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CRA Electronic News Bulletin--June 28, 1993
From: Juan Osuna <josuna () cs UMD EDU>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 93 12:59:55 -0400
CRA Electronic News Bulletin--June 28, 1993 Juan Antonio Osuna HOUSE HOLDS SECOND HEARING ON NSF REAUTHORIZATION The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Science held the second of two hearings June 15 on the mission of the National Science Foundation. Subcommittee chair Rick Boucher (D-VA) asked NSF officials for guidance in drafting legislation to reauthorize NSF. The agency's five-year authorization expires this year. NSF's Acting Director Frederick Bernthal and National Science Board Chair James Duderstadt reaffirmed that NSF should continue to focus on basic research and not substantially alter its mission. The administration wants NSF to broaden its mission to include more applied research. NSF officials claim basic research is an essential component for achieving these goals and one that NSF has a special role in nurturing. In a white paper titled "In Support of Basic Research," submitted for the record, the National Science Board states:
Basic research is not intended--nor should it be expected--to advance short-term goals. Rather, it is an investment that, like education, takes time to mature but has tremendous practical payoffs in the long run. Assuring the knowledge base appropriate for economic growth, long-term job creation and social well-being requires a conscious commitment to strong and consistent long-term support for basic research and education. Providing requisite support for this process is a matter of strategic national importance.
In another discussion, Rep. Ann Eshoo (D-CA) raised the issue of the disproportionate ratio of males to females on the National Science Board. "Why is there only one woman on the National Science Board?" she bluntly asked Duderstadt. Eshoo said she planned to send the President a letter on the under-representation of women. Later this year, Clinton is expected to appoint nine new members to the 22-member board. "We are acutely sensitive of the under- representation of women and minorities," Duderstadt remarked. NII LEGISLATION REPORTED TO FULL COMMITTEE The House Subcommittee on Science reported legislation HR 1757, the "National Information Infrastructure Act of 1993," to the full committee during a Thursday markup. Introduced by subcommittee chair Rick Boucher, HR 1757 expands the High-Performance Computing and Communications Act of 1991 to bring libraries, local governments, schools and health care providers onto national computer networks. Formerly known as the "High-Performance Computing and Networking Applications Act of 1993," the bill calls for computing research and demonstration projects related to applications such as digital libraries, education and health care. The marked-up bill contains several significant changes, particularly with respect to NREN. Before the markup, representatives from the regional telephone companies and the research and education community (including CRA) deliberated for weeks over wording limiting use of the federally funded portion of the Internet. The telephone companies are concerned that federal support of networking impedes their entry into the business. Education and research groups argue that government support creates new technologies and uses, enhancing future markets. Compromise language hammered out and agreed to by the two groups was accepted by the subcommittee. Unresolved is whether similar compromise language can be put in the Senate version of the bill, S4, which still has the older, harsher restrictions originally proposed and supported by the regional telephone companies. (CRA-member departments and labs can obtain a SINGLE hard copy of the revised bill by sending a request to revised bill by sending a request to josuna () cs umd edu.) GPO ACCESS BILL BECOMES LAW President Clinton approved and signed into law June 8 a bill to make more federal information available electronically. The Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (Pub. L. No. 103-40) ensures the public electronic access to: * the Federal Register, * the Congressional Record, * other publications distributed by the superintendent of documents, * a directory of government electronic information, and * information that other federal agencies specifically request to be made electronically available. Although GPO would grant federal depository libraries free access to these resources, it would charge the public enough to recuperate costs. The new GPO law is based on two identical bills introduced by Rep. Charlie Rose (D-NC) and Sen. Wendell Ford (D-KY) on March 11. NIST DIRECTOR NAMED Dr. Arati Prabhakar has been confirmed as the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The first woman to hold the post, Prabhakar previously served at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and spent a year at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment under an OTA fellowship. DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING DIRECTOR NAMED Dr. Anita Jones, chair of the University of Virginia Computer Science Department, has been confirmed as director of DoD's Defense Research and Engineering. Jones was a founder and vice president of Tartan Laboratories and currently serves on the Defense Science Board. PANEL POSTPONES REPORT ON SUPERCOMPUTER CENTERS The Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel postponed from June 17 to August 11 the date for releasing its report on high-performance computing to the National Science Board. During the spring, the panel met several times to discuss trends in supercomputer technology and the future of the national supercomputer centers. OTA RELEASES PAPER ON ADVANCED NETWORKS The congressional Office of Technology Assessment released a background paper June 23, titled "Advanced Network Technology," which provides an overview of network technology trends and of federal programs that support research in high-speed networks. Copies can be obtained by sending $5 to: U.S. Government Printing Office P.O. Box 37194 Pittsburgh PA 15250-7954 Request GPO stock number 052-003-01326-6 BILLS OF INTEREST TO COMPUTING RESEARCHERS CRA soon will release an updated summary of bills relevant to computing researchers. Anyone interested in receiving an electronic copy should E-mail a request to a request to josuna () cs umd edu. ________________________
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- CRA Electronic News Bulletin--June 28, 1993 Juan Osuna (Jun 28)