[House Report 107-511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-511

======================================================================



 
     NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ADVANCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 18, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Boehlert, from the Committee on Science, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3400]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Science, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 
3400) to amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2003 through 2007 for 
the coordinated Federal program on networking and information 
technology research and development, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
   I. Amendment.......................................................2
  II. Purpose of the Bill.............................................7
 III. Background and Need for the Legislation.........................7
  IV. Summary of Hearings.............................................9
   V. Committee Action...............................................10
  VI. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill........................10
 VII. Section-by-Section Analysis (by Title and Section).............11
VIII. Committee Views................................................13
  IX. Cost Estimate..................................................18
   X. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate......................19
  XI. Compliance with Public Law 104-4 (Unfunded Mandates)...........20
 XII. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations...............20
XIII. Constitutional Authority Statement.............................20
 XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement...........................21
  XV. Congressional Accountability Act...............................21
 XVI. Statement on Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law..........21
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported..........21
XVIII.Committee Recommendations......................................32

 XIX. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives..........32
  XX. Proceedings of Full Committee Markup...........................32

                              I. Amendment

  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Networking and Information Technology 
Research Advancement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

  The Congress makes the following findings:
          (1) Information technology is an enabling technology that 
        contributes to other scientific disciplines. Advances in 
        nanotechnology, bioinformatics, intelligent networks, wireless 
        networking, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other fields 
        depend on further advances in information technology research 
        and development. In turn, advances in networking and 
        information technology depend on research in a wide range of 
        fields, such as computer science and engineering, mathematics, 
        and many others, and in the development of electronic 
        components such as semiconductors and fiber optics that are 
        faster, denser, and cheaper. Research in fields such as 
        materials sciences, physics, chemistry, and photonics lays the 
        foundation for building these advanced components.
          (2) Federal investment in information technology research and 
        development over the past 50 years has led to technological 
        innovations that have transformed our society and stimulated 
        economic growth.
          (3) A 1999 report from the President's Information Technology 
        Advisory Committee entitled ``Information Technology Research: 
        Investing in Our Future'' states that--
                  (A) Federal support for research in information 
                technology is inadequate;
                  (B) Federal investment in information technology 
                research and development should give a higher priority 
                to long-term, basic research; and
                  (C) Federal information technology research 
                management should develop a long-term and coherent 
                strategy for sustained attention to national goals.
          (4) Long-term, basic research is necessary to create 
        technological breakthroughs in information technology. The 
        Federal Government is uniquely positioned to support long-term 
        fundamental research.
          (5) Advances in networking and information technology have 
        permeated and dramatically improved product design and 
        development processes, production efficiency, and distribution 
        systems of a wide range of manufacturing and other industries. 
        From the aeronautical and automotive industries to farming, 
        advances in networking and information technology have allowed 
        United States industry to compete more effectively and better 
        utilize limited resources through improved quality control and 
        other means. Therefore, research in networking and information 
        technology that advances the field also advances productivity 
        and economic growth for the United States economy.
          (6) Information technology encompasses ways to develop, store 
        and retrieve, organize and use, make sense of, compute, and 
        communicate information to further a number of societal goals, 
        including increasing economic growth through product 
        development and increased efficiency of services and 
        manufacturing, advancing scientific research, and education.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  Section 4 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 
5503) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (3)--
                  (A) by striking ``high-performance computing'' and 
                inserting ``networking and information technology''; 
                and
                  (B) by striking ``(including vector supercomputers 
                and large scale parallel systems)'';
          (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``packet switched'';
          (3) by striking paragraphs (5) and (6); and
          (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
          ``(5) `Program' means the Networking and Information 
        Technology Research and Development Program described in 
        section 101; and
          ``(6) `Program Component Areas' means the major subject areas 
        under which are grouped related individual projects and 
        activities carried out under the Program and which are 
        developed according to section 101(a)(3)(B) and identified in 
        the annual report required under section 101(a)(3)(A).''.

SEC. 4. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
                    PROGRAM.

  (a) Amendments.--Section 101 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 
1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended--
          (1) in the section heading, by striking ``NATIONAL HIGH-
        PERFORMANCE COMPUTING'' and inserting ``NETWORKING AND 
        INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT'';
          (2) by striking ``high-performance computing'' each place it 
        appears other than in subsection (a)(2)(F) and inserting 
        ``networking and information technology'';
          (3) in the subsection heading of subsection (a), by striking 
        ``National High-Performance Computing'' and inserting 
        ``Networking and Information Technology Research and 
        Development'';
          (4) in subsection (a)--
                  (A) by striking ``National High-Performance 
                Computing'' and inserting ``Networking and Information 
                Technology Research and Development'';
                  (B) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
                        subparagraph (A);
                          (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                        subparagraph (C); and
                          (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
                        following new subparagraph:
          ``(B) establish Program Component Areas that implement the 
        goals established under subparagraph (A); and'';
                  (C) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (2)(H);
                  (D) by striking subparagraph (I) of paragraph (2) and 
                inserting the following:
          ``(I) provide for improving the security of networked 
        information systems, including research required to establish 
        security standards and practices for computing systems and 
        networks; and
          ``(J) provide for long-term basic research on networking and 
        information technology, with priority given to research that 
        helps address issues related to--
                  ``(i) high end computing and software;
                  ``(ii) network stability, fragility, reliability, 
                security (including privacy), and scalability; and
                  ``(iii) the social and economic consequences of 
                information technology.'';
                  (E) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), by 
                inserting ``, including establishing the process by 
                which Program Component Areas are defined'' after ``of 
                the Program'';
                  (F) by amending subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) to 
                read as follows:
          ``(A) provide a detailed description of the Program Component 
        Areas, including--
                  ``(i) a description of any changes in the Program 
                Component Areas from the preceding report and the 
                reasons for such changes; and
                  ``(ii) a description of activities within each 
                Program Component Area that contribute to the 
                improvement of the security of networked information 
                systems;'';
                  (G) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking ``specific 
                activities'' and all that follows through ``the 
                Network'' and inserting ``each Program Component 
                Area'';
                  (H) in paragraph (4)(D), by inserting ``for each 
                Program Component Area and for all activities that 
                contribute to the improvement of the security of 
                networked information systems'' after ``budget 
                submission applies''; and
                  (I) in paragraph (4)(F), by inserting ``, and the 
                extent to which the Program incorporates the 
                recommendations of the Advisory Committee established 
                under subsection (b)'' after ``for the Program'';
          (5) in subsection (b)--
                  (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively;
                  (B) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``Advisory 
                Committee.--'';
                  (C) in paragraph (1)(C), as so redesignated by this 
                paragraph, by inserting ``, including funding levels 
                for the Program Component Areas'' after ``of the 
                Program'';
                  (D) in paragraph (1)(D), as so redesignated by this 
                paragraph, by striking ``computing'' and inserting 
                ``networking and information''; and
                  (E) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
  ``(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 the 
enactment of this paragraph.''; and
          (6) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ``Program or'' and 
        inserting ``Program Component Areas or''.
  (b) Repeals.--Sections 102 and 103 of the High-Performance Computing 
Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5512 and 5513) are repealed.
  (c) Conforming Amendment.--The heading of title I of the High-
Performance Computing Act of 1991 is amended to read as follows:

     ``TITLE I--NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND 
                         DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM''.

SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES.

  (a) National Science Foundation Activities.--Section 201 of the High-
Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5521) is amended to read 
as follows:

``SEC. 201. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.

  ``(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program described in 
title I, the National Science Foundation shall--
          ``(1) generate fundamental scientific and technical knowledge 
        with the potential of advancing networking and information 
        technology and its applications; and
          ``(2) provide computing and networking infrastructure support 
        for all science and engineering disciplines, and support basic 
        research and human resource development in all aspects of 
        networking and information technology and advanced high speed 
        computer networking.
  ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated 
to the National Science Foundation for the purposes of the Program 
$704,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; $774,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
$851,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $937,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 
and $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.''.
  (b) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Activities.--
Section 202 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 
5522) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 202. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES.

  ``(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program described in 
title I, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall 
conduct basic and applied research in networking and information 
technology, with emphasis on--
          ``(1) computational fluid, thermal, and aerodynamics;
          ``(2) scientific data dissemination and tools to enable data 
        to be fully analyzed and combined from multiple sources and 
        sensors;
          ``(3) remote exploration and experimentation; and
          ``(4) tools for collaboration in systems design, analysis, 
        and testing.
  ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated 
to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the purposes 
of the Program $199,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, $219,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2004, $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $265,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2006, and $292,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.''.
  (c) Department of Energy Activities.--Section 203 of the High-
Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5523) is amended--
          (1) in subsection (a), by striking all after ``the Secretary 
        of Energy shall'' and inserting ``conduct basic and applied 
        research in networking and information technology, with 
        emphasis on--
          ``(1) supporting fundamental research in the physical 
        sciences and engineering, and energy applications;
          ``(2) providing supercomputer access and advanced 
        communication capabilities to scientific researchers; and
          ``(3) developing tools for distributed scientific 
        collaboration.''; and
          (2) in subsection (e)--
                  (A) by striking ``(1)'';
                  (B) by striking ``$93,000,000'' and all that follows 
                through ``fiscal year 1996'' and inserting 
                ``$193,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, $212,000,000 for 
                fiscal year 2004, $234,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, 
                $258,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $283,000,000 for 
                fiscal year 2007''; and
                  (C) by striking paragraph (2).
  (d) Department of Commerce Activities.--Section 204 of the High-
Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5524) is amended--
          (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) and 
        inserting the following:
          ``(1) the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
        shall--
                  ``(A) conduct basic and applied measurement research 
                needed to support various computing systems and 
                networks;
                  ``(B) develop and propose voluntary standards and 
                guidelines, and develop measurement techniques and test 
                methods, for the interoperability of computing systems 
                in networks and for common user interfaces to systems;
                  ``(C) be responsible for developing benchmark tests 
                and standards for computing systems and software; and
                  ``(D) encourage the development, deployment, and 
                implementation of voluntary guidelines and standards 
                for--
                          ``(i) robust security technology; and
                          ``(ii) best practices and interoperability 
                        relating to the security of commercial and 
                        government computer networks; and
          ``(2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        shall conduct basic and applied research in networking and 
        information technology, with emphasis on--
                  ``(A) improving weather forecasting and climate 
                prediction;
                  ``(B) collection and dissemination of environmental 
                information; and
                  ``(C) development of more accurate models of the 
                atmosphere-ocean system.''; and
          (2) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the 
        following:
  ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated--
          ``(1) to the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
        for the purposes of the Program $24,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2003, $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $29,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2005, $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $35,000,000 
        for fiscal year 2007; and
          ``(2) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        for the purposes of the Program $22,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2003, $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $26,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2005, $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $32,000,000 
        for fiscal year 2007.''.
  (e) Environmental Protection Agency Activities--Section 205 of the 
High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5525) is amended to 
read as follows:

``SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACTIVITIES.

