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(1) The Department of Energy, especially in its Office of Science research programs, has played a key role in the development of high performance computing, networking and information technology. Important contributions by the Department include pioneering the concept of remote, interactive

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   (2) The Department of Energy's contributions to networking and information technology have played a key role in the Department's ability to accomplish its statutory missions in the past, in particular through the development of remote access to its facilities. Continued accomplishments in these areas will be needed to continue to carry out these missions in the future.

   (3) The Department of Energy, through its portfolio of unique facilities for scientific research including high energy and nuclear physics laboratories, neutron source and synchrotron facilities, and computing and communications facilities such as the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and Energy Sciences Network, has a unique and vital role in advancing the scientific research, networking and information technology infrastructure for the nation.

   (4) The challenge of remote creation of, access to, visualization of, and simulation with petabyte-scale (1,000,000 gigabyte) data sets generated by experiments at DOE scientific facilities is common to a number of different scientific disciplines. Effective treatment of these problems will likely require collaborative efforts between the university, national laboratory and industrial sectors and involve close interactions of the broader scientific community with computational, networking and information scientists.

   (5) The solution of contemporary challenges facing the Department of Energy in developing and using high-performance computing, networking, communications, and information technologies will be of immense value to the entire nation. Potential benefits include: effective earth, climate, and energy systems modeling; understanding aging and fatigue effects in materials crucial to energy systems; promoting energy-efficient chemical production through rational catalyst design; predicting the structure and functions of the proteins coded by DNA and their response to chemical and radiation damage; designing more efficient combustion systems; and understanding turbulent flow in plasmas in energy and advanced materials applications.

   SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROGRAMS.

   (a) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ACT PROGRAM.--Section 203(a) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5523(a)) is amended--

   (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'';

   (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; and

   (3) by adding after paragraph (4) the following:

   ``(5) conduct an integrated program of research, development, and provision of facilities to develop and deploy to scientific and technical users the high-performance computing and collaboration tools needed to fulfill the statutory missions of the Department of Energy.''.

   (b) COMPUTATION, NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM.--Within the funds authorized under this Act, the Secretary shall provide up to $25,000,000 in each fiscal year for a program of collaborative projects involving remote access to high-performance computing assets or remote experimentation over network facilities. The program shall give priority to cross-disciplinary projects that involve more than one office within the Office of Science of the Department of Energy or that couple the Office of Science with Departmental energy technology offices.

   (c) PROGRAM LINE AUTHORITY.--To the extent consistent with their national security mission, laboratories administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration may compete for funding authorized in this Act to the same extent and on the same terms as other Department of Energy offices and laboratories. Such funding at laboratories administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration shall be under the direct programmatic control of the sponsoring program for the funding in the Department of Energy.

   (d) MERIT REVIEW.--All grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance awarded under programs authorized in this Act shall be made only after being subject to independent merit review by the Department of Energy.

   SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

   There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for the purposes of carrying out section 203 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5523) and this Act $190,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; $285,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

   By Mr. SANTORUM (for himself and Mr. KYL):

   S. 2337. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a refundable credit against in come tax for the pu rchase of private health insurance, and to es tablish State health insurance safety-net programs; to the Committee on Finance.

   THE FAIR CARE FOR THE UNINSURED ACT

• [Begin Insert]

    Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise to join my friend and colleague, Senator JON KYL of Arizona, in introducing the Fair Care for the Uninsured Act of 2000, legislation aimed at ensuring that all Americans, regardless of income, have a basic level of resources to purchase health insurance.

  ;  As we all know, the growing ranks of uninsured Americans--currently 44 million and increasing at a rate of 100,000 per month--remains a major national problem that must be addressed as Congress considers improvements to our healthcare delivery system. The uninsured are three times as likely not to receive needed medical care, at least twice as more likely to need hospitalization for avoidable conditions like pneumonia and diabetes, and four times more likely to rely on an emergency room or have no regular source of care than Americans who are privately insured.

   The Fair Care for the Uninsured Act represents a major step toward helping the uninsured obtain health coverage t hrough the creation of a new tax credit for the pu rchase of private health insurance, a concept which enjoys bipartisan support.

   This legislation directly addresses one of the main barriers which now inhibits access to health insurance for millio ns of Americans: discrimination in the tax code. Most Americans obtain health insurance through th eir place of work, and for good reason: workers receive their employer's contribution toward health insurance completely free from federal taxation (including payroll taxes). This is effectively a $120 billion per year federal subsidy for employer-provided health insurance. By contra st, individuals who purchase their own health insurance get virtua lly no tax relief. Th ey must buy insurance with after -tax dollars, f orcing many to earn twice as much income before taxes in order to purchase the same insurance. This hidd en health tax penalt y ef fectively punishes people who try to buy their insurance outside th e workplace.

   The Fair Care for the Uninsured Act would remedy this situation by creating a parallel system for working families who do not have access to health insurance through th e workplace. Specifically, this legislation creates a refundable tax credit of $1,000 per adult and up to $3,000 per family (indexed for inflation), for the purchase of private health insurance; would be available to individuals and families who don't have access to coverage through the workplace or a federal government program; enables individuals to use their credit to shop fo r a basic plan that best suits their needs which would be portable from job to job; and allows individuals to buy more generous coverage with after-tax dollars. A nd of course the states could supplement the credit.

