President Clinton Welcomes Plan to Strengthen U.S. Leadership in
Information Technology
August 10, 1998
Mr. Bill Joy, Co-Chair
Dr. Ken Kennedy, Co-Chair
National Coordination Office for Computing,
Information, and Communications
Suite 690, 4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230
Dear Bill and Ken:
Thank you for your Interim Report advising me of the President's Information
Technology Advisory Committee's (PITAC) findings and recommendations
on future directions for federal support of information technology
research and development. The Vice President joins me in thanking
you and the other PITAC members for your guidance on how best to preserve
America's commanding lead in computing and communications technology.
Our nation's economic future and the welfare of our citizens depend
on continued advances and innovations in the information technologies
that have produced so many remarkable developments in science, engineering,
medicine, business, and education. Sustained prosperity for America
requires a steady stream of technological innovation. The knowledge-based
society of the next century makes our participation in the front ranks
of research essential if our nation is to capture the gains of scientific
and technological advances. Half of our economic productivity in the
last half century is attributable to scientific and technological
innovation. One third of our economic growth since 1992 has been spurred
by businesses in the computing and communications industries. Information
technology sustains our global competitiveness, provides opportunities
for lifelong learning, and expands our ability to solve critical problems
affecting our environment, health care and national security.
Through my Administration's initiatives in computing and communications,
such as the Next Generation Internet, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency's support for breakthrough technologies, the Department
of Energy's high performance computing programs, and the National
Science Foundation's Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence emphasis,
we have laid the foundations for the technological advances that promise
to profoundly transform the next millennium. Yet, to maintain this
momentum, we must adequately fund critical federal investments in
fundamental research. In my recent speech at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, I proposed significant increases in computing and communications
research. Your proposed research agenda will help guide Dr. Neal Lane,
my Assistant for Science and Technology, in developing a detailed
plan for my review.
For six years in a row, I have proposed budget increases to sustain
American leadership across the frontiers of scientific knowledge.
Most recently, I was pleased to sign into law the National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 1998, which will create new knowledge,
spur innovations, foster future breakthroughs, and provide cutting-edge
research facilities that will produce the finest American scientists
and engineers for the 21st century.
I am hopeful that the Congress and my Administration can work together
to advance the leading edges of computational science to help us discover
new technologies that can make this a better world. We have a duty
-- to ourselves, to our children, and to future generations -- to
make these and other farsighted investments in science and technology
to take America into the next century well-equipped for the challenges
and opportunities that lie ahead.
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton
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