  ``(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program described in 
title I, the Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct basic and 
applied research directed toward the advancement and dissemination of 
computational techniques and software tools with an emphasis on 
modeling of--
          ``(1) ecosystems;
          ``(2) human effects
          ``(3) atmospheric dynamics and chemistry; and
          ``(4) pollutant transport.
  ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated 
to the Environmental Protection Agency for the purposes of the Program 
$4,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, $4,400,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
$4,800,000 for fiscal year 2005, $5,300,000 for fiscal year 2006, and 
$5,800,000 for fiscal year 2007.''.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

  (a) International Benchmarking Studies.--
          (1) Study.--Not later than 3 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
        Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct 
        an assessment of the state of research on networking and 
        information technology in the United States. The study shall 
        use the methodology and approach developed by the Committee on 
        Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National 
        Academies and documented in its 2000 report entitled 
        ``Experiments in International Benchmarking of U.S. Research 
        Fields''.
          (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the 
        House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
        and Transportation of the Senate, the Director of the Office of 
        Science and Technology Policy, and the advisory committee 
        established under section 101(b) of the High-Performance 
        Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)) (in this section 
        referred to as the ``advisory committee'') a report setting 
        forth the findings of the study conducted under paragraph (1).
          (3) Advisory committee recommendations.--Not later than 3 
        months after receipt of the report transmitted under paragraph 
        (2), the advisory committee shall provide recommendations to 
        the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on 
        appropriate changes to the Program established by section 
        101(a) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 
        5511(a)) to address issues raised by the study conducted under 
        paragraph (1).
          (4) Annual report.--The first annual report required by 
        section 101(a)(3)(A) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 
        1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(3)(A)) that is due after the expiration 
        of 9 months after receipt by the Director of the Office of 
        Science and Technology Policy of the report transmitted under 
        paragraph (2) shall include a description of activities under 
        the Program established by section 101(a) of the High-
        Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)) that 
        address issues raised by the study conducted under paragraph 
        (1), including strategies for--
                  (A) raising or maintaining the position of the United 
                States relative to other nations in the research 
                priority areas addressed by the report transmitted 
                under paragraph (2); and
                  (B) promoting international research cooperation to 
                leverage international niches of excellence identified 
                by the report transmitted under paragraph (2).
          (5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized to 
        be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying 
        out the study under this subsection $850,000.
  (b) Information Technology Workforce Study.--
          (1) Data collection.--The Director of the National Science 
        Foundation shall on a continuing basis collect data on the 
        information technology workforce, including information on--
                  (A) the size and nature of the information technology 
                workforce by occupation category, level of education 
                and training, personnel demographics, and industry 
                characteristics;
                  (B) the long-term employability of information 
                technology professionals;
                  (C) various forms of employee compensation, including 
                salaries, bonuses, and stock options;
                  (D) the role of foreign workers in the information 
                technology workforce;
                  (E) the previous and subsequent immigration and 
                employment status of workers who are aliens having the 
                status of a nonimmigrant described in section 
                101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)); and
                  (F) other relevant issues.
          (2) Analysis.--Not later than 3 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
        Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to analyze 
        the data collected under paragraph (1) and publish a biennial 
        update to the ``Building a Workforce in the Information 
        Economy'' report, issued in October of 2000.
          (3) Transmittal to congress.--Biennial updates required under 
        paragraph (2) shall be transmitted to the Committee on Science 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and to the National 
        Coordination Office for Information Technology Research and 
        Development, not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter.

SEC. 7. RESEARCH CENTER.

  (a) In General.--(1) As part of the Program described in section 101 
of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511), the 
National Science Foundation, in consultation with the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other 
Federal agencies as appropriate, shall establish a center for research 
on information technology questions related to crisis management.
  (2) The award to support the establishment and operation of the 
center established under paragraph (1) shall be made to an eligible 
nonprofit organization or consortium thereof through a merit-reviewed, 
competitive process in accordance with requirements specified by the 
National Science Foundation.
  (b) Use of Funds.--The center established under subsection (a) shall 
carry out research to advance the role of information technology in 
crisis management. Such activities may include--
          (1) research on--
                  (A) human-computer interface technologies suitable 
                for meeting user needs and limitations;
                  (B) network-based collaboration tools, including 
                virtual situation rooms;
                  (C) the interconnection, interoperation, and 
                reliability of networks involving diverse information 
                resources;
                  (D) rapidly deployable, self-configuring wireless 
                networks;
                  (E) software to assist crisis managers in making 
                decisions in the absence of complete information;
                  (F) means for improving the performance of 
                distributed systems; and
                  (G) simulation of natural phenomena, such as severe 
                storms or forest fires, that could provide guidance to 
                crisis managers;
          (2) establishment and use of experimental testbeds for crisis 
        management-related research and development to allow for 
        testing and validating technologies under realistic conditions; 
        and
          (3) analyses of the design and operation of existing 
        national-scale infrastructures to identify features that enable 
        such systems to be scalable and functionally flexible.
  (c) Selection Criteria.--In evaluating applications submitted under 
this section, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall 
consider, at a minimum, the extent to which the applicant will work 
with individuals and organizations that would be users of the results 
of the research conducted by the center in establishing a research 
agenda and conducting activities under subsection (b)(2).
  (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible nonprofit 
organization'' means an institution of higher education as defined by 
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), or a 
nonprofit research institute or nonprofit association with experience 
related to applications of information technology in crisis management 
as determined by the National Science Foundation.
  (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for the purposes of 
this section $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005, 
2006, and 2007.

                        II. Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 3400 is to authorize appropriations for 
networking and information technology research and development.

                III. Background and Need for Legislation

    Information technology (IT) provides tools, systems, and 
capabilities that have changed our daily lives and have 
reshaped the way business is conducted. Its influence on 
economic growth and competitiveness has been enormous--the IT 
economy now generates more than $300 billion in revenue each 
year. The impact of information technology on education, 
environmental management, health care, law enforcement, 
productivity, scientific research, and transportation safety, 
has been equally dramatic. In fact many of our Nation's 
critical defense and civilian infrastructures are now reliant 
upon information technology. None of these advances would have 
been possible without a long-term, sustained focus on 
fundamental research--most of which has been supported by the 
Federal Government.
    Innovations resulting from past investment in federally-
sponsored research include:
           The Internet, which grew out of ARPANET, the 
        network developed in the 1960s by researchers funded by 
        the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA);
           The first graphical web ``browser,'' 
        developed by university-based researchers with National 
        Science Foundation (NSF) support;
           Relational databases--the sophisticated 
        software systems needed to store and manage large 
        quantities of information, such as financial records, 
        census data, and business inventories--pioneered by 
        university researchers funded by NSF in the 1970s; and
           The first high-performance computers, placed 
        in government installations, primarily for national 
        defense purposes.
    The Federal Government's role in funding IT research and 
development dates back at least as far as World War II, when 
the first digital electronic computer was developed and the 
Federal Government's overall investment in computing was less 
than $20 million ($185.2 million in FY 1999 dollars) per year. 
Until the mid-1970s, computers were tools available only to 
large corporations, research institutions, and the Federal 
Government, and the field of computer science was just emerging 
as a distinct academic discipline. However, the Federal 
Government's investment during this time in computing and such 
underlying disciplines as mathematics, engineering, and 
physics, was laying the groundwork for subsequent breakthroughs 
in software and technology.
    Government support for high-performance computing expanded 
in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s many agencies had 
developed independent programs. In the late 1980s, ten of the 
programs were linked in the High-Performance Computing and 
Communications initiative. The High-Performance Computing Act 
of 1991 (HPC Act), P.L. 102-194, formalized the initiative and 
established a process by which the Federal Government could 
establish government-wide research priorities and ensure the 
coordination of individual agency contributions. This Act 
established a multi-agency program of research and authorized 
appropriations for fiscal years 1992 through 1996 at seven 
agencies: NSF, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of 
Education.
    The multi-agency program established by the HPC Act still 
exists today, and its activities are coordinated through the 
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITRD) program. Within this program, an Interagency Working 
Group--made up of representatives from every agency involved in 
the NITRD program (see below) as well as the Office of 
Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy (OSTP), the National Economic Council, and the National 
Coordination Office for IT Research and Development--
coordinates the planning, budgeting, and assessment activities 
of the Federal IT research and development enterprise. The 
NITRD Interagency Working Group also serves as the internal 
deliberative organization for Federal IT research and 
development policy, program, and budget guidance within the 
Executive Branch.
    The NITRD agencies include: Agency for Healthcare Research 
and Quality, DARPA, DOE National Nuclear Security 
Administration, DOE Office of Science, EPA, NASA, National 
Institutes of Health, NIST, NOAA, National Security Agency, 
NSF, and Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for 
Science and Technology.
    The major research emphases of the NITRD effort are 
reflected in Program Component Areas (PCAs). PCAs are groupings 
of related IT activities that are defined by the Interagency 
Working Group through authority delegated by the President, and 
led by program managers from the NITRD participating agencies. 
These program managers confer regularly to coordinate the 
objectives and activities of the multi-agency projects in their 
specialized research areas. The current PCAs are:
           High End Computing, which includes both 
        research and development and Infrastructure & 
        Applications;
           Human Computer Interaction & Information 
        Management;
           Large Scale Networking;
           Software Design and Productivity;
           High Confidence Software and Systems; and
           Social, Economic, and Workplace Implications 
        of IT and IT Workforce Development.
    The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee 
(PITAC), which was established pursuant to the HPC Act, 
recently looked at a number of issues related to high-
performance computing and communications research. In its 1999 
report, ``Information Technology Research: Investing in Our 
Future,'' PITAC concluded that while U.S. leadership in 
information technology provides an essential foundation for 
promoting economic growth, education and research, 
environmental stewardship, public health, and national 
security, there has been an erosion of support for long-term 
fundamental research in information technology. Describing the 
current Federal funding levels as being ``seriously 
inadequate,'' the Committee also concluded that current 
research is too focused on near-term problems linked to agency 
missions. PITAC recommended that the Federal Government create 
a strategic initiative for long-term research and development, 
fund projects for longer time periods, establish an effective 
structure for managing and coordinating research and 
development, and increase spending significantly.
    In addition, a National Research Council (NRC) panel 
concluded in its 1999 report, ``Funding a Revolution,'' that 
the Federal Government's focus on funding long-range, 
fundamental research--something that industry has little 
incentive to pursue--was a primary stimulus for the current 
information technology boom. The panel also cited the diversity 
of Federal IT research programs--a natural by-product of the 
multi-agency effort--as an additional factor in this success.
    The recommendations of the PITAC report and the NRC panel 
are reflected in H.R. 3400, the Networking and Information 
Technology Research Advancement Act (NITRAA). The Act, which 
extends and updates the HPC Act, authorizes a Federal 
investment in future IT research and development that is aimed 
at ensuring the continued success of the United States IT 
enterprise.

                        IV. Summary of Hearings

    On Tuesday, June 26, 2001, the House Science Committee's 
Research Subcommittee held a hearing to set the stage, and 
provide recommendations for the development of broad 
authorization legislation for the Federal information 
technology research program. The witnesses addressed the need 
for Federal investments in fundamental IT research and 
development, the role that those investments play in innovation 
and economic productivity, and the coordination of the 
activities of the agencies involved in the overall Federal IT 
R&D program. The witnesses all recommended increased Federal 
funding for basic research in IT and stressed the benefits of 
IT research and development to the public, economy, and 
national security.
    On Tuesday, July 31, 2001, the House Science Committee's 
Research Subcommittee held a hearing on NSF's participation in 
the NITRD program and on the positive impact NSF-supported IT 
advances have had on science, education, manufacturing, and 
human services. Witnesses highlighted the importance of 
solutions-focused interdisciplinary IT research efforts that 
focus on applications that serve the end user. The witnesses 
agreed that future spending should concentrate on IT 
infrastructure, networks and high end computing.

