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VERSION OF S. 272 AND H.R. 656 PASSED BY THE SENATE

SEPTEMBER 11, 1991


Purpose:        To make an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES--102nd Congress, 1st Sess.

                S. 272

                        and

                H.R. 656

To provide for a coordinated Federal research program to ensure
        continued United States leadership in high-performance
        computing.

----------------------

Viz:  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
        thereof the following:

SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE.

        This Act may be cited as the "High-Performance Computing
and National Research and Education Network Act of 1991".

SEC. 2.  FINDINGS.

        The Congress finds the following:
        (1) Advances in computer science and technology are
vital to the Nation's prosperity, national and economic
security, industrial production, engineering, and
scientific advancement.
        (2) The United States currently leads the world in
the development and use of high-performance computing
for national security, industrial productivity, science,
and engineering, but that lead is being challenged by
foreign competitors.
        (3) Further research and development, expanded
educational programs, improved computer research
networks, and more effective technology transfer from
government to industry are necessary for the United
States to fully reap the benefits of high-performance
computing.
        (4) Several Federal agencies have ongoing
high-performance computing programs, but improved
interagency coordination, cooperation, and planning
would enhance the effectiveness of these programs.
        (5) A high-speed national research and education
computer network would provide researchers and educators
with access to computer and information resources and
act as a test bed for further research and development
of high-speed computer networks.
        (6) A 1991 report entitled "Grand Challenges:
High-Performance Computing and Communications" by the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, outlining a
research and development strategy for high-performance
computing, provides a framework for a multi-agency
high-performance computing program.  Such a program
would provide American researchers and educators with
the computer and information resources they need, and
demonstrate how advanced computers, high-speed networks,
and electronic data bases can improve the national
information infrastructure for use by all Americans.

SEC. 3.  PURPOSE.

        The purpose of this Act is to help ensure the continued
leadership of the United States in high-performance computing
and its applications by requiring that the United States
Government--
(1)  increase Federal support for research, development,
and application of high-performance computing in order to--
        (A)  expand the number of researchers,
educators, and students with training in high-
performance computing and access to high-performance
computing resources;
        (B)  establish a high-speed national research
and education computer network;
        (C)  promote the further development of an
information infrastructure of data bases, services,
access mechanisms, and research facilities which
are available for use through such a national network;
        (D)  stimulate research on software technology;
        (E)  promote the more rapid development and
wider distribution of computer software tools and
applications software;
        (F)  accelerate the development of computer
systems and subsystems;
        (G)  provide for the application of high-
performance computing to fundamental problems in
science and engineering, with broad economic and
scientific impact;
        (H)  invest in basic research and education;
and
        (I)  promote greater collaboration among
government, Federal laboratories, industry, and
universities;
(2)  authorize a high-speed national research and
        education computer network; and
(3)  improve the interagency planning and coordination
        of Federal research and development on high-performance
        computing and maximze the effectiveness of the Federal
        Government's high-performance computing efforts.

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

SEC. 101. HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING.

        (a)(1)  The President shall establish and, through the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(hereinafter referred to as the "Director"), coordinate a
National High-Performance Computing Program (hereinafter
referred to as the "Program").
        (2) The Program shall--
        (A) establish the goals and priorities for Federal
high-performance computing research, development,
networking, and other activities; and
        (B) provide for interagency coordination of Federal
high-performance computing research, development,
networking, and other activities undertaken pursuant to
the Program.
(3) The Program shall provide for--
        (A) oversight of the operation and evolution of
the National Research and Education Network (as
described under section 102 and referred to in this Act
as the "Network") and the establishment of policies for
the management of and access to the Network;
        (B) efforts to increase software availability,
productivity, capability, portability, and reliability;
        (C) improved dissemination of Federal agency data
and electronic information;
        (D) acceleration of the development of high-
performance computer systems, subsystems, and associated
software;
        (E) the technical support and research and development
of high-performance computer software and hardward needed
to address Grand Challenges;
        (F) educating and training additional undergraduate
and graduate students in software engineering, computer
science, library and information science, and computational
science; and
        (G) the security requirements and policies necessary
to protect Federal research computer networks and
information resources accessible through Federal research
computer networks.
(4) The President, through the Director, shall submit to
the Congress an annual report along with the President's annual
budget request, describing the implementationof the Program.
The annual report shall--
        (A) describe the goals and priorities of the Program,
and analyze the progress made toward achieving those goals
and priorities; and
        (B) describe for each agency and department
participating in the Program 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 Program
activities, including education, research, hardware and
software development, and support for the establishment of
the Network.
(5) The Director shall be provided, in a timely fashion,
with an opportunity to review and comment on the budget estimate
of each agency and department participating in the Program and
shall identify in each annual budget submitted to the Congress
under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, those items
in each agency's or department's annual budget which are
elements of the Program.
(b) The President shall establish an advisory committee on
high-performance computing consisting of prominent
representatives from industry and academia who are specially
qualified to provide the Director with advice and information on
high-performance computing.  The advisory committee shall
provide the Director with an independent assessment of--
        (1) progress made in implementing the Program;
        (2) the need to revise the Program;
        (3) the balance between the components of the Program;
and
        (4) whether the research and development undertaken
pursuant to the Program is helping to maintain United
States leadership in computing technology.
(c) 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 identifying each element
of its high-performance computing activities, which--
        (1) contributes directly to the Program or benefits
from the Program; and
        (2) states the portion of its request for
appropriations that is allocated to each such element.
(d)  As used in this section, the term "Grand Challenge"
means a fundamental problem in science and engineering, with
broad economic and scientific impact, whose solution will
require the application of high-performance computing resources.

