[House Report 114-122]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 114-122
======================================================================
AMERICAN SUPER COMPUTING LEADERSHIP ACT
_______
May 19, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 874]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 874) to amend the Department of
Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 to improve
the high-end computing research and development program of the
Department of Energy, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Committee Statement and Views.................................... 1
Section-by-Section............................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch..................... 3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 3
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 3
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 3
Federal Advisory Committee Act................................... 3
Unfunded Mandate Statement....................................... 4
Earmark Identification........................................... 4
Committee Estimate............................................... 4
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported............. 5
Committee Statement and Views
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
High performance computation keeps the United States
competitive in the global market for scientific research and
development. This legislation provides the Department of Energy
with statutory authority to build and operate first-of-a-kind
exascale computing systems incorporating increased resiliency
features and optimized power requirements.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The next generation of high performance computing
facilities, also known as exascale computing systems, will
require new developments in hardware and software. The
capabilities provided by exascale systems will be unique above
current capabilities and serve as a mechanism to greatly
enhance scientific research and support the United States
nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship responsibility within the
Department of Energy.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In 2013, Rep. Randy Hultgren and Rep. Eric Swalwell
introduced H.R. 2495, American Super Computing Leadership Act.
In 2015, Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Tammy Baldwin
introduced S. 454, Exascale Computing for Science,
Competitiveness, Advanced Manufacturing, Leadership, and the
Economy Act of 2015.
On May 22, 2013, the Subcommittee on Energy of the House
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing
titled ``America's Next Generation Supercomputer: The Exascale
Challenge.'' On January 28, 2015, the Subcommittee on Energy
held a hearing titled ``Supercomputing and American Technology
Leadership.'' These hearings explored the ability of high
performance computing facilities to accelerate scientific
research and technological advances.
COMMITTEE VIEWS
The Committee recognizes that high performance computing
modeling supports nearly every area of technological
advancement and encourages the Department to continue to
develop next generation computing facilities through its
Advanced Scientific Computing Research program within the
Office of Science.
Section-by-Section
Section 1. Short title
The short title of this legislation is ``American Super
Computing Leadership Act.''
Section 2. Definitions
Section defines terms associated with high-end computing,
including ``co-design,'' ``exascale,'' and ``high-end computing
system.''
Section 3. Department of Energy High-End Computing Research and
Development Program
Section 3 requires the Secretary of Energy to conduct a
research program to develop exascale computing systems,
including a strategy and program management plan. The program
will support research on potential technologies to reduce power
requirements for the next generation of high performance
computing.
Committee Consideration
On March 4, 2015, the Committee met in open session and
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 874, without
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a
description of the application of this bill to the legislative
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of
employment or access to public services and accommodations.
This bill provides the Department of Energy with statutory
authority to build and operate first-of-a-kind exascale
computing systems incorporating increased resiliency features
and optimized power requirements. As such this bill does not
relate to employment or access to public services and
accommodations.
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of
this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance
goals and objectives are to recognize that high performance
computing modeling supports nearly every area of technological
advancement and to encourage the Department of Energy to
continue to develop next generation computing facilities
through its Advanced Scientific Computing Research program
within the Office of Science.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 874 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 874 does not
direct the completion of any specific rule makings within the
meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.
Federal Advisory Committee Act
The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).
Unfunded Mandate Statement
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement as to
whether the provisions of the reported include unfunded
mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has
received a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included
herein.
Earmark Identification
H.R. 874 does not include any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
Committee Estimate
Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 874. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that
this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included
in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received
the following cost estimate for H.R. 874 from the Director of
Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 26, 2015.