                          V. Committee Actions

    On December 4, 2001, Research Subcommittee Chairman Nick 
Smith, Research Subcommittee Ranking Minority Member Eddie 
Bernice Johnson, Science Committee Chairman Sherwood L. 
Boehlert, and Ranking Minority Member Ralph M. Hall introduced 
H.R. 3400, the Networking and Information Technology Research 
Advancement Act, a bill to authorize appropriations for 
networking and information technology research and development 
for fiscal years 2003 through 2007.
    The House Committee on Science met on December 6, 2001, to 
consider the bill. Mr. Matheson (UT) offered an amendment to 
authorize $10 million per year for fiscal years 2003 through 
2007 to establish a center for research on IT questions related 
to crisis management. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. 
With a quorum present, Mr. Hall moved that the Committee 
favorably report the bill, as amended, to the House with the 
recommendation that it pass, and that the staff be instructed 
to make technical and conforming changes to the bill and 
prepare the legislative report, and that the Chairman take all 
necessary steps to bring the bill before the House for 
consideration. The motion was agreed to by a voice vote.

              VI. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill

     Increases funding for, and improves coordination 
of, information technology research and development at NSF, 
NASA, DOE, NIST, NOAA, and EPA.
     Authorizes a total of $7.045 billion over five 
years for research and development programs (from amounts 
already authorized for research and development) as follows:
           $4.346 billion for NSF;
           $1.18 billion for DOE's Office of Science;
           $1.215 billion for NASA;
           $147 million for NIST;
           $133 million for NOAA; and
           $24.3 million for EPA.
     Authorizes the agencies' ongoing participation in 
the NITRD program, which is led by OSTP. This inter-agency 
research effort focuses the Federal Government's spending in 
the area of networking and information technology among a 
number of research areas including:
           High-End Computing Infrastructure and 
        Applications;
           High-End Computing Research and Development;
           Human/Computer Interaction and Information 
        Management;
           Large Scale Networking;
           Software Design and Productivity;
           High Confidence Software and Systems; and
           Social, Economic and Workforce.
     Updates terminology and certain provisions in the 
HPC Act.
     Adds research on the security of networked 
information systems to the list of required functions for the 
NITRD program.
     Directs PITAC to carry out periodic evaluations of 
the funding, management, coordination, and implementation of 
the NITRD program and to report its findings to Congress 
biennially.
     Authorizes $50 million over five years for the 
establishment of a center for research on IT questions related 
to crisis management.
     Directs the National Research Council to perform 
two studies aimed at strengthening networking and information 
technology research and development. The first of these studies 
will compare the state of research in computer and information 
science and engineering in the United States with that of other 
countries. The second will analyze data on the IT workforce.

                    VII. Section-by-Section Analysis


                          SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE

    ``Networking and Information Technology Research 
Advancement Act.''

                            SEC. 2. FINDINGS

    Discusses the key roles information technology research and 
development play in enabling scientific research in a diverse 
array of scientific and engineering disciplines and, in turn, 
highlights the dependence of information technology research 
and development on other scientific fields and technologies; 
the critical role Federal support of long-term, basic IT 
research has played in stimulating the economy and transforming 
society, and the importance of maintaining that role; the 
current inadequacies in Federal support for research and the 
unique role the Federal Government has in supporting long-term 
basic research; the overall importance of information 
technology research and development to specific industries; and 
the variety of uses of IT.

                          SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS

    Amends section 4 of the HPC Act by replacing the term 
``high-performance computing'' with ``networking and 
information technology,'' and redefines the Federal interagency 
program focused on information technology research and 
development as the ``Networking and Information Technology 
Research and Development Program.'' Adds a definition for 
``Program Component Areas,'' which are the major subject areas 
under which projects and activities carried out by the 
interagency research program are grouped.

SEC. 4. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
                                PROGRAM

    Amends section 101 of the HPC Act, which describes the 
organization and responsibilities of the interagency research 
program originally referred to as the National High-Performance 
Computing Program (and re-named the Networking and Information 
Technology Research and Development Program in this Act), to 
include among the Program's research priorities the security of 
networked information systems, research on high-end computers 
(so-called ``supercomputers''), software, networks, and the 
social and economic impacts of IT. Also amends the HPC Act to 
include the requirement that the Program establish Program 
Component Areas in line with the overall goals of the program.
    Leaves substantively unchanged provisions of the HPC Act 
requiring: (1) OSTP to provide an annual report to Congress, 
along with the annual budget request, describing the 
implementation of the program; (2) the OSTP Director to consult 
with academic, state, industry, and other appropriate groups; 
(3) Federal agencies to report on their information technology 
research and development activities as part of the yearly 
budget submission; and (4) the establishment of a presidential 
advisory committee for information technology.
    Requires OSTP to include, in its report to Congress, 
detailed information about Program Component Areas and requires 
the presidential advisory committee (currently named PITAC) to 
report to Congress not less than every two years on its 
findings and recommendations relating to the Program.
    Repeals section 102 of the HPC Act, the ``National Research 
and Education Network,'' which called for the development of a 
network to link research and educational institutions, 
government, and industry (this network has since been 
supplanted by the Internet). Also repeals section 103 of the 
HPC Act, ``Next Generation Internet,'' as this program is no 
longer in existence.
    Replaces the term ``high-performance computing'' with 
``networking and information technology'' throughout the 
section. Renames title I of the HPC Act ``Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development Program.''

                       SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES

    Amends the HPC Act to authorize funds for, and define the 
specific activities of, certain agencies within the Program. 
All authorizations are from sums otherwise authorized to be 
appropriated.
           NSF--a total of $4.346 billion over fiscal 
        years 2003 through 2007;
           DOE's Office of Science--a total of $1.18 
        billion over fiscal years 2003 through 2007;
           NASA--a total of $1.215 billion over fiscal 
        years 2003 through 2007;
           NIST--a total of $147 million over fiscal 
        years 2003 through 2007;
           NOAA--a total of $133 million over fiscal 
        years 2003 through 2007; and
           EPA--$24.3 million over fiscal years 2003 
        through 2007.

                            SEC. 6. REPORTS

    Directs NSF to enter into an arrangement with the National 
Research Council to conduct an assessment of the state of 
research in computer and information science and engineering in 
the United States, and to report to Congress and OSTP on the 
assessment's findings. In addition, the legislation tasks the 
presidential advisory committee for information technology with 
reviewing the NRC's findings and making recommendations to the 
OSTP Director regarding their implementation. Finally, the bill 
requires the Director of OSTP, in his annual report to Congress 
on the state of the program, to describe how the program is 
working to address the concerns and recommendations outlined in 
the NRC study.
    The bill also directs the NSF to collect data on the 
information technology workforce and tasks the NRC with 
analyzing this data and publishing a biennial update to the 
NRC's ``Building a Workforce in the Information Economy'' 
report.

                        SEC. 7. RESEARCH CENTER

    Authorizes NSF, in consultation with NASA, EPA and NOAA, to 
establish a center for research on IT questions related to 
crisis management.
    Authorizes $10 million to the NSF for each of the fiscal 
years 2003 through 2007.

                         VIII. Committee Views

    The Federal Government has a critical role to play in 
supporting the long-term, fundamental research that underlies 
private sector development in IT and fuels our National 
economy. The Committee takes seriously the warning issued by 
PITAC in its 1999 report, ``Information Technology Research: 
Investing in Our Future,'' that the emphasis of Federal IT 
research programs in recent years has shifted from long-term, 
high-risk research to short-term, mission-orientated research. 
In addition, the overall level of Federal support for 
fundamental research in IT is, as PITAC concluded, inadequate 
to maintain the Nation's global leadership in this area. The 
Committee believes that maintaining the Nation's global 
leadership in information technology will require a sustained 
Federal commitment to fundamental research in the scientific 
and engineering disciplines that underlie IT.
    The Committee believes that the lack of sufficient Federal 
support for long-term IT research has also had a negative 
impact on the development of a highly skilled, technically 
trained U.S. workforce. While industry is projecting 
significant increases in the demand for computer scientists, 
engineers and other technically-trained workers, U.S. colleges 
and universities are having a great deal of difficulty 
attracting and retaining students--especially U.S. citizens, 
nationals, and permanent resident aliens--to undergraduate and 
graduate programs in mathematics, engineering, computer science 
and the physical sciences. Increased funding of basic IT 
research will have an indirect, but beneficial impact on 
academic programs that will train the next generation of 
technical workers, researchers, and industry leaders.
    NITRAA, by amending the HPC Act, provides long-term funding 
in support of a comprehensive research agenda for six of the 
agencies participating in the multi-agency NITRD program.

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program

    The Committee believes that the coordination and management 
framework for the NITRD program has been effective. The 
Interagency Working Group that comprises the principal 
mechanism for coordination and collaboration among the NITRD 
agencies has been successful is guiding the Federal IT research 
and development effort. The Committee wishes to stress that 
interagency coordination is vital to the success of any Federal 
IT research program. In particular, the Committee believes that 
agencies must coordinate to reduce areas of unnecessary overlap 
and develop complementary approaches to solving difficult 
research questions.
    In recognizing that the national IT research and 
development priorities will continue to evolve over time, the 
Committee worked to ensure that this Act provides flexibility 
in defining the research and development priorities--defined as 
Program Component Areas--of the Interagency Working Group and 
its member agencies. In this way, the Act continues to support 
the original intent of the HPC Act while allowing for the 
Federal effort to reflect the current state of the IT field. 
The Committee expects that the annual reports for the NITRD 
program will document how the contents of the PCAs change over 
time and the rationale for the changes.
    While the Act leaves intact the central thrust of the HPC 
Act, it updates some of the terminology and definitions used in 
the earlier Act. In particular, the current Act refers to 
``networking and information technology'', rather than ``high 
performance computing''. The Committee notes that the nature of 
the term ``high performance computing'' has changed since the 
passage of the HPC Act in 1991. While the term was defined 
quite broadly in HPC Act, today it is normally used to describe 
sophisticated computational work, such as complex modeling, 
that requires extremely fast and powerful computers--so called 
high performance or ``high end'' computers--capable of 
performing immense numbers of mathematical calculations. As the 
Federal investment in IT research and development has broadened 
significantly to include research into other areas, such as 
software engineering and component technologies, networking, 
and applied technologies such as bioinformatics, and 
socioeconomic issues, the Committee believes the term 
``networking and information technology'' better describes the 
range of activities covered by the current Federal program. The 
Committee wishes to stress that the definition of ``high 
performance computing'' has been changed in name only (with the 
exception to references to vector supercomputers and large 
scale parallel systems that were removed from the definition). 
Thus, the definition of ``networking and information 
technology'' still refers to advanced computing, communications 
and information technologies, including scientific 
workstations, supercomputer systems, high-capacity and high-
speed networks, special purpose and experimental systems, and 
applications and systems software.
    NITRAA enlarges the role of PITAC in oversight of the NITRD 
program by directing PITAC to periodically evaluate and report 
to Congress on the funding, management, coordination, 
implementation, and contents of the program.
    NITRAA repeals provisions of the HPC Act related to the 
National Research and Education Network and the Next Generation 
Internet, as those programs were never fully implemented or 
have expired.
    The September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States raised 
many concerns about the security and preparedness of the United 
States, not least of which is the security of the Nation's 
computer network infrastructure and all the critical 
information and control systems connected to it. The Committee 
believes that research on ways to improve the security of 
networked information systems is critical. The Act revises the 
original HPC Act to clearly place this area of research under 
the NITRD program. The Committee strongly encourages the 
program to make security research a high priority within the 
Federal IT research and development portfolio.
    The Committee believes that, with these and other updates, 
the HPC Act can continue to guide the Federal information 
technology research effort into the future.

