Measure to Double IT Research Passes House

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act (NITRD), nearly doubling federal information technology (IT) research over the next five years. Introduced by House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-WI), H.R. 2086 focuses federal IT resources towards fundamental basic research and establishes the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the lead agency for federal civilian IT programs. Other agencies included in the bill are: NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

NITRD groups civilian IT programs at the various agencies into one legislative authorization package. H.R. 2086 also provides steady funding increases over multiple years, as opposed to authorization levels that fluctuate each year. NITRD’s authorizes a total of $6.9 billion over fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

H.R. 2086 now moves to the Senate, where the legislation would be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).