Hon. Lamar Smith,
Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 874, the American
Super Computing Leadership Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Marin
Burnett.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 874--American Super Computing Leadership Act
H.R. 874 would require the Secretary of Energy to advance
efforts to develop exascale computing systems. Exascale
computing refers to systems capable of at least a billion
billion calculations per second, which is believed to equal the
processing power of the human brain.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 874 would have no
significant effect on the budget because the legislation would
largely codify the Department of Energy's current plans to
develop advanced computer systems under its existing
authorities. Enacting H.R. 874 would not affect direct spending
or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
The legislation would clarify that the department's efforts
to advance high-end computing initiatives should be focused on
exascale. H.R. 874 would require that the department conduct
research programs, engage in partnerships, submit additional
reports, and develop technologies that will advance exascale
computing capabilities.
Under the department's mission to research and develop
high-end computing systems, the Advanced Scientific Computing
Research program, an arm of the Department of Energy's Office
of Science, received an appropriation of $105 million in 2015
for activities to develop exascale computing. According to
information from the department, the requirements of the
legislation would not result in a significant expansion of
their current exascale research and development activities.
Once the exascale system has been fully developed, the
department plans to place it in an existing facility, which
houses high-end computing systems. The department plans to
upgrade that facility as necessary to accommodate the exascale
system's requirements.
H.R. 874 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Public
universities would benefit from research partnerships. Any cost
incurred by those entities would be incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett.
The estimate was approved by Teresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
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 italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2004
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
[(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means a High-End
Software Development Center established under section
3(d).
[(2) High-end computing system.--The term ``high-end
computing system'' means a computing system with
performance that substantially exceeds that of systems
that are commonly available for advanced scientific and
engineering applications.
[(3) Leadership system.--The term ``Leadership
System'' means a high-end computing system that is
among the most advanced in the world in terms of
performance in solving scientific and engineering
problems.
[(4) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning
given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
[(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of Energy, acting through the Director of the
Office of Science of the Department of Energy.]
(1) Co-design.--The term ``co-design'' means the
joint development of application algorithms, models,
and codes with computer technology architectures and
operating systems to maximize effective use of high-end
computing systems.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(3) Exascale.--The term ``exascale'' means computing
system performance at or near 10 to the 18th power
floating point operations per second.
(4) High-end computing system.--The term ``high-end
computing system'' means a computing system with
performance that substantially exceeds that of systems
that are commonly available for advanced scientific and
engineering applications.
(5) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(6) Leadership system.--The term ``leadership
system'' means a high-end computing system that is
among the most advanced in the world in terms of
performance in solving scientific and engineering
problems.
(7) National laboratory.--The term ``National
Laboratory'' means any one of the seventeen
laboratories owned by the Department.
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of Energy.
(9) Software technology.--The term ``software
technology'' includes optimal algorithms, programming
environments, tools, languages, and operating systems
for high-end computing systems.
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall--
(1) carry out a [program] coordinated program across
the Department of research and development (including
development of software and hardware) to advance high-
end computing systems; [and]
(2) develop and deploy high-end computing systems for
advanced scientific and engineering applications[.];
and
(3) partner with universities, National Laboratories,
and industry to ensure the broadest possible
application of the technology developed in this program
to other challenges in science, engineering, medicine,
and industry.
(b) Program.--The program shall--
(1) support both individual investigators and
multidisciplinary teams of investigators;
(2) conduct research in multiple architectures, which
may include [vector, reconfigurable logic, streaming,
processor-in-memory, and multithreading architectures]
computer technologies that show promise of substantial
reductions in power requirements and substantial gains
in parallelism of multicore processors, concurrency,
memory and storage, bandwidth, and reliability;
(3) conduct research on software for high-end
computing systems, including research on algorithms,
programming environments, tools, languages, and
operating systems for high-end computing systems, in
collaboration with architecture development efforts;
(4) provide for sustained access by the research
community in the United States to high-end computing
systems and to Leadership Systems, including provision
of technical support for users of such systems;
(5) support technology transfer to the private sector
and others in accordance with applicable law; and
(6) ensure that the high-end computing activities of
the Department of Energy are coordinated with relevant
activities in industry and with other Federal agencies,
including the National Science Foundation, the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Nuclear
Security Administration, the National Security Agency,
the National Institutes of Health, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National
Institutes of Standards and Technology, and the
Environmental Protection Agency.