Agency activities

    The Committee expects that each agency, through its 
independent contributions to each interagency focus area, will 
support the overall goals of the NITRD program while still 
advancing its unique mission. Because of NSF's statutory role 
in supporting basic research, the Committee believes that NSF 
should play a major role in the Interagency NITRD effort and, 
therefore, authorizes significant funding increases for 
research programs at NSF. In addition, the Committee expects 
all NITRD agencies to maximize cooperation to ensure that 
available resources and experience are used as efficiently as 
possible.
    The Committee recognizes that many academic disciplines 
both benefit from, and contribute to, IT research and 
development. In addition to the discipline of computer science 
itself, many other fields, including mathematics, engineering, 
physics, computational science and engineering, materials 
science, physics, chemistry, the social and behavioral sciences 
and many others, have made and will continue to make 
contributions to IT research and development that are critical 
to the field's continued advancement.
    The Committee believes that certain IT applications warrant 
additional attention through Federal investment and interagency 
coordination. For example, bioinformatics, which is aimed at 
harnessing the computational power of IT to solve difficult 
problems related to biology and medicine, is a rapidly growing 
field that is helping to manage the huge explosion of 
information about DNA and protein sequences, molecular 
structures, and complex inter- and intra-cellular relationships 
and activities. Bioinformatics has become an essential tool to 
the biomedical research community in that it provides new 
opportunities to collect, store, distribute and analyze data, 
to model biological processes, and even to identify potent new 
pharmaceutical products. Another example, medical informatics, 
utilizes computer modeling and simulation to analyze large 
clinical databases, enhance diagnostics, facilitate computer-
assisted surgical procedures, and better understand disease 
prevention and treatment. Because bioinformatics and medical 
informatics require special expertise on the part of 
researchers and users, both of these critical technologies are 
deserving of additional funding for research and development. 
In addition, full attention must be given to the education of 
future informatics researchers and professionals.
    The Committee is aware that advances in high-speed, 
scalable, adaptive networking depend on high performance 
testbed networks to enable the research, development, and 
demonstration of advanced networking technologies and 
applications. The NITRD program, as outlined in the original 
HPC Act and left unchanged by this Act, is responsible for 
providing high performance testbed networks. The Committee 
encourages the program to consider investment in new testbeds 
that take advantage of advances in areas such as optical 
networking.

Impediments to research

    The Committee understands that the delicate balance between 
intellectual property protections and the need to further IT 
research has become increasingly problematic. On October 10, 
2001, Dr. Gene Spafford, Director of Purdue University's Center 
for Education and Research in Information Assurance and 
Security, testified before the Committee on Science that:

          Unfortunately, the evolution of law has led to 
        unintended consequences for those of us working in 
        security. I have had several reported instances where 
        research into new and novel forms of information 
        security have had to be curtailed or stopped because 
        the researchers had been threatened by the patent 
        holders. University researchers do not have the 
        resources to fight such threats whether they are 
        justified or not. Therefore, those avenues of research 
        have been abandoned.

    A growing number of researchers have become hesitant to 
study encryption and other copyright protection technologies 
because of legal concerns and vague understandings of the type 
of research that is allowable under the law. The Committee 
encourages PITAC to review these concerns, identify impediments 
to critical research, and make recommendations to OSTP on ways 
to better educate the IT research community regarding the 
limits on research resulting from intellectual property law.

International benchmarking survey

    Section 6(a) directs NSF to enter into an arrangement with 
the National Research Council to conduct an international 
benchmarking survey on networking and information technology 
research. The Committee believes a review of how U.S. efforts 
in networking and information technology research compare with 
similar programs in key competitor countries can inform 
continued and future research efforts in the U.S. For that 
reason, the Act requires PITAC to make recommendations as to 
whether changes to the NITRD program are warranted, and, if so, 
the nature of those changes, on the basis of the NRC report's 
findings.
    The Committee understands that the length of time within 
which PITAC is to perform this analysis and make 
recommendations is relatively short (three months). The 
Committee believes that this expedited schedule is necessary if 
the findings of the NRC report are to inform the needs of the 
NITRD program in a timely way.

Information technology workforce study

    The Committee recognizes the important contribution made by 
the National Research Council in its study report, ``Building a 
Workforce for the Information Economy,'' which clearly 
characterizes the IT workforce--including size, capacity, 
education, training, and demographics of the current IT 
workforce--and describes long-term strategies for expanding the 
highly-trained employee pool. However, the workforce needs of 
the IT field evolve as rapidly as the technologies and 
applications on which the industry is based. These changing 
needs must be evaluated and reported on an on-going basis so 
that educational institutions, and the Federal agencies that 
support them, can respond quickly to these changing needs 
through expeditious programmatic shifts. The Committee, 
therefore, finds it imperative that the NSF continue to collect 
data on the IT workforce--including the size and nature of the 
workforce, long-term employability, employee compensation, and 
the role of foreign workers in the IT industry--which can be 
analyzed by the National Research Council and published as a 
biennial update to the original ``Building a Workforce for the 
Information Economy Study.'' This biennial update shall be 
transmitted to Congress no later than one year after the data 
of the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter.

Crisis Management Research Center

    Section 7 of the Act authorizes NSF, in consultation with 
other appropriate agencies, to establish a research center 
focused on issues associated with the use of IT to support the 
needs and requirements of crisis management. The National 
Science and Technology Council's report, ``Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development: Supplement to 
the President's Budget for FY 2002,'' points out that, in a 
major natural or human-caused disaster, there is a great need 
for an instantaneous common communication system and a common 
capability for real-time distribution of information, disaster 
guidance and directives, situational updates and analyses, and 
instructions for disaster workers. The report goes on to point 
out the lack of such a capability today and the opportunity 
that exists from advances in information technology to provide 
tools that could address this need. Likewise, the 1996 report 
of the NRC, ``Computing and Communications in the Extreme: 
Research for Crisis Management and Other Applications,'' 
describes IT research areas that would lead to benefits for 
crisis management.
    The research center authorized by the bill is modeled on 
the Enabling Technology Centers (ETCs) described in the 
February 1999 PITAC report, ``Information Technology Research: 
Investing in Our Future.'' The report describes the ETCs as 
long-term centers of excellence in computer science and 
engineering research that would involve academia, industry and 
government and that would explore particular applications of 
information and communications technology of national 
importance. Crisis management is cited in the report as a 
national problem area in which an ETC could make an important 
contribution.
    The Committee expects that the research center authorized 
by section 7 of the bill will function in a manner similar to 
that recommended by PITAC for ETCs. In particular, the center 
should carry out research on information technology targeted 
toward the demands of crisis management; support experimental 
test beds for testing and validating relevant technologies 
under realistic conditions; and identify barriers to more 
widespread adoption of information technology in crisis 
management. In addition, the Committee expects the center to 
help forge linkages among researchers, companies, and users of 
the technologies that will result from the research undertaken 
by the center.

                           IX. Cost Estimate

    Rule XIII, clause 3(d)(2) of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report accompanying each bill or joint 
resolution of a public character to contain: (1) an estimate, 
made by such committee, of the costs which would be incurred in 
carrying out such bill or joint resolution in the fiscal year 
in which it is reported, and in each of the five fiscal years 
following such fiscal year (or for the authorized duration of 
any program authorized by such bill or joint resolution, if 
less than five years); (2) a comparison of the estimate of 
costs described in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph made by 
such committee with an estimate of such costs made by any 
Government agency and submitted to such committee; and (3) when 
practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding level 
for the relevant program (or programs) with the appropriate 
levels under current law. However, House Rule XIII, clause 
3(d)(3)(B) provides that this requirement does not apply when a 
cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely submitted 
prior to the filing of the report and included in the report 
pursuant to House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(3). A cost estimate 
and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 has been timely submitted to the Committee on Science 
prior to the filing of this report and is included in Section 
IX of this report pursuant to House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(3).
    Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(2) of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report that accompanies a measure 
providing new budget authority (other than continuing 
appropriations), new spending authority, or new credit 
authority, or charges in revenues or tax expenditures to 
contain a cost estimate, as required by section 308(a)(1) of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and, when practicable with 
respect to estimates of new budget authority, a comparison of 
the total estimated funding level for the relevant program (or 
programs) to the appropriate levels under current law. H.R. 
3394 does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or changes in revenues or tax expenditures. Assuming 
that the sums authorized under the bill are appropriated, H.R. 
3394 does authorize additional discretionary spending, as 
described in the Congressional Budget Office report on the 
bill, which is contained in Section IX of this report.

              X. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, January 24, 2002.
Hon. Sherwood L. Boehlert,
Chairman, Committee on Science,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3400, the 
Networking and Information Technology Research Advancement Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kathleen 
Gramp.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3400--Networking and Information Technology Research Advancement 
        Act

    Summary: H.R. 3400 would authorize the appropriation of 
about $7 billion over the 2003-2007 period for civilian 
research and development (R&D) on computer networking and 
information technology (IT) at five agencies. The bill would 
authorize funding for both new and ongoing activities of the 
National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy, 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of 
Commerce, and Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, the 
bill would direct NSF to examine trends in the IT workforce and 
fund a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the 
nation's IT research capabilities in relation to other 
countries.
    Assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing this bill would cost $5.4 billion 
over the 2003-2007 period. The bill would not affect direct 
spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply.
    H.R. 3400 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3400 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 250 
(general science, space, and technology), 300 (natural 
resources and the environment), and 376 (commerce and housing 
credit). For this estimate, CBO assumes that funds will be 
appropriated near the beginning of each fiscal year and that 
outlays will occur at rates similar to those for other research 
programs at these agencies. We also assume that the amounts 
authorized for NSF include funding for the study on the IT 
workforce.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   2002       2003       2004       2005       2006       2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

R&D spending for IT under current law:
    Budget authority \1\......................      1,068          0          0          0          0          0
    Estimated outlays.........................        958        634        150         42         14          0
Proposed changes:
    Authorization level.......................          0      1,157      1,270      1,395      1,536      1,688
    Estimated outlays.........................          0        401        985      1,203      1,354      1,504
R&D spending for IT under H.R. 3400:
    Authorization level.......................      1,068      1,157      1,270      1,395      1,536      1,688
    Estimated outlays.........................        958      1,035      1,135      1,245      1,368      1,504
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The amount appropriated for these activities in 2002 is based on information from the Office of Management
  and Budget.

    Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
    Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments: 
H.R. 3400 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in 
UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments. The bill would benefit state governments by 
authorizing $50 million, from 2003 through 2007, to eligible 
nonprofit organizations (including public universities) to 
carry out research to advance the role of information 
technology in crisis management. Based on historical spending 
patterns of the agencies identified in H.R. 3400, CBO estimates 
the public universities also would receive, in the form of 
grants, a significant portion of the approximately $7 billion 
authorized in the bill.
    Estimated impact on the private sector: This bill contains 
no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Kathleen Gramp, Ken 
Johnson, and Susanne Mehlman; impact on state, local, and 
tribal governments: Elyse Goldman; impact on the private 
sector: Jean Talarico.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

        XI. Compliance With Public Law 104-4 (Unfunded Mandates)

    H.R. 3400 contains no unfunded mandates.

