bill passed the House.
  I also want to thank Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for 
their support for the legislation, for helping to advance it through 
the committee and to bring it to the floor.
  H.R. 1068 will improve the planning and coordination process for the 
major Federal interagency research program in information technology. 
Information technology is a major driver of economic growth. It creates 
high-wage jobs, provides for rapid communication throughout the world, 
and provides the tools for acquiring knowledge.
  For example, information technology helps to make the workplace more 
productive, to improve the quality of health care, and to make 
government more responsive and accessible to the needs of our citizens.
  High-performance computing and networking is not only an essential 
component of U.S. scientific competitiveness, it also has important 
industrial, medical, and defense applications.
  Vigorous long-term research is essential for realizing the potential 
of information technology. The technical advances that led to today's 
computers and the Internet evolved from past federally sponsored 
research, in partnership with industry and universities. High-
performance computing is necessary as we work to develop new ways to 
transfer vast amounts of information around the world.
  The depth and strength of U.S. capability in information technology 
stems in part from the sustained research and development program 
carried out by Federal research agencies under a program codified by 
the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991. That act is widely credited 
with reinvigorating U.S. high-performance computing capabilities after 
a period of relative decline during the late 1980s.
  The 1991 act created a multi-agency R&D program to accelerate 
development of information technology and to attack challenging 
computational science and engineering problems. The 1991 act also put 
in place a formal process for planning and budgeting for the activities 
carried out under the interagency R&D program, which is formally known 
as the Networking and Information Technology R&D Program.
  The need for this legislation today arises from what I would 
characterize as a weakening over time of the planning and 
prioritization process for the program.
  In order to maintain our competitiveness, we must ensure that the 
resources available to advance high-performance computing technology 
are allocated to the highest priority areas and that the activities 
supported are carefully coordinated among the performing agencies.
  Toward that end, H.R. 1068 requires formal biennial reviews of the 
interagency program by its external advisory committee in order to 
provide advice from the research community and from the information 
technology industries on how to sharpen program priorities and improve 
program implementation. Also, the required annual progress report for 
the program must now include a formal response to the recommendations 
of the advisory committee.
  H.R. 1068 calls on the agencies carrying out the program to focus 
more effort on high-end computing. The key requirement is for the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy to create and maintain a road 
map for developing and deploying high-end systems necessary to ensure 
that the U.S. research community has sustained access to the most 
capable computing systems.
  Finally, this bill clarifies the grand challenge problems supported 
under the interagency program, such as clean energy production, climate 
change, and patient safety and health quality, which are intended to 
involve multidisciplinary teams of researchers and demand the most 
capable high-performance computing and networking resources.
  Consistent with this requirement, the bill also specifies the 
provisions for access to high-end computing systems includes technical 
support to users of these systems.
  Mr. Speaker, the interagency information technology research program 
launched by the 1991 act has been largely a success. H.R. 1068 will 
serve to strengthen this vital research program and deserves the 
approval of this House. I ask my colleagues for their support in 
passing H.R. 1068.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1068. It will strengthen 
the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991.
  Tomorrow, the Committee on Science and Technology will hold a hearing 
on U.S. innovation and competitiveness. High-performance computers have 
a role to play in our economic competitiveness, as they vastly enhance 
our ability to perform very complex computations quickly and they do it 
efficiently. H.R. 1068 will help ensure that American researchers have 
access to the very best tools available as they tackle cutting-edge 
problems in key fields such as nanotechnology, homeland security, and 
biotechnology. In addition, this bill helps reinforce the Federal 
commitment to ``supercomputing,'' a commitment that becomes 
increasingly more important as European and Asian countries continue to 
increase their investment in developing and purchasing the next 
generation of supercomputers.
  Nobody knows this measure better than my distinguished colleague from 
Illinois (Mrs. Biggert). She has worked tirelessly in two previous 
Congresses to have this important legislation enacted. In fact, she has 
been successful in the House on both occasions, only to see it stall on 
the Senate side.
  In an effort to keep that from happening again, we have made a few 
modifications to help ensure it gets Senate support. With these slight 
alterations, I hope we will find that the third time is a charm.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1068.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas, the 
ranking member of the Science Committee, for yielding me the time.
  And I am so pleased to be the cosponsor of this bill that was 
introduced by my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Washington 
(Mr. Baird). He has been a great member on the Science Committee for 
several years. This bill may seem familiar to many of my colleagues in 
the House and for

[[Page H2408]]

good reason. In both the 108th and 109th Congresses, we did introduce 
legislation that would do exactly the same thing as the bill we are 
considering today with some additions. H.R. 4218 in the 108th Congress 
and H.R. 28 in the 109th Congress were approved not only overwhelmingly 
by the Science Committee but by the full House of Representatives.

                              {time}  1415

  Unfortunately, because of jurisdictional complications, our friends 
in the other body across the rotunda had never considered this 
legislation. It had been endorsed by the President's science adviser, 
Dr. Marburger, several years ago. It is a real shame that it hasn't 
moved forward, but we are really happy we are, I think, going to have 
both sides of the aisle work on it this time.
  At the time when we first introduced the High Performance Computing 
Revitalization Act in April of 2004, a new Japanese supercomputer, the 
Earth Simulator, was the fastest supercomputer in the world, a title it 
held for well over 2 years, from June 2002 through November of 2004.
  Some experts claimed that Japan was able to produce a computer far 
ahead of American machines because the U.S. had taken an overly 
cautious or conventional approach to computing R&D. In hindsight, we 
see that caution meant lost opportunities.
  Granted a lot has changed since November of 2004. The U.S. is now 
home to not only the world's fastest supercomputer, but seven of the 10 
fastest, thanks to the hard work and competitive spirit of people at 
IBM, Cray and Silicon Graphics, as well as the Department of Energy and 
NSF.
  But we must retain the leadership and development and use of 
supercomputers. As confirmed by reports of the Council on 
Competitiveness and the President's Information Technology Advisory 
Committee, supercomputers are essential to maintaining U.S. leadership 
in many scientific fields and have many applications, from 
pharmaceuticals and climate to national and homeland security.
  That is why the bill that we are considering today is so important. 
It is designed to ensure U.S. preeminence and competitiveness in 
computational science. This bill commits the Federal Government to 
providing the research community with sustained access to the highest 
end supercomputers, supporting all aspects of high performance 
computing, including software development and data management for 
scientific and engineering applications, and developing and maintaining 
a road map for computational science in the fields that require it.
  I am honored to have worked with the chairman of the Research and 
Science Education Subcommittee, Mr. Baird, on this straightforward, 
commonsense legislation, and I have good reason to be hopeful that it 
will pass. As my colleague from Washington has already indicated, we 
made changes in this bill, simple changes, that would help our 
colleagues in the other body avoid those jurisdictional problems that 
they seem to have sometimes that have stymied their consideration of 
this bill in the past.
  In closing, I just want to say that this bill will provide 
researchers in the United States with the computing resources they need 
to remain world class. Our Nation's scientific enterprise and our 
economy will be stronger for it.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1068.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I will just very briefly again commend Mrs. 
Biggert for her leadership on this. She has been steadfast and dogged 
on this. We hope with the changes we made to this bill, it will meet 
the approval of the other body. This is not a partisan issue. This is 
about keeping American science and industry at the very forefront of 
the world. This bill will help us do that.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1068, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________