SEC. 102. NATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK.

(a) As part of the Program established by section 101, 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
a national multi-gigabit-per-second research and education
computer network by 1996, to be known as the National Research
and Education Network, to link research and educational
institutions, government, and industry, in every State.  Federal
agencies shall work with State and local agencies, libraries,
educational institutions and organizations, private network
service providers, and others in order to ensure that
researchers, educators, and students have access to the Network.
To the extent that the private sector, state and local
governments, and other Federal agencies do not connect colleges,
universities, and libraries to the Network, the National Science
Foundation shall have primary responsiblity for connecting
colleges, universities, and libraries to the Network.
(b) The Network is to provide users with appropriate access
to supercomputers, electronic information resources, other
research facilities, and libraries, and at the same time act as
a test bed for further research and development of high-speed
computer networks and demonstrate how advanced computers, high-
speed computer networks, and data bases can improve the national
information infrastructure.
(c) The Network shall--
        (1) be developed in close cooperation with the
computer, telecommunications, and information industries;
        (2) be designed, developed, and operated in
collaboration with potential users in government, industry,
and the education community;
        (3) link existing Federal and non-Federal computer
networks, to the extent appropriate, in a way that allows
autonomy within each component network;
        (4) 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;
        (5) 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;
        (6) be developed by purchasing standard commercial
transmission and network services from vendors whenever
feasible, and by contracting for customized services when
not feasible.
(d)  To encourage use of the Network by commercial
information service providers, where technically feasible, the
Network shall be managed to cooperate with the needs of
commerical sector users to develop accounting mechanisms which
allow, where appropriate, users or groups of users to be charged
for their usage of copyrighted materials available over the
Network.  The Network shall be designed and operated so as to
ensure the continued application of the 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.
(e)  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.
(f)  In addition to other agency activities associated with
the establishment of the Network--
        (1) the National Institute of Standards and Technology
shall develop and propose a common set of standards and
guidelines to provide interoperability, common user
interfaces to systems, and security for the Network; and
        (2) all Federal agencies and departments funding
research are authorized to allow recipients of Federal
research grants to use grant monies to pay for computer
networking expenses.
(g) Within one year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
shall report to the Congress on--
        (1) effective mechanisms for providing operating funds
for the maintencance 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.
(h)  The Director shall assist the President in
coordinating the activities of appropriate agencies and
departments to promot 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.  The
information services accessible over the Network shall be
provided in accordance with applicable law.  Appropriate
protection shall be provided for copyright and other
intellectual property rights of information providers and
Network users, including appropriate mechanisms for fair
remuneration of copyright holders for availability of and access
to their works over the Network.

TITLE II--AGENCY ACTIVITIES

SEC. 201. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.