         XII. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(1) of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report to include oversight findings 
and recommendations required pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of Rule 
X. The Committee on Science's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                XIII. Constitutional Authority Statement

    Rule XIII, clause 3(d)(1) of the House of Representatives 
requires each report of a committee on a bill or joint 
resolution of a public character to include a statement citing 
the specific powers granted to the Congress in the Constitution 
to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint resolution. 
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 
grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 3400.

               XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement

    H.R. 3400 does not establish nor authorize the 
establishment of any advisory committee.

                  XV. Congressional Accountability Act

    The Committee finds that H.R. 3400 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).

      XVI. Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local, or 
tribal law.

      XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ACT OF 1991

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

  As used in this Act, the term--
          (1)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) ``[high-performance computing] networking and 
        information technology'' means advanced computing, 
        communications, and information technologies, including 
        scientific workstations, supercomputer systems 
        [(including vector supercomputers and large scale 
        parallel systems)], high-capacity and high-speed 
        networks, special purpose and experimental systems, and 
        applications and systems software;
          (4) ``Internet'' means the international computer 
        network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable 
        [packet switched] data networks;
          [(5) ``Network'' means a computer network referred to 
        as the National Research and Education Network 
        established under section 102; and
          [(6) ``Program'' means the National High-Performance 
        Computing Program described in section 101.]
          (5) ``Program'' means the Networking and Information 
        Technology Research and Development Program described 
        in section 101; and
          (6) ``Program Component Areas'' means the major 
        subject areas under which are grouped related 
        individual projects and activities carried out under 
        the Program and which are developed according to 
        section 101(a)(3)(B) and identified in the annual 
        report required under section 101(a)(3)(A).

  [TITLE I--HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND THE NATIONAL RESEARCH AND 
                           EDUCATION NETWORK]

TITLE I--NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
                                PROGRAM

SEC. 101. [NATIONAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING] NETWORKING AND 
                    INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
                    PROGRAM.

  (a) [National High-Performance Computing] Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development Program.--(1) 
The President shall implement a [National High-Performance 
Computing] Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program, which shall--
          (A) establish the goals and priorities for Federal 
        [high-performance computing] networking and information 
        technology research, development, networking, and other 
        activities; [and]
          (B) establish Program Component Areas that implement 
        the goals established under subparagraph (A); and
          [(B)] (C) provide for interagency coordination of 
        Federal [high-performance computing] networking and 
        information technology research, development, 
        networking, and other activities undertaken pursuant to 
        the Program.
  (2) The Program shall--
          (A)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (F) provide for acceleration of the development of 
        high-performance computing systems, subsystems, and 
        associated software;
          (G) provide for the technical support and research 
        and development of [high-performance computing] 
        networking and information technology software and 
        hardware needed to address Grand Challenges;
          (H) provide for educating and training additional 
        undergraduate and graduate students in software 
        engineering, computer science, library and information 
        science, and computational science; [and]
          [(I) provide--
                  [(i) for the security requirements, policies, 
                and standards necessary to protect Federal 
                research computer networks and information 
                resources accessible through Federal research 
                computer networks, including research required 
                to establish security standards for high-
                performance computing systems and networks; and
                  [(ii) that agencies and departments 
                identified in the annual report submitted under 
                paragraph (3)(A) shall define and implement a 
                security plan consistent with the Program and 
                with applicable law.]
          (I) provide for improving the security of networked 
        information systems, including research required to 
        establish security standards and practices for 
        computing systems and networks; and
          (J) provide for long-term basic research on 
        networking and information technology, with priority 
        given to research that helps address issues related 
        to--
                  (i) high end computing and software;
                  (ii) network stability, fragility, 
                reliability, security (including privacy), and 
                scalability; and
                  (iii) the social and economic consequences of 
                information technology.
  (3) The Director shall--
          (A)  * * *
          (B) provide for interagency coordination of the 
        Program, including establishing the process by which 
        Program Component Areas are defined; and
          (C) consult with academic, State, industry, and other 
        appropriate groups conducting research on and using 
        [high-performance computing] networking and information 
        technology.
  (4) The annual report submitted under paragraph (3)(A) 
shall--
          [(A) include a detailed description of the goals and 
        priorities established by the President for the 
        Program;]
          (A) provide a detailed description of the Program 
        Component Areas, including--
                  (i) a description of any changes in the 
                Program Component Areas from the preceding 
                report and the reasons for such changes; and
                  (ii) a description of activities within each 
                Program Component Area that contribute to the 
                improvement of the security of networked 
                information systems;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (C) describe the levels of Federal funding for the 
        fiscal year during which such report is submitted, and 
        the levels proposed for the fiscal year with respect to 
        which the budget submission applies, for [specific 
        activities, including education, research, hardware and 
        software development, and support for the establishment 
        of the Network] each Program Component Area;
          (D) describe the levels of Federal funding for each 
        agency and department participating in the Program for 
        the fiscal year during which such report is submitted, 
        and the levels proposed for the fiscal year with 
        respect to which the budget submission applies for each 
        Program Component Area and for all activities that 
        contribute to the improvement of the security of 
        networked information systems;
          (E) include the report of the Secretary of Energy 
        required by section 203(d); and
          (F) include an analysis of the progress made toward 
        achieving the goals and priorities established for the 
        Program, and the extent to which the Program 
        incorporates the recommendations of the Advisory 
        Committee established under subsection (b).
  (b) Advisory Committee.--(1) The President shall establish an 
advisory committee on [high-performance computing] networking 
and information technology 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] networking and 
information technology. 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--
          [(1)] (A) progress made in implementing the Program;
          [(2)] (B) the need to revise the Program;
          [(3)] (C) the balance between the components of the 
        Program, including funding levels for the Program 
        Component Areas;
          [(4)] (D) whether the research and development 
        undertaken pursuant to the Program is helping to 
        maintain United States leadership in [computing] 
        networking and information technology; and
          [(5)] (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 the enactment of this paragraph.
  (c) Office of Management and Budget.--(1) Each Federal agency 
and department participating in the Program shall, as part of 
its annual request for appropriations to the Office of 
Management and Budget, submit a report to the Office of 
Management and Budget which--
          (A) identifies each element of its [high-performance 
        computing] networking and information technology 
        activities which contributes directly to the [Program 
        or] Program Component Areas or benefits from the 
        Program; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


[SEC. 102. NATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK.

  [(a) Establishment.--As part of the Program, the National 
Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Department 
of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration, and other agencies participating in 
the Program shall support the establishment of the National 
Research and Education Network, portions of which shall, to the 
extent technically feasible, be capable of transmitting data at 
one gigabit per second or greater by 1996. The Network shall 
provide for the linkage of research institutions and 
educational institutions, government, and industry in every 
State.
  [(b) Access.--Federal agencies and departments shall work 
with private network service providers, State and local 
agencies, libraries, educational institutions and 
organizations, and others, as appropriate, in order to ensure 
that the researchers, educators, and students have access, as 
appropriate, to the Network. The Network is to provide users 
with appropriate access to high-performance computing systems, 
electronic information resources, other research facilities, 
and libraries. The Network shall provide access, to the extent 
practicable, to electronic information resources maintained by 
libraries, research facilities, publishers, and affiliated 
organizations.
  [(c) Network Characteristics.--The Network shall--
          [(1) be developed and deployed with the computer, 
        telecommunications, and information industries;
          [(2) be designed, developed, and operated in 
        collaboration with potential users in government, 
        industry, and research institutions and educational 
        institutions;
          [(3) be designed, developed, and operated in a manner 
        which fosters and maintains competition and private 
        sector investment in high-speed data networking within 
        the telecommunications industry;
          [(4) be designed, developed, and operated in a manner 
        which promotes research and development leading to 
        development of commercial data communications and 
        telecommunications standards, whose development will 
        encourage the establishment of privately operated high-
        speed commercial networks;
          [(5) be designed and operated so as to ensure the 
        continued application of laws that provide network and 
        information resources security measures, including 
        those that protect copyright and other intellectual 
        property rights, and those that control access to data 
        bases and protect national security;
          [(6) have accounting mechanisms which allow users or 
        groups of users to be charged for their usage of 
        copyrighted materials available over the Network and, 
        where appropriate and technically feasible, for their 
        usage of the Network;
          [(7) ensure the interoperability of Federal and non-
        Federal computer networks, to the extent appropriate, 
        in a way that allows autonomy for each component 
        network;
          [(8) be developed by purchasing standard commercial 
        transmission and network services from vendors whenever 
        feasible, and by contracting for customized services 
        when not feasible, in order to minimize Federal 
        investment in network hardware;
          [(9) support research and development of networking 
        software and hardware; and
          [(10) serve as a test bed for further research and 
        development of high-capacity and high-speed computing 
        networks and demonstrate how advanced computers, high-
        capacity and high-speed computing networks, and data 
        bases can improve the national information 
        infrastructure.
  [(d) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 
Responsibility.--As part of the Program, the Department of 
Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 
shall support research and development of advanced fiber optics 
technology, switches, and protocols needed to develop the 
Network.
  [(e) Information Services.--The Director shall assist the 
President in coordinating the activities of appropriate 
agencies and departments to promote the development of 
information services that could be provided over the Network. 
These services may include the provision of directories of the 
users and services on computer networks, data bases of 
unclassified Federal scientific data, training of users of data 
bases and computer networks, access to commercial information 
services for users of the Network, and technology to support 
computer-based collaboration that allows researchers and 
educators around the Nation to share information and 
instrumentation.
  [(f) Use of Grant Funds.--All Federal agencies and 
departments are authorized to allow recipients of Federal 
research grants to use grant moneys to pay for computer 
networking expenses.
  [(g) Report to Congress.--Within one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall report to the 
Congress on--
          [(1) effective mechanisms for providing operating 
        funds for the maintenance and use of the Network, 
        including user fees, industry support, and continued 
        Federal investment;
          [(2) the future operation and evolution of the 
        Network;
          [(3) how commercial information service providers 
        could be charged for access to the Network, and how 
        Network users could be charged for such commercial 
        information services;
          [(4) the technological feasibility of allowing 
        commercial information service providers to use the 
        Network and other federally funded research networks;
          [(5) how to protect the copyrights of material 
        distributed over the Network; and
          [(6) appropriate policies to ensure the security of 
        resources available on the Network and to protect the 
        privacy of users of networks.

[SEC. 103. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.

