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High Performance Computing Act of 1991

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High Performance Computing Act of 1991
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to provide for a coordinated Federal program to ensure continued United States leadership in high-performance computing.
Acronyms (colloquial)HPCA
NicknamesGore Bill
Enacted bythe 102nd United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 9, 1991
Citations
Public law102-194
Statutes at Large105 Stat. 1594
Codification
Titles amended15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
U.S.C. sections created15 U.S.C. ch. 81 § 5501
Legislative history

The High Performance Computing Act of 1991 (HPCA) is an Act of Congress promulgated in the 102nd United States Congress as (Pub.L. 102–194) on 1991-12-09. Often referred to as the Gore Bill,[1] it was created and introduced by then Senator Albert Gore, Jr., and led to the development of the National Information Infrastructure and the funding of the National Research and Education Network (NREN).[1][2][3]

Background

The act built on prior U.S. efforts of developing a national networking infrastructure, starting with the ARPANET in the 1960s, and the funding of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFnet) in the 1980s. The renewed effort became known in popular language as building the Information superhighway.[2][4] It also included the High-Performance Computing and Communications Initiative and spurred many significant technological developments, such as the Mosaic web browser,[5] and the creation of a high-speed fiber optic computer network.

Development and passage

Senator Al Gore developed the Act[1] after hearing the 1988 report Toward a National Research Network[6] submitted to Congress by a group chaired by UCLA professor of computer science Leonard Kleinrock, one of the creators of the ARPANET, which is regarded as the eve network of the Internet.[7]

The bill was enacted on December 9, 1991, and led to the National Information Infrastructure (NII)[8] which Gore referred to as the "Information superhighway". President George H. W. Bush predicted that the Act would help "unlock the secrets of DNA," open up foreign markets to free trade, and a promise of cooperation between government, academia, and industry.[9]

Results

Among the many technological achievements that resulted from the funding of the Gore Bill, was the development of Mosaic in 1993,[5][10] the World Wide Web browser software which is credited by most scholars as beginning the Internet boom of the 1990s:

Gore's legislation also helped fund the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, where a team of programmers, including Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, created the Mosaic Web browser, the commercial Internet's technological springboard. 'If it had been left to private industry, it wouldn't have happened,' Andreessen says of Gore's bill, 'at least, not until years later.' [11]

Gore reiterated the role of government financing in American success in a 1996 speech [12]

That's how it has worked in America. Government has supplied the initial flicker -- and individuals and companies have provided the creativity and innovation that kindled that spark into a blaze of progress and productivity that's the envy of the world.

CNN interview

Following a 1999 CNN interview Gore became the subject of some controversy and ridicule when his expression I took the initiative in creating the Internet[13] was widely quoted out of context, indeed often misquoted, by comedians and the popular media who took his expression to be a claim that he personally had invented the Internet.[14][15] The meaning of Gore's statement, referring to his legislative support of the early Internet, was widely reaffirmed by notable Internet pioneers, such as Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who stated, "No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President".[16]

This view is not universally accepted. Other sources point out that the Internet was fully in operation years before Gore became involved in the Internet. As such, he can not be credited with creating the Internet. For example, a detailed history of the Gore's involvement with the Internet states.[17]

Clearly, then, if we take Gore literally at his word, he could not have "taken the initiative in creating the Internet." As the ARPANET moved from research to deployment, Gore was finishing college and serving in the Army in Vietnam. From 1976 to 1985, Gore served in the House of Representatives. From 1985 to 1992, he served in the Senate. The record shows that his interest in national computer networking issues became acute during his years in the Senate - when the Internet clearly was fully in operation.

References

  1. ^ a b c Computer History Museum – Exhibits – Internet History – 1990s
  2. ^ a b Information Superhighway Envisioned-Legislation Pending to Establish National Computer Network
  3. ^ NREN | Technology Resources
  4. ^ FCLJ Vol 46, No. 3 – Blake and Tiedrich
  5. ^ a b NCSA Mosaic – September 10, 1993 Demo
  6. ^ Kleinrock, Leonard; Kahn, Bob; Clark, David; et al. (1988). "Toward a National Research Network". Retrieved 2007-06-01. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help)
  7. ^ Kleinrock, Leonard; Cerf, Vint; Kahn, Bob; et al. (2003-12-10). "A Brief History of the Internet". Retrieved 2007-06-01. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help)
  8. ^ Chapman, Gary; Rotenberg, Marc (1993). "The National Information Infrastructure:A Public Interest Opportunity". Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  9. ^ Bush, George H.W. (9 December 1991). "Remarks on Signing the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991". bushlibrary.tamu.edu. George Bush Presidential Library. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  10. ^ "Mosaic – The First Global Web Browser". livinginternet.com. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  11. ^ Perine, Keith (23 October 2000). "The Early Adopter – Al Gore and the Internet – Government Activity". findarticles.com. The Industry Standard. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  12. ^ "Vice President Al Gore's ENIAC Anniversary Speech". Cs.washington.edu. February 14, 1996. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  13. ^ "Transcript: Vice President Gore on CNN's 'Late Edition'". CNN. CNN. 9 March 1999. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  14. ^ "Internet of Lies". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  15. ^ Kessler, Glenn (4 November 2013). "A cautionary tale for politicians: Al Gore and the 'invention' of the Internet". Washington Post - Fact Checker. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  16. ^ Kahn, Bob; Cerf, Vint; et al. (2000-09-29). "Al Gore and the Internet". Retrieved 2007-06-02. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help); Missing |author3= (help)
  17. ^ Richard Wiggins (2000-10-02). "Al Gore and the Creation of the Internet". Retrieved 2014-02-03.
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