To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research and development to advance high-end computing.

June 4, 2004

Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself and Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of research and development to advance high-end computing.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) high-end computing is a critical component of the scientific advances, defense capabilities, and commercial competitiveness of the United States in the 21st Century;

(2) with the deployment of the Earth System Simulator in Japan, the United States no longer has a clear lead in high-end computing worldwide;

(3)(A) promising new architectures should be developed that increase memory and network bandwidth, minimize latency, and coordinate the architectures' various components to maximize application performance; and

(B) it is recognized that different architectures may be better suited to different applications;

(4)(A) software that improves efficiency on and accessibility to high-end systems should be developed; and

(B) this development effort should include research in optimal algorithms, programming environments, tools, languages, and operating systems for high-end computing in collaboration with architecture development efforts;

(5) without government support, market forces are unlikely to drive sufficient innovation in high-end computing because the private sector would not capture the full value of its innovations on a short enough time frame; and

(6) having played an important role in the development of high-end computing, networking, and information technology, the Department of Energy, and the research programs of the Office of Science of the Department of Energy, are particularly qualified to lead research in those fields.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:

(1) HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEM- The term `high-end computing system' means a computing system with performance that substantially exceeds systems that are commonly available for advanced scientific and engineering applications.

(2) 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.

(3) 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)).

(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Energy.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COMPUTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

(a) In General- The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Science, shall carry out a program of research and development (involving software and hardware) to advance high-end computing systems, and shall develop and deploy such systems for advanced scientific and engineering applications.

(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;

(3) conduct research in software development on optimal 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 for 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 Nuclear Security Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Security Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute 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, acting through the Director of the Office of Science, shall establish and operate 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, acting through the Director of the Office of Science, shall provide access to Leadership Systems on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to researchers in United States industry, institutions of higher education, national laboratories, and other Federal agencies.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

In addition to amounts otherwise made available for high-end computing, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act--

(a) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

(b) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(c) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

END