  [(a) Establishment.--The National Science Foundation, the 
Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology may support the Next 
Generation Internet program. The objectives of the Next 
Generation Internet program shall be to--
          [(1) support research, development, and demonstration 
        of advanced networking technologies to increase the 
        capabilities and improve the performance of the 
        Internet;
          [(2) develop an advanced testbed network connecting a 
        significant number of research sites, including 
        universities, Federal research institutions, and other 
        appropriate research partner institutions, to support 
        networking research and to demonstrate new networking 
        technologies; and
          [(3) develop and demonstrate advanced Internet 
        applications that meet important national goals or 
        agency mission needs, and that are supported by the 
        activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
  [(b) Duties of Advisory Committee.--The President's 
Information Technology Advisory Committee (established pursuant 
to section 101(b) by Executive Order No. 13035 of February 11, 
1997 (62 F.R. 7131), as amended by Executive Order No. 13092 of 
July 24, 1998), in addition to its functions under section 
101(b), shall--
          [(1) assess the extent to which the Next Generation 
        Internet program--
                  [(A) carries out the purposes of this Act; 
                and
                  [(B) addresses concerns relating to, among 
                other matters--
                          [(i) geographic penalties (as defined 
                        in section 7(1) of the Next Generation 
                        Internet Research Act of 1998);
                          [(ii) the adequacy of access to the 
                        Internet by Historically Black Colleges 
                        and Universities, Hispanic Serving 
                        Institutions, and small colleges and 
                        universities (whose enrollment is less 
                        than 5,000) and the degree of 
                        participation of those institutions in 
                        activities described in subsection (a); 
                        and
                          [(iii) technology transfer to and 
                        from the private sector;
          [(2) review the extent to which the role of each 
        Federal agency and department involved in implementing 
        the Next Generation Internet program is clear and 
        complementary to, and non-duplicative of, the roles of 
        other participating agencies and departments;
          [(3) assess the extent to which Federal support of 
        fundamental research in computing is sufficient to 
        maintain the Nation's critical leadership in this 
        field; and
          [(4) make recommendations relating to its findings 
        under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
  [(c) Reports.--The Advisory Committee shall review 
implementation of the Next Generation Internet program and 
shall report, not less frequently than annually, to the 
President, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation, the Committee on Appropriations, and the 
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, and the Committee on 
Science, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on 
Armed Services of the House of Representatives on its findings 
and recommendations for the preceding fiscal year. The first 
such report shall be submitted 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of the Next Generation Internet Research Act of 1998 
and the last report shall be submitted by September 30, 2000.
  [(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated for the purposes of this section--
          [(1) for the Department of Energy, $22,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 1999 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
          [(2) for the National Science Foundation, $25,000,000 
        for fiscal year 1999 and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2000, as authorized in the National Science Foundation 
        Authorization Act of 1998;
          [(3) for the National Institutes of Health, 
        $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $7,500,000 for 
        fiscal year 2000;
          [(4) for the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and 
        $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and
          [(5) for the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and 
        $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000.
Such funds may not be used for routine upgrades to existing 
federally funded communication networks.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                      TITLE II--AGENCY ACTIVITIES


[SEC. 201. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.

  [(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I--
          [(1) the National Science Foundation shall provide 
        computing and networking infrastructure support for all 
        science and engineering disciplines, and support basic 
        research and human resource development in all aspects 
        of high-performance computing and advanced high-speed 
        computer networking;
          [(2) to the extent that colleges, universities, and 
        libraries cannot connect to the Network with the 
        assistance of the private sector, the National Science 
        Foundation shall have primary responsibility for 
        assisting colleges, universities, and libraries to 
        connect to the Network;
          [(3) the National Science Foundation shall serve as 
        the primary source of information on access to and use 
        of the Network; and
          [(4) the National Science Foundation shall upgrade 
        the National Science Foundation funded network, assist 
        regional networks to upgrade their capabilities, and 
        provide other Federal departments and agencies the 
        opportunity to connect to the National Science 
        Foundation funded network.
  [(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for the 
purposes of the Program $213,000,000 for fiscal year 1992; 
$262,000,000 for fiscal year 1993; $305,000,000 for fiscal year 
1994; $354,000,000 for fiscal year 1995; and $413,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1996.

[SEC. 202. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES.

  [(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration shall conduct basic and applied research in 
high-performance computing, particularly in the field of 
computational science, with emphasis on aerospace sciences, 
earth and space sciences, and remote exploration and 
experimentation.
  [(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for the purposes of the Program $72,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1992; $107,000,000 for fiscal year 1993; 
$134,000,000 for fiscal year 1994; $151,000,000 for fiscal year 
1995; and $145,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.]

SEC. 201. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.

  (a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the National Science Foundation shall--
          (1) generate fundamental scientific and technical 
        knowledge with the potential of advancing networking 
        and information technology and its applications; and
          (2) provide computing and networking infrastructure 
        support for all science and engineering disciplines, 
        and support basic research and human resource 
        development in all aspects of networking and 
        information technology and advanced high speed computer 
        networking.
  (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for the 
purposes of the Program $704,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; 
$774,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $851,000,000 for fiscal year 
2005, $937,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $1,030,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2007.

SEC. 202. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES.

  (a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration shall conduct basic and applied research in 
networking and information technology, with emphasis on--
          (1) computational fluid, thermal, and aerodynamics;
          (2) scientific data dissemination and tools to enable 
        data to be fully analyzed and combined from multiple 
        sources and sensors;
          (3) remote exploration and experimentation; and
          (4) tools for collaboration in systems design, 
        analysis, and testing.
  (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for the purposes of the Program $199,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2003, $219,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
$240,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $265,000,000 for fiscal year 
2006, and $292,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

SEC. 203. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ACTIVITIES.

  (a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the Secretary of Energy shall[--
          [(1) perform research and development on, and systems 
        evaluations of, high-performance computing and 
        communications systems;
          [(2) conduct computational research with emphasis on 
        energy applications;
          [(3) support basic research, education, and human 
        resources in computational science; and
          [(4) provide for networking infrastructure support 
        for energy-related mission activities.]
conduct basic and applied research in networking and 
information technology, with emphasis on--
          (1) supporting fundamental research in the physical 
        sciences and engineering, and energy applications;
          (2) providing supercomputer access and advanced 
        communication capabilities to scientific researchers; 
        and
          (3) developing tools for distributed scientific 
        collaboration.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--[(1)] There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for 
the purposes of the Program [$93,000,000 for fiscal year 1992; 
$110,000,000 for fiscal year 1993; $138,000,000 for fiscal year 
1994: $157,000,000 for fiscal year 1995; and $169,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1996] $193,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, 
$212,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $234,000,000 for fiscal year 
2005, $258,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $283,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2007.
  [(2) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
of Energy for fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996, 
such funds as may be necessary to carry out the activities that 
are not part of the Program but are authorized by this 
section.]

SEC. 204. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES.

  (a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I--
          [(1) the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology shall--
                  [(A) conduct basic and applied measurement 
                research needed to support various high-
                performance computing systems and networks;
                  [(B) develop and propose standards and 
                guidelines, and develop measurement techniques 
                and test methods, for the interoperability of 
                high-performance computing systems in networks 
                and for common user interfaces to systems; and
                  [(C) be responsible for developing benchmark 
                tests and standards for high-performance 
                computing systems and software; and
          [(2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration shall conduct basic and applied research 
        in weather prediction and ocean sciences, particularly 
        in development of new forecast models, in computational 
        fluid dynamics, and in the incorporation of evolving 
        computer architectures and networks into the systems 
        that carry out agency missions.]
          (1) the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology shall--
                  (A) conduct basic and applied measurement 
                research needed to support various computing 
                systems and networks;
                  (B) develop and propose voluntary standards 
                and guidelines, and develop measurement 
                techniques and test methods, for the 
                interoperability of computing systems in 
                networks and for common user interfaces to 
                systems;
                  (C) be responsible for developing benchmark 
                tests and standards for computing systems and 
                software; and
                  (D) encourage the development, deployment, 
                and implementation of voluntary guidelines and 
                standards for--
                          (i) robust security technology; and
                          (ii) best practices and 
                        interoperability relating to the 
                        security of commercial and government 
                        computer networks; and
          (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration shall conduct basic and applied research 
        in networking and information technology, with emphasis 
        on--
                  (A) improving weather forecasting and climate 
                prediction;
                  (B) collection and dissemination of 
                environmental information; and
                  (C) development of more accurate models of 
                the atmosphere-ocean system.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(c) Study of Impact of Federal Procurement Regulations.--(1) 
The Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a study to--
          [(A) evaluate the impact of Federal procurement 
        regulations that require that contractors providing 
        software to the Federal Government share the rights to 
        proprietary software development tools that the 
        contractors use to develop the software; and
          [(B) determine whether such regulations discourage 
        development of improved software development tools and 
        techniques.
  [(2) The Secretary of Commerce shall, within one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, report to the Congress 
regarding the results of the study conducted under paragraph 
(1).
  [(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated--
          [(1) to the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology for the purposes of the Program $3,000,000 
        for fiscal year 1992; $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1993; 
        $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994; $6,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 1995; and $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1996; and
          [(2) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration for the purposes of the Program 
        $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1992; $3,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 1993; $3,500,000 for fiscal year 1994; $4,000,000 
        for fiscal year 1995; and $4,500,000 for fiscal year 
        1996.]
  (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated--
          (1) to the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology for the purposes of the Program $24,000,000 
        for fiscal year 2003, $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
        $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $32,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2006, and $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 
        and
          (2) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration for the purposes of the Program 
        $22,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, $24,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2004, $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, 
        $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $32,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2007.

[SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACTIVITIES.

  [(a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
conduct basic and applied research directed toward the 
advancement and dissemination of computational techniques and 
software tools which form the core of ecosystem, atmospheric 
chemistry, and atmospheric dynamics models.
  [(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency for the 
purposes of the Program $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1992; 
$5,500,000 for fiscal year 1993; $6,000,000 for fiscal year 
1994; $6,500,000 for fiscal year 1995; and $7,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1996.]

SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACTIVITIES.

  (a) General Responsibilities.--As part of the Program 
described in title I, the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
conduct basic and applied research directed toward the 
advancement and dissemination of computational techniques and 
software tools with an emphasis on modeling of--
          (1) ecosystems;
          (2) human effects
          (3) atmospheric dynamics and chemistry; and
          (4) pollutant transport.
  (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency for the 
purposes of the Program $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, 
$4,400,000 for fiscal year 2004, $4,800,000 for fiscal year 
2005, $5,300,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $5,800,000 for 
fiscal year 2007.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                    XVIII. Committee Recommendation

    On December 6, 2001, a quorum being present, the Committee 
on Science favorably reported the Networking and Information 
Technology Research Advancement Act, as amended, by a voice 
vote, and recommends its enactment.

       XIX. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to Clause (3)(c) of House Rule XIII, the goal of 
H.R. 3400 is to maintain and improve federally funded 
information technology research and development. The bill 
authorizes funding for IT research and development at NSF, DOE, 
NIST, NOAA, and EPA. It also amends the HPC Act in order to 
maintain and improve the function of the NITRD program.
    The objective of the Act is to increase the amount of high 
quality IT research and development performed by the agencies 
listed above. Each agency is expecged to focus its research 
effort in areas that correspond to that agency's mission. NSF, 
for example, is expected to fund external researchers who 
receive research grants under a system of merit-based, 
competitive peer review in order to generate fundamental 
knowledge in information technology. Other agencies are 
expected to conduct basic and applied information technology 
research that focuses on the areas that will support the 
mission of the agency and which are outlined specifically in 
the Act.