   This legislation complements a bipartisan consensus which is emerging around this means for addressing the serious problem of uninsured Americans: Instead of creating new government entitlements to medical services, tax credits provide public financing to help uninsured Americans buy private health insurance. Representative DICK ARMEY has been a leader in this field for some time now, having introduced last year similar legislation in the House of Representatives. And just recently, Senators JEFFORDS and BREAUX introduced their own version of health insurance tax credit pro posal h ere in the Senate. I applaud their efforts for advancing this important public policy initiative.

   A tax credit for the pu rchase of insurance would make it possible for many more people to obtain insurance, thereby h elping to lower the total cost of insurance. In reduci ng the amount of uncompensated care that is offset through cost shifting to private insurance plans, and in substantially increasing the insurance base, a he alth insurance tax credit wil l help relieve some of the spiraling costs of our health care deliv ery system. It would also encourage insurance companies to write policies geared to the size of the credit, thus offe ring more options and making it possible for low income families to obtain coverage without paying much more than the available credits.

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   It is time that we reduced the tax bias again st families who do not have access to coverage through their place of work or existing government programs, and to encourage the creation of an effective market for family-selected and family-owned plans, where Americans have more choice and control over their health care dolla rs. The Fair Care for the Uninsured Act would create tax fairness w here currently none exists by requiring that all Americans receive the same tax encouragem ent to purchase health insurance , regardles s of employment.

   It is my hope that my colleagues will join me in endorsing this approach to provide people who purchase health insurance on their o wn similar tax treatment as those who have access to insurance through th eir employer.

   By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. REED, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. ROBB, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. DODD, and Mr. DASCHLE):

   S. 2338. A bill to enhance the enforcement of gun violence laws; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

   THE EFFECTIVE NATIONAL FIREARMS OBJECTIVES FOR RESPONSIBLE, COMMONSENSE ENFORCEMENT (ENFORCE) ACT

• [Begin Insert]

    Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce on behalf of myself and Senators KENNEDY, DURBIN, LAUTENBERG, REED, TORRICELLI, LEVIN, ROBB, MOYNIHAN, BOXER, DODD, and Mr. DASCHLE, the Effective National Firearms Objectives For Responsible, Commonsense Enforcement Act. This bill, I believe, bridges the gap between those who reflexively support the gun lobby and those who strongly support gun control.

   The ENFORCE Act is the culmination of years of research into gun tracing and gun trafficking. It is the next phase in stopping gun violence. It is a bill and an approach to gun crime that works smarter and works harder.

   This bill works smarter by ridding us of many of the laws that have shielded illegal gun traffickers and dirty gun dealers from prosecution. It uses the latest in gun tracing data and ballistics technology to make it possible for law enforcement to zero in on the bad apples, throw the book at them, and leave the rest alone. It works harder by finally giving ATF the street agents they need to crack down on high crime gun dealers and to prosecute more gun crimes.

   Let me outline a few provisions in this legislation. First, this bill will fund 500 new ATF agents and inspectors to crack down on dirty gun dealers. These new agents will target high-crime gun dealers who supply firearms to criminals and juveniles and crack down on violent gun criminals and illegal gun traffickers at gun shows, gun stores, and on the streets.

   ENFORCE will also give ATF the authority to investigate high crime-gun stores. Under current law, the ATF is only allowed to conduct one unannounced inspection of a licensed dealer a year. The bill would allow the ATF to conduct four compliance inspections annually of licensed firearms dealers, importers, and manufacturers.

   In addition, this legislation will authorize funds to hire an additional 1,000 local, state and federal prosecutors to expand the Project Exile program in high gun-crime areas. In cases where federal law enforcement authorities defer to state prosecutors, this funding would ensure that state prosecutors have sufficient resources. Furthermore, ENFORCE authorizes funding for federal prosecutors and gun enforcement teams to coordinate efforts with local law enforcement and to determine where federal prosecution is warranted.

   ENFORCE will also create a comprehensive ballistics DNA testing network. The Act would triple current funding for ballistics testing programs to support the deployment of 150 ballistics imaging units, helping to link bullets and shell casings to the crime-guns they were fired from.

   ENFORCE will expand to 50 cities and counties the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII), which would dramatically increase tracing of crime guns to find sources. Participating cities and counties' law enforcement agencies would submit and share identifying information about crime guns and conduct law enforcement investigations regarding illegal youth users of firearms and illegal traffickers of firearms to youth. The Secretary of the Treasury would provide an annual report on the types and sources of recovered crime guns and the number of investigations associated with YCGII.

   The bill would also fund $10 million for smart gun technology research and development. New state-of-the-art innovations could limit a gun's use to its owner or other authorized users--and could therefore prevent accidental shooting deaths of children, detect gun theft, and stop criminals from seizing and using the guns of police officers against them.

   ENFORCE is a comprehensive package of measures that will strengthen the enforcement of existing gun laws and target high crime-gun dealers to reduce gun violence and to keep firearms out of the hands of children and criminals. The gun lobby has been calling for more enforcement. This is as tough and effective an enforcement bill as ever drafted. Gun rights and gun control supporters ought to step up to the plate and pass it.

• [End Insert]

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