Information Technology Frontiers for a New Millenium Transmittal Letter

	Letter from Neal Lane
	The White House Washington   April 8, 1999   Members of Congress:   I am pleased to forward with this letter "High Performance Computing and Communications: Information Technology Frontiers for a New Millennium," a report prepared by the Subcommittee on Computing, Information, and Communications Research and Development of the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Technology. This report supplements the President's FY 2000 Budget and highlights the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) programs' FY 1999 accomplishments and FY 2000 plans.   Today's HPCC programs provide the research and development (R&D) foundations to help advance software, infrastructure, and applications that allow us to develop a world-class education system, build a stronger national defense, create access to affordable high quality health care, and improve the quality of life for all Americans. Working cooperatively with academia and industry, the multi-agency HPCC progams descrived in this report support important national missions and foster innovation and discovery through development of advanced computing infrastructures.   In the FY 2000 budget, the President proposes to expand and extend the HPCC programs with a $366 million initiative known as IT2, or Information Technology for the Twenty-First Century. Developed in response to the 1999 report by the Congressionally-chartered President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), the initiative will provide increased support of long-term, high-risk, fundamental research in computing; develop new advanced computational infrastructure for science and engineering; and fund research into the social, economic, and workforce implications of information technologies. The initiative is a vital first step in responding to the PITAC's call for increased funding for long-term, high-risk R&D that will enable our nation to remain at the forefront of the Information Revolution.   As we embark on the new information-driven millennium, the Administration looks forward to working with Congress to strengthen investments in fundamental information technology research to solidify further the technological base that lies at the heart of America's scientific and economic leadership.     Neal Lane Assistant to the President for Science and Technology