 XX. Proceedings of the Full Committee Markup on H.R. 3400, Networking 
          and Information Technology Research Advancement Act

    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:21 a.m., in Room 
2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Sherwood L. 
Boehlert (chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Chairman Boehlert. We will now consider H.R. 3400, the 
Networking and Information Technology Research Advancement Act. 
And I will yield five minutes to the Chairman of the Research 
Committee, Mr. Smith of Michigan.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
you for helping develop and move this bill. And I also would 
recognize Ranking Member Hall, Ranking Member of our 
Subcommittee, Eddie Bernice Johnson. H.R. 3400, the Networking 
and Information Technology Research and Advancement Act, is the 
result of a truly bipartisan effort by the Committee to update 
and reauthorize federally funded basic research in information 
technology.
    Now, specifically, H.R. 3400 amends the High-Performance 
Computing Act of 1991, and it coordinates the research efforts 
of six agencies under the Science Committee jurisdiction that 
are engaged in the networking and information technology. The 
bill authorizes approximately $7 billion over five years 
between those six agencies. And, at this time, I would request 
that my full statement be entered into the record. And I will 
skip some of it and conclude, if that is permissible, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Boehlert. Without objection, so ordered.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hall of Texas follows:]
           Prepared Statement of the Honorable Ralph M. Hall
    Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to join you in supporting the 
information technology research bills that are before the Committee 
today.
    I want to congratulate you and Subcommittee Chairman Smith, along 
with Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Congressman Baird on this 
side of the aisle, for all of your hard work in developing these 
important bills. We have worked together in a remarkable spirit of 
cooperation and bipartisanship, for which the Chairman has my thanks.
    Over the past ten years the Science Committee has been active in 
developing legislation and conducting oversight of information 
technology research and development. In particular, the Committee has 
supported the development and growth of a closely coordinated, multiple 
agency research effort that has helped fuel enormous advances in 
computing and networking performance.
    H.R. 3400, the Networking and Information Technology Research 
Advancement Act, will help ensure the continuation of the progress we 
have seen in information technology, which is transforming the way 
people live, learn, work, and play.
    The new resources provided by H.R. 3400 will allow this ongoing 
information technology initiative to focus greater attention on long-
term research. This long-term view is needed to generate the new ideas 
that will underpin future technology products and services. These added 
resources will also support the education and training of the new 
scientists and engineers this field will require.
    In short, the bill will re-energize a key program for supplying the 
seed corn for sustaining the nation's leadership in information 
technology.
    I would like to yield now to the co-author of the bill, 
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, the Ranking Democratic Member on 
the Research Subcommittee, for her comments.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith of Michigan follows:]
              Prepared Statement of Congressman Nick Smith

Description of Legislation

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for helping develop and move 
this bill. I also want to recognize the work of Ranking Member Hall and 
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson for their work in crafting this 
legislation.
    H.R. 3400, the Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Advancement Act (NITRA), is the result of a truly bipartisan effort by 
the Committee to update and re-authorize federally funded basic 
research in information technology.
    Specifically, H.R. 3400 amends the High-Performance Computing Act 
of 1991 to update and coordinate the research efforts of the six 
agencies under the Science Committee jurisdiction that are engaged in 
the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITERD) Program. The bill authorizes $7 billion over 5 years for this 
effort.
    Specifically, the bill calls for:

         $4.296 billion for the National Science Foundation

         $1.215 billion for NASA

         $1.18 billion for the Department of Energy Office of 
        Science

         $147 million for the National Institute of Standards 
        and Technology (NIST)

         $133 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration (NOAA)

         $24.3 million for the Environmental Protection Agency

    This represents approximately a 10 percent per year funding 
increase for those agencies.
    We're also authorizing two important studies by the National 
Academy of Sciences: One that will help us get a clear understanding of 
how Federal support for basic IT research stacks up against other 
countries, and another study that will provide us with a detailed 
assessment of the evolving IT workforce in the United States. We feel 
that these studies will help to guide us as we eventually move beyond 
this legislation and look to continue directing Federal IT research.
    As we all know, the high-tech industry has seen unprecedented 
growth and transformation in the last decade, and the degree to which 
it is now part of our everyday lives, including business, would have 
been unimaginable 10 years ago. As the presence and scope of the 
technology industry has expanded, so has the need to coordinate 
fundamental IT research.
    This bill and the cyber security bill emerged from a series of 
hearings that we held this summer on the Research Subcommittee, which I 
chair with Congresswoman Johnson. In those hearings we heard from top 
industry, government, and academic experts on the Federal Government's 
role in promoting innovation and continued developments in information 
technology. We learned of the need to continue building upon the 
knowledge base that helped create the current boom in information 
technology and our overall economy, and I am confident that the bill we 
have before the Committee will allow us to meet the ongoing research 
needs.
    Some examples of what basic Federal R&D funding has given us today 
are the Internet, the ethernet, web browsers, supercomputers, and high-
speed optical networks.
    The potential for future advancements is unlimited. The R&D funding 
of today will bring us advanced technologies such as nanotechnology; 
carbon nanotubes on silicon for ``instant-on'' PCs; Extreme Ultraviolet 
Lithography (EUV) to allow computer chips to operate 40 times faster 
than today. We are looking at computers that will make up to a 
quadrillion calculations per second, and Telemedicine that will help 
get needed care to citizens immediately wherever they are located. 
Other great technologies on the horizon include advanced and distance 
learning systems, ubiquitous communications, cyber security, self-
managing computer systems, and high-tech combat simulation.
    The world is getting much tougher in terms of our ability to 
compete, to develop the kinds of products people want to buy and to 
develop them at high quality and low cost. That's what happens with 
research, particularly this networking and information technology 
research.
    Mr. Chairman, these Federal investments will foster innovation and 
set the foundation to deal with two of our most important priorities: 
security and the economy. The two bills we have before us today 
compliment each other well in that respect. I thank you again for 
bringing forth action on this bill and I encourage members on both 
sides of the aisle to lend their support.

    Mr. Smith of Michigan. This effort represents a 10 percent 
per year increasing in funding for networking and information 
technology. We are also authorizing two important studies by 
the National Academy of Sciences; one that will help us get a 
clear understanding how Federal support for basic IT research 
stacks up against other countries. And we are in competition. 
Make no doubt in terms of the contribution to the economy that 
information technology's research contributes. We feel these 
studies will help to guide us as we eventually move beyond this 
legislation and look to continue directing Federal IT research.
    As we all know, high-tech industry has seen unprecedented 
growth and transformation in our lives in the last decade. And 
the degree to which it is now part of our everyday lives, 
including business, would have been unimaginable 10 or 15 years 
ago. As the presence and scope of the technology industry has 
expanded, so has the need to coordinate fundamental IT 
research. That is what we do. We do coordination and we 
increase the Federal effort in this basic research effort.
    This bill has--and the Cyber Security bill--are merged from 
a series of hearings that we held this summer on the Research 
Subcommittee, which I chair and with Congresswoman Johnson. In 
those hearings, we heard from top industry government and 
academic experts on the Federal Government's role in promoting 
innovation and continued developments in information 
technology. We learned of the need to continue building on the 
knowledge base that helped create the current boom in 
information technology and our overall economy. I am confident 
that the bill we have before the Committee will allow us to 
meet the ongoing research needs.
    And I just think it is good to mention a few of the results 
of what we have done. The funding has given us the silicon chip 
to start with. It has given us the Internet, the Ethernet, the 
browsers, the supercomputers, the high-speed optical networks 
that we now have. The evolution of basic research has taken 
between 20 and 30 years to culminate into the kind of applied 
research that has allowed this Nation to be ahead of every 
other nation in--economically and our business because of its 
contribution to new products, because of its contribution to 
increased efficiency and production.
    And where do we go from here? The potential for future 
advancements is unlimited. The R&D funding of today will bring 
us advanced technologies, such as greater use of the 
nanotechnology, the carbon nanotubes on silicone for instant-on 
PCs, for example; the Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography to allow 
computer chips to operate 40 times faster than today; the new 
computers that will compute up to a quadrillion calculations 
per second. This kind of technology, Mr. Chairman, Nembers, is 
what is going to keep us ahead in terms of our competitive 
position in the world.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, again, I thank all of the 
agencies that have worked with us in the development of this 
bill, and move that we adopt this bill and move it to the Floor 
as quickly as possible.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. I really appreciate 
the hard work and leadership you have provided in this area. I 
think we can wrap this up in a timely manner. The Chair now 
recognizes Ms. Johnson.
    Ms. Johnson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let me 
express my appreciation to you and Mr. Hall and especially Mr. 
Smith. I ask unanimous consent to just file my statement and 
simply say that----
    Chairman Boehlert. Without objection.
    Ms. Johnson [continuing]. I think that the implementation 
of the President's Commission certainly has been followed in 
this bill, because they indicated that the long-term research 
was short at least by a billion dollars, and we go a long ways 
in the right direction. And I appreciate the support of you and 
your leadership, Mr. Hall, and, Mr. Smith. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Johnson follows:]
              Prepared Statement of Eddie Bernice Johnson
    Mr. Chairman, I am pleased. you have brought H.R. 3400 before the 
Committee for its consideration. This is a bipartisan bill that was 
developed in a spirit of cooperation in the best traditions of this 
Committee. It authorizes a major new research investment in information 
technology, which is directly tied to the nation's economic growth and 
national security. This is a very important research initiative, and it 
is appropriate that the Committee is moving expeditiously to authorize 
it.
    H.R. 3400 will reinvigorate the current multi-agency information 
technology research program by putting in place the principal 
recommendations of a recent report from the President's Information 
Technology Advisory Committee. The report, entitled ``Information 
Technology Research: Investing in Our Future,'' documents the results 
of a comprehensive assessment of federally funded information 
technology research conducted by the Advisory Committee.
    The President's Advisory Committee found that Federal funding for 
information technology research has tilted too much toward support for 
near-term, mission-focused objectives. They discovered a growing gap 
between the power of high-performance computers available to support 
agency mission requirements versus support for the general academic 
research community. They identified the need for socioeconomic research 
on the impact on society of the rapid evolution of information 
technology. And, they judged that the annual Federal research 
investment is inadequate by more than $1 billion.
    I am confident that H.R. 3400 will effectively implement the 
Advisory Committee's recommendations. In addition to support for 
research, the bill will also contribute to providing the highly trained 
workers needed by the information industries in the future.
    The Science Committee has a long history of support for information 
technology research. We have seen ample evidence of the value of past 
research programs. The example of the Internet alone makes the case for 
the unexpected, and often spectacular, outcomes from Federal long-term 
research investments in information technologies. H.R. 3400 will 
provide for the basic research needed to underpin the technological 
advances of the future.
    Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your leadership on this bill, 
and I look forward to assisting you in moving the bill forward.

    [The prepared statement of J. Randy Forbes follows:]
           Prepared Statement of Congressman J. Randy Forbes
    Mr. Chairman, I would like to express my strong support both for 
the Networking and Information Technology Research Advancement Act, as 
well as the Cyber Security Research and Development Act. As a co-
sponsor of both pieces of legislation, I appreciate my colleagues' 
efforts to coordinate our national response to the very serious threat 
of cyber terrorism.
    Though it won't bring the death and destruction of biological or 
chemical weapons, cyber terrorism holds the power to disrupt our way of 
life, harm people's personal interests, and cause tremendous losses for 
businesses. Both bills before us are necessary for updating our 
national ability to thwart terrorist plots to disrupt our economy and 
do harm to our way of life using our own computer networks. As we heard 
from various witnesses who have come before this Committee over the 
past several months, cyber terrorism is a very real threat that we are 
not currently prepared to fully meet. We have bright and innovative 
minds in this nation, but they need direction and coordination to 
maximize their efforts to find ways to prevent cyber terrorist attacks 
and ameliorate their consequences.
    The bills before us today will coordinate the various research and 
development efforts that currently exist and increase the overall 
federal contribution for them. In addition, they will revise the rules 
under which federal dollars operate to give our science and technology 
experts the ability to think outside the box. Our enemies use their 
evil cunning as a weapon. We should not be restricted in our thinking 
to defeat their efforts.
    Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your bringing these bills to our 
Committee so quickly. I am hopeful that they will get such prompt 
treatment by the Congress as a whole so that we can begin to implement 
this coordinated policy. Thank you.