(a)  The National Science Foundation shall provide
computing and networking infrastructure support for all science
and engineering disciplines, and shall support basic research
and human resource development in computer science,
computational science and engineering, library and informational
sciences, and computer engineering.  The National Science
Foundation shall provide funding to help researchers access
supercomputers.  Prior to deployment of the Network, the
National Science Foundation shall maintain, expand, and upgrade
its existing computer networks.
(b) (1)  There are authorized to be appropriated to the
National Science Foundation for the purposes of this Act,
$46,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, $88,000,000 for fiscal year
1993, $145,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $172,000,000 for fiscal
year 1995, and $199,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
(2)  Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under
paragraph (1), there are authorized for activities in support of
the Network, in accordance with the purposes of section 102,
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, $25,000,000 for fiscal year
1993, $55,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $50,000,000 for fiscal
year 1995, and $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
(3)  The amounts authorized to be appropriated under this
subsection are in addition to any amounts that may be authorized
to be appropriated under other laws.
SEC. 202.  NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
                 ACTIVITIES.
(a)  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
shall continue to conduct basic and applied research in
high=performance computing, particulary in the field of
computational science, with emphasis on aeronautics and the
processing of remote sensing and space science data.
(b) (1)  There are authorized to be appropriated to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the purposes
of this Act $22,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, $45,000,000 for
fiscal year 1993, $67,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $89,000,000
for fiscal year 1995, and $115,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
(2)  The amounts authorized to be appropriated under this
subsection are in addition to any amounts that are authorized to
be appropriated under other laws.
SEC. 203. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
                 ACTIVITIES.
(a)  The National Institute of Standards and Technology
shall develop and propose standards and guidelines, and develop
measurement techniques and test methods, for the
interoperability of high-performance computers in networks and
for common user interfaces to systems.  In addition, the
National Institute
of Standards and Technology shall be responsible for
developing benchmark tests and standards for high-performance
computers and software.  Pursuant to the Computer Security Act
of 1987 (Public Law 100-235; 101 Stat. 1724), the National
Institute of Standards and Technology shall continue to be
responsible for developing and proposing standards and
guidelines needed to assure the cost-effective security and
privacy of sensitive information in Federal computer systems.
(b) (1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the
National Institute of Standards and Technology for the purposes
of this Act $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, $4,000,000 for
fiscal year 1993, $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $8,000,000
for fiscal year 1995, and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
(2)  The Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this
subsection are in addition to any amounts that are authorized to
be appropriated under other laws.
SEC. 204. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ACTIVITIES.
(a) 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.
(b)  The Secretary of Energy shall establish two High-
Performance Computing Research and Development Collaborative
Consortia by soliciting and selecting proposals, and is
authorized to establish as many more as may be needed.  Each
Collaborative Consortium shall--
                (1)  conduct research directed at scientific and
technical problems whose solutions require the application
of high-performance computing and communications resources;
                (2)  promote the testing and uses of new types of
high-performance computing and related software and
equipment;
                (3)  serve as a vehicle for computing vendors to test
new ideas and technology in a sophisticated computing
environment; and
                (4)  be led by a Department of Energy national
laboratory, and include participants from Federal agencies
        and departments, researchers, private industry, educational
institutions, and others as the Secretary of Energy may
        deem appropriate.
(c)  The results of such research and development shall be
transferred to the private sector and others in accordance with
applicable law.
(d)  Within one year after the date of enactment of this
Act and every year thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall
transmit to the Senate and House of Representatives a report on
activities taken to carry out this Act.
(e)  For fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996
there are authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be
necessary to carry out the activities authorized by this
section.
SEC. 205. STUDY ON IMPACT OF FEDERAL PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.
(a)  The Secrtary of Commerce shall conduct a study to--
                (1)  evaluate the impact of Federal procurement
regulations which require that contractors providing
software to the Federal Government share the rights to
proprietary software development tools that the
contractors used to develop the software; and
                (2)  determine whether such regulations discourage
development of improved software development tools and
techniques.
(b)  The Secretary shall, within one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, report to the Congress regarding the
results of the study conducted under subsection (a)
SEC. 206.  MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
(a)  Except to the extent that the appropriate Federal
agency of department head determines applicable, the provisions
of this Act shall not apply to--
                (1)  programs or activities regarding computer
systems that process classified information; or
                (2)  computer systems the function, operation, or
use of which are those delineated in paragraphs (1) through
(5) of section 2315(a) of title 10, United States Code.
(b)  Federal agencies and departments, and their grantees
and contractors, may acquire prototype and early production
models of new high-performance computer and communications
systems and subsystems, including software and related products
and services, to stimulate hardware and software development.