(c) Leadership Systems Facilities.--
(1) In general.--As part of the program carried out
under this Act, the Secretary shall establish and
operate 1 or more Leadership Systems facilities to--
(A) conduct advanced scientific and
engineering research and development using
Leadership Systems; and
(B) develop potential advancements in high-
end computing system hardware and software.
(2) Administration.--In carrying out this subsection,
the Secretary shall provide to Leadership Systems, on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis, access to
researchers in United States industry, institutions of
higher education, national laboratories, and other
Federal agencies.
[(d) High-End Software Development Center.--
[(1) In general.--As part of the program carried out
under this Act, the Secretary shall establish at least
1 High-End Software Development Center.
[(2) Duties.--A Center shall concentrate efforts to
develop, test, maintain, and support optimal
algorithms, programming environments, tools, languages,
and operating systems for high-end computing systems.
[(3) Proposals.--In soliciting proposals for the
Center, the Secretary shall encourage staffing
arrangements that include both permanent staff and a
rotating staff of researchers from other institutions
and industry to assist in coordination of research
efforts and promote technology transfer to the private
sector.
[(4) Use of expertise.--The Secretary shall use the
expertise of a Center to assess research and
development in high-end computing system architecture.
[(5) Selection.--The selection of a Center shall be
determined by a competitive proposal process
administered by the Secretary.]
(d) Exascale Computing Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a
coordinated research program to develop exascale
computing systems to advance the missions of the
Department.
(2) Execution.--The Secretary shall, through
competitive merit review, establish two or more
National Laboratory-industry-university partnerships to
conduct integrated research, development, and
engineering of multiple exascale architectures, and--
(A) conduct mission-related co-design
activities in developing such exascale
platforms;
(B) develop those advancements in hardware
and software technology required to fully
realize the potential of an exascale production
system in addressing Department target
applications and solving scientific problems
involving predictive modeling and simulation
and large-scale data analytics and management;
and
(C) explore the use of exascale computing
technologies to advance a broad range of
science and engineering.
(3) Administration.--In carrying out this program,
the Secretary shall--
(A) provide, on a competitive, merit-reviewed
basis, access for researchers in United States
industry, institutions of higher education,
National Laboratories, and other Federal
agencies to these exascale systems, as
appropriate; and
(B) conduct outreach programs to increase the
readiness for the use of such platforms by
domestic industries, including manufacturers.
(4) Reports.--
(A) Integrated strategy and program
management plan.--The Secretary shall submit to
Congress, not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of the American Super Computing
Leadership Act, a report outlining an
integrated strategy and program management
plan, including target dates for prototypical
and production exascale platforms, interim
milestones to reaching these targets,
functional requirements, roles and
responsibilities of National Laboratories and
industry, acquisition strategy, and estimated
resources required, to achieve this exascale
system capability. The report shall include the
Secretary's plan for Departmental organization
to manage and execute the Exascale Computing
Program, including definition of the roles and
responsibilities within the Department to
ensure an integrated program across the
Department. The report shall also include a
plan for ensuring balance and prioritizing
across ASCR subprograms in a flat or slow-
growth budget environment.
(B) Status reports.--At the time of the
budget submission of the Department for each
fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a
report to Congress that describes the status of
milestones and costs in achieving the
objectives of the exascale computing program.
(C) Exascale merit report.--At least 18
months prior to the initiation of construction
or installation of any exascale-class computing
facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan
to the Congress detailing--
(i) the proposed facility's cost
projections and capabilities to
significantly accelerate the
development of new energy technologies;
(ii) technical risks and challenges
that must be overcome to achieve
successful completion and operation of
the facility; and
(iii) an independent assessment of
the scientific and technological
advances expected from such a facility
relative to those expected from a
comparable investment in expanded
research and applications at terascale-
class and petascale-class computing
facilities, including an evaluation of
where investments should be made in the
system software and algorithms to
enable these advances.
* * * * * * *
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