    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. I ask unanimous 
consent that the bill be considered as read and open to 
amendment at any point. I ask the Members to proceed with the 
amendments in the order on the roster. The first amendment on 
the roster is the amendment offered by Mr. Matheson.
    Mr. Matheson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will try to be--I 
will try to be brief in presenting the amendment.
    Chairman Boehlert. I ask unanimous consent that we dispense 
with the reading of the amendment, and, without objection, so 
ordered. And I recognize you for five minutes, and I hope you 
will contract into about two.
    Mr. Matheson. I will contract and give you a written 
statement for the record if that is okay, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you.
    Mr. Matheson. I just want to thank you for this hearing. My 
amendment is not designed to detract from the substance of this 
important legislation. It just makes one addition, which I 
think focuses on a particular subsection of issues, which is 
crisis management. It establishes a research center to develop 
and demonstrate applications of information technology for 
crisis management.
    And, as we have seen recently, unexpected crises can 
immediately require the ability to quickly and accurately relay 
large amounts of information to make crucial decisions. And 
crisis response is characterized by the generation and 
distribution of large quantities of unstructured data and 
information that must be acquired, processed, integrated, and 
disseminated in real time.
    And I think that the potential for information technology 
to assist in crisis management was recently identified in the 
1996 reports from the National Academy of Sciences and the 
President's Information Technology Advisory Committee's 1999 
report, which was called Information Technology Research: 
Investing in Our Future.
    This amendment seeks to implement their recommendation to 
establish centers of excellence in computer science and 
engineering research applied to specific applications areas of 
importance, including crisis management.
    I hope that this Committee will accept this amendment as a 
means to further research that can improve crisis management 
and an appropriate addition to this legislation on networking 
information technology. I yield back the balance of my time.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Matheson follows:]
            Prepared Statement of the Honorable Jim Matheson
    Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I want to applaud your 
efforts to bring two very crucial pieces of legislation before the 
committee today. As our world becomes more digitally connected, it is 
imperative that our security and research concerns take into 
consideration the role of information technology and improved 
networking.
    H.R. 3400, which Mr. Smith and Ms. Johnson have introduced, goes a 
long way to making this happen by furthering the participation of many 
government agencies in the Networking and Information Technology 
Research Program and by funding grants for basic and applied research 
in the computer sciences. My amendment is not designed to detract from 
the substance of this legislation. Instead, it makes one addition, 
which helps focus on a particular sub-section of issues: crisis 
management.
    The amendment establishes a research center to develop and 
demonstrate applications of information technology for crisis 
management. The focus of the center will be to explore ways to marshal 
the capabilities of high-performance networks and computing for 
immediate response to, recovery from, and mitigation of the effects of 
man-made and natural disasters.
    As we have recently seen, unexpected crises can immediately require 
the ability to quickly and accurately relay large amounts of 
information and make crucial decisions. The generation and distribution 
of large quantities of unstructured data and information that must be 
acquired, processed, integrated and disseminated in real time crisis 
characterize this response. Severe demands are placed on communications 
systems needed to provide accurate situational updates and analyses for 
crisis managers, instructions to emergency responders and relief 
workers, and guidance and directives to the public. Advances in 
information technologies can provide crisis coordination and management 
systems with the needed characteristics.
    The potential for information technology to assist in crisis 
management was recently identified in a 1996 report from the National 
Academy of Sciences and the President's Information Technology Advisory 
Committee's 1999 report, ``Information Technology Research: Investing 
in Our Future.'' This amendment seeks to implement their recommendation 
to establish of centers of excellence in computer science and 
engineering research applied to specific application areas of 
importance, including crisis management.
    It authorizes $10 million per year over 5 years for the National 
Science Foundation to establish a crisis management research center. 
This will be a multidisciplinary center and include participation by 
organizations that have expertise and experience in applications of 
information technology and ties to the emergency response community. 
Research will include areas such as: self-configuring wireless networks 
and computer-based tools to assist crisis managers in making decisions 
in the absence of complete information, the creation of tested networks 
for validating new technologies under realistic conditions, 
computational simulation of natural and large-scale phenomenon that can 
help predict the behavior of disasters which cannot be tested or 
performed experimentally.
    Finally, the center must develop its research plan through 
consultation with representatives from the emergency services community 
that would be the users of the technologies developed by the center. I 
hope the Committee will accept this amendment as an means to further 
research that can improve crisis management and an appropriate addition 
to this legislation on networking and information technology.

    [The Amendment to H.R. 3400 offered by Mr. Matheson 
follows:]


    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. It is an excellent 
amendment. I support it. Mr. Smith supports it. Ms. Johnson 
supports it. Mr. Hall supports it. We love the amendment. Is 
there any further discussion? If no, the vote occurs on the 
amendment. All in favor, say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have 
it. The amendment is agreed to. Are there any other amendments? 
Mr. Larson.
    Mr. Larson. Yes. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully withdraw the 
amendment that I have and look forward and commend both the 
Ranking Members in respect of Chairs of the Committee and look 
forward to working with the staff, thanking both the democratic 
and republican staff for working with us on this important 
issue.
    Chairman Boehlert. Without objection, so ordered. And we 
will continue to work together. Thank you so very much. Are 
there any other amendments? Seeing no hands, hearing none, the 
question is on the bill, H.R. 3400, the Networking and 
Information Technology Research Advancement Act. All those in 
favor say, aye. Opposed, no. It is the opinion of the Chair the 
ayes have it. I will now recognize Mr. Hall for a motion.
    Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee favorably 
report H.R. 3400, as amended, to the House, with the 
recommendation that the bill, as amended, do pass. Furthermore, 
I move that the staff be instructed to prepare the legislative 
report and make the necessary and technical and conforming 
changes, and that the Chairman take all necessary steps to 
bring the bill before the House Committee for consideration.
    Chairman Boehlert. The Chair notes the presence of a 
reporting quorum. The question is on the motion to report the 
bill favorably. Those in favor of the motion, signify by saying 
aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The bill is favorably 
reported. Without objection, the motion to reconsider----
    Mr. Baird. Mr. Chairman----
    Chairman Boehlert [continuing]. Is laid upon the table. 
Yes.
    Mr. Baird. Mr. Chairman, that is the fastest Ralph Hall has 
ever spoken in his life, I think.
    Chairman Boehlert. I move that the Members have two 
subsequent calendar days in which to submit supplemental, 
minority, or additional views on the measure. Without 
objection, so ordered. I move, pursuant to Clause 1 of Rule 22 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives, that the 
Committee authorize the Chairman to offer such motions as may 
be necessary in the House to go to conference with the Senate 
on H.R. 3400, or a similar Senate bill. Without objection, so 
ordered.
    [H.R. 3400 follows:]
    
    
    [The information referred to follows:]
                       Section-by-Section Summary

   THE NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ADVANCEMENT ACT

Introduced by Mr. Smith (MI), Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX), Mr. 
        Boehlert, and Mr. Hall

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

``Networking and Information Technology Research Advancement Act''

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Discusses the key role information technology research and 
development play in enabling scientific research in a diverse array of 
scientific and engineering disciplines and, in turn, the dependence of 
information technology research and development on other fields and 
technologies; the critical role Federal spending for long term, basic 
research on information technology has played in stimulating the 
economy and transforming society, and the importance of maintaining 
that role; the current inadequacies in Federal support for such 
research and the unique role the Federal Government has in supporting 
long-term basic research; the overall importance of information 
technology research and development to specific industries; and the 
variety of uses of information technology.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Replaces the term ``high-performance computing'' with ``networking 
and information technology,'' and re-defines the federal interagency 
program focused on information technology research and development as 
the ``Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
Program'' (referred to herein as `the Program'). Adds a definition to 
the HPC Act for ``Program Component Areas,'' which are the major 
subject areas under which projects and activities carried out by the 
interagency research program are grouped.

SEC. 4. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
                    PROGRAM.

    Amends Section 101 of the HPC Act, which describes the organization 
and responsibilities of the interagency research program originally 
referred to as the National High-Performance Computing Program (and re-
named the Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program in this bill), to include among the Program's 
research priorities the security of networked information systems, 
research on high-end computers (so-called `supercomputers'), software, 
networks, and the social and economic impacts of Information 
Technology. Also amends the HPC Act to include the requirement that the 
Program establish Program Component Areas in line with the overall 
goals of the program.
    Leaves substantively unchanged provisions of the HPC Act requiring 
1) the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to provide an 
annual report to Congress, along with the annual budget request, 
describing the implementation of the program; 2) the OSTP Director to 
consult with academic, state, industry, and other appropriate groups; 
3) Federal agencies to report on their Information Technology research 
and development activities as part of the yearly budget submission; 
and, 4) the establishment of a presidential advisory committee for 
information technology (commonly known as PITAC).
    Requires OSTP to include in its report to Congress detailed 
information about Program Component Areas and PITAC to report to 
Congress not less than every two years on its findings and 
recommendations relating to the Program.
    Repeals Sec. 102 of the HPC Act, the ``National Research and 
Education Network'', which described a network that was to provide for 
the linkage of research institutions and educational institutions, 
government, and industry--and which has since been supplanted by the 
Internet. Also repeals Sec. 103 of the HPC Act, ``Next Generation 
Internet,'' as this program is also no longer in existence.
    Replaces the term ``high-performance computing'' with ``networking 
and information technology'' throughout the section. Renames Title I of 
the HPC Act ``Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program''.

SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES.

    Amends the HPC Act of 1991 to authorize funds for, and define the 
specific activities of, certain agencies within the Program. All 
authorizations are from sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated.

         The National Science Foundation (NSF)--a total of 
        $4.296 billion over fiscal years 2003-2007;

         Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE)--a total 
        of $1.18 billion over fiscal years 2003-2007;

         National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        (NASA)--a total of $1.215 billion over fiscal years 2003-2007;

         National Institute for Standards and Technology 
        (NIST)--a total of $147 million over fiscal years 2003-2007;

         National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        (NOAA)--a total of $133 million over fiscal years 2003-2007; 
        and

         Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)--$24.3 million 
        over fiscal years 2003-2007.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    Directs the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy 
of Sciences to conduct an assessment of the state of research in 
computer and information science and engineering in the United States, 
and to report to Congress and the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy on the assessment's findings. In addition, the bill tasks the 
presidential advisory committee for information technology to review 
the NRC's findings and make recommendations to the OSTP Director for 
addressing them. Finally, the bill requires that, in the OSTP 
Director's annual report to Congress on the state of the Program, the 
Director describe how the Program is working to address the issues 
raised by the NRC's initial study.
    The bill also directs the NSF to collect data on the information 
technology workforce and tasks the NRC with analyzing this data and 
publishing an annual update to the NRC's ``Building a Workforce in the 
Information Economy'' report.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    
    
    Chairman Boehlert. This Committee markup is concluded.
    [Whereupon, at 11:29 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

                                  
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