[This file includes both a press release about and a summary of the bill.] NEWS FROM U.S. Senator Al Gore (D - Tennessee) SR 393 Russell Building, Washington, D.. 20510 (202) 224-4944 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Marla Romash WEDNESDAY, July 1, 1992 (202) 224-7155 (301) 585-9408 (H) Heidi Kukis (202) 224-7170 GORE BILL APPLIES HIGH-TECH TO SCHOOLS. HEALTH CARE, BUSINESS Key Part of Senate's Economic Leadership Strategy Unveiled Today WASHINGTON -- Legislation that would create jobs, strengthen educational opportunities and improve health care by bringing high-performance computer technology into factories, schools and hospitals will be introduced today (7/1) by Sen. Al Gore, D-TN, as part of a comprehensive U.S. Economic Leadership Strategy unveiled today by Senate Democrats. "If we're going to strengthen our economy and create jobs, we must move these advanced technologies from the laboratories into the marketplace -- into the factories where cars are manufactured, into the hospitals where surgery is performed and into the schools where children are being educated," said Gore, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space. "So that students from kindergarten through college, factory workers and managers, doctors and health care providers can benefit from the technologies available now only in research laboratories and the data they can make accessible, we must expand our efforts to bring advanced technologies to the people who can benefit from their use," Gore said. The Information Infrastructure and Technology Act of 1992 is part of a broader proposal, the Democratic Economic Leadership Strategy, introduced today (7/1) by Senate Democrats. The package of legislation is designed to ensure long-term economic growth by investing in development and commercialization of new technologies, enhancing U.S. manufacturing, improving education and training, and opening foreign markets to American goods. Specifically, Gore's bill would ensure that the technology developed by the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 is applied widely in K-12 education, libraries, health care and industry, particularly manufacturing. It would authorize a total of $1.15 billion over the next five years. The High Performance Computing Act, introduced by Gore, creates a national, high-speed computer network and doubles federal funding for high-performance computing research and development. It was signed into law in December. "To help increase U.S. competitiveness and create jobs for Americans, the technology developed by the High-Performance Computing Act must be moved from the laboratories into the marketplace where it can be used. This new bill will make sure this happens by developing practical applications for advanced technologies and high-performance computing," Gore said. "We are close to the day when a doctor in Los Angeles can send the images from a CAT scan, via a high-speed computer network, across country to specialists at the National Institutes of Health for expert analysis," Gore said. "We are close to a day when a child can retrieve books on-line from the Library of Congress." "Through the legislation I introduced today, hospitals, universities, research centers, factories, schools and libraries will be connected to advanced computer networks, sharing data, increasing U.S. competitiveness and improving the quality of life for all," Gore said. The Information Infrastructure and Technology Act charges the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) with coordinating efforts to develop applications for high-performance computing networking and assigns specific responsibilities to the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, the National Institute of of Standards and Technology, and the National Institutes of Health. It would expand the role of OSTP in overseeing federal efforts to disseminate scientific and technical information. SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY ACT The Information Infrastructure and Technology Act of 1992 builds on the High-Performance Computing Act introduced by Senator Gore in 1988 and signed into law last year. The new bill would ensure that the technology developed by the High-Performance Computing Program is applied widely in K-12 education, in libraries, in health care, and in industry, particularly manufacturing. It would authorize a total of $1.15 billion over the next five years. The bill would establish a multi-agency Information Infrastructure Development Program to be coordinated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This program would ensure the widest possible application of high-performance computing and high-speed networking technology. The Program would assign different agencies responsibility for developing applications of this technology in various areas, develop plans and budgets for developing such applications, and ensure interagency cooperation and coordination. In addition, the bill would assign a new Associate Director at OSTP with responsibility for overseeing Federal efforts to disseminate Federal scientific and technical information. The bill calls upon the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund projects to connect primary and secondary schools to the NSFNET, a national computer network connecting hundreds of colleges and universities around the country. In addition, NSF is to develop educational software and provide teacher training. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Commerce Department is given responsibility for developing networking technology for manufacturing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in conjunction with NSF and other agencies, is to develop applications of advanced computer and networking technology for health care. This includes networks to link hospitals, doctor's offices, and universities so health care providers and researchers can share medical data and imagery, like CAT scans and X-rays. NIH would also develop new software for manipulating medical imagery and data. The bill provides funding to both NSF and NASA to develop technology for digital libraries", huge data bases that store text, imagery, video, and sound and are accessible over computer networks like NSFNET. The bill also funds development of prototype "digital libraries" around the country. Authorizations by area and agency (in millions of dollar) Agency FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY97 Total NSF education 20 40 60 80 100 300 libraries 10 20 30 40 50 150 NIST 30 40 50 60 70 250 manufacturing NIH 20 40 60 80 100 300 health care NASA 10 20 30 40 50 150 libraries TOTALS 90 160 230 300 370 1150