President's Information Technology Advisory Committee
Press release: June 12, 1998
Executive Office of the President
Office of Science and Technology Policy
June 12, 1998
Contact: 456-6047
Presidential Commission Sees Nation Benefiting from Increased
Information Technology Funding
The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee on High
Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology,
and the Next Generation Internet -- a panel of corporate leaders and
university experts appointed by President Clinton -- sent a letter
to the President last week urging that public investments in computer,
communication, and other information technology research be significantly
expanded to ensure an ever-increasing standard of living and quality
of life for our people.
The Committee concluded that "...information technology presents
enormous opportunities for growing the economy and improving health
care, education, public safety, the environment and many other areas
of importance to the nation...we should be increasing, not reducing
federal investments in this critical area."
The letter is signed by the co-chairs of the committee, Ken Kennedy,
the Ann and John Doerr Professor of Computational Engineering at Rice
University, and Bill Joy, Vice President for Research at Sun Microsystems.
A report detailing the committee's recommendations is scheduled to
be released in early July, 1998.
In his June 5, 1998 commencement address at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, President Clinton underscored his commitment to a strong
federal program in this area when he said "...in just the past
four years, information technology has been responsible for more than
a third of our economic expansion. Without government-funded research,
computers, the Internet, communications satellites wouldn't have gotten
started. In the budget I submit to Congress for the year 2000, I will
call for significant increases in computing and communications research.
I have directed Dr. Neal Lane, my new Advisor for Science and Technology,
to work with our nation's research community to prepare a detailed
plan for my review."
Responding to the Committee's letter, Dr. Neal Lane said, "As
we enter the 21st century, our ability to harness the power and the
promise of leading-edge advances in information technology will determine,
in large measure, our national prosperity, security, and global influence.
I share the Committee's belief in the importance of increasing our
investments, within tight budget constraints, to advance information
technology in innovative ways; and I look forward to working closely
with them to identify the most critical areas of research." |
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