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Legislation
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High Performance Computing Act of 1991
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Summary |
High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 - Title I: High-Performance
Computing and the National Research and Education Network - Directs
the President to implement the National High-Performance Computing
Program.
Sets forth Program requirements, including: (1) setting goals and
priorities for Federal high-performance computing research, development,
and networking; (2) providing for interagency coordination; (3) providing
for oversight of the operation and evolution of the National Research
and Education Network provided for in this Act; (4) improving software;
(5) acceleration of high-performance computer system development;
(6) technical support and research and development of software and
hardware needed to address fundamental problems in science and engineering
(Grand Challenges); (7) educating undergraduate and graduate students;
and (8) providing for security.
Establishes an advisory committee on high-performance computing.
Requires identifying Program elements in the annual budget requests
for each Federal agency and department participating in the Program.
Requires participating agencies to support the establishment of the
National Research and Education Network, to link research and educational
institutions, government, and industry in every State.
Sets forth Network requirements, including: (1) fostering and maintaining
competition and private sector investment in high-speed data networking
within the telecommunications industry; (2) promoting the development
of commercial data communications and telecommunications standards;
(3) providing security, including protecting intellectual property
rights; (4) developing accounting mechanisms allowing users to be
charged for the use of copyrighted materials; and (5) purchasing standard
commercial transmission and network services from vendors whenever
feasible.
Requires the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, to support research and development of advanced fiber
optics technology, switches, and protocols for the Network.
Requires the Director to coordinate agency and department activities
to promote the development of information services that could be provided
over the Network.
Authorizes all Federal agencies and departments to allow Federal research
grant recipients to use grant monies to pay for computer networking
expenses.
Mandates a report to the Congress on Network funding, including user
fees, industry support, and Federal investment.
Title II: Agency Activities - Requires the National Science
Foundation (NSF) to: (1) provide computing and networking infrastructure
support for all science and engineering disciplines and support basic
research and human resource development in high-performance computing
and advanced high-speed computer networking; (2) have primary responsibility
for assisting colleges, universities, and libraries to connect to
the Network, to the extent that they cannot do so with the help of
the private sector; (3) serve as the primary source of information
on access to and use of the Network; and (4) upgrade the NSF funded
network, assist regional networks to upgrade, and provide Federal
departments and agencies the opportunity to connect to the NSF funded
network. Authorizes appropriations.
Requires the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to conduct
basic and applied research in high-performance computing, particularly
in computational science, with emphasis on aerospace sciences, earth
and space sciences, and remote exploration and experimentation. Authorizes
appropriations.
Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) perform research and development
on and evaluation 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; (4) provide for networking infrastructure
support for energy-related mission activities; and (5) establish High-Performance
Computing Research and Development Collaborative Consortia. Sets forth
requirements for the Consortia. Authorizes appropriations.
Requires NIST to: (1) conduct basic and applied measurement research
to support high-performance computing systems and networks; (2) develop
standards, guidelines, measurement techniques, and test methods for
interoperability of high-performance computers in networks and common
user interfaces to systems; and (3) develop benchmark tests and standards
for high-performance computers and software.
Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
to conduct basic and applied research in weather prediction and ocean
sciences.
Makes NIST responsible for developing and proposing standards and
guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive
information in Federal computer systems.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study regarding Federal
procurement regulations and software development.
Authorizes appropriations for NIST and NOAA.
Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct basic
and applied research on computational techniques and software tools
which form the core of ecosystem, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric
dynamics models. Authorizes appropriations from sums otherwise authorized
to be appropriated for the EPA.
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to conduct basic and applied
research in computational research. Authorizes appropriations from
sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated.
Declares that, except to the extent the appropriate Federal agency
or department head determines applicable, the provisions of this Act
shall not apply to computer systems that process classified information
or are used in connection with certain defense purposes.
Allows participating Federal agencies and departments, in accordance
with Federal contracting law, to require prototype and early production
models of new high-performance computing systems to stimulate hardware
and software development.
Mandates a report to the Congress: (1) annually on any grant, contract,
cooperative agreement, or cooperative research and development agreement
under the Program involving foreign entities or foreign procurement;
and (2) on the revised "Procedures to Introduce Supercomputers"
and the accompanying letters between the United States and Japan,
commonly referred to as the "Supercomputer Agreement."
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