THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

MOVING MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES TO THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

As we shift from a defense-oriented to a civilian-oriented technology base and prepare for the 21st century, America has a window of opportunity to develop and apply advanced manufacturing technologies to improve the competitiveness of our manufacturing industries. By properly focusing and coordinating our national research and development effort, we can enhance the ability of U.S. manufacturers to compete in domestic and international markets.

The Clinton Administration's technology policy reflects the reality that both American industry and government have underinvested in manufacturing technology, even though a strong manufacturing capability, like a highly skilled national workforce, is a critical determinant of the Nation's global economic competitiveness. In 1992, the Federal investment in commercially-oriented relevant manufacturing R&D represented less than 2 percent of the Federal R&D budget, significantly less than the shares allocated by other industrialized nations.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES

The Administration is crafting a government-wide strategy to speed the development and application of advanced manufacturing technologies. The Committee on Civilian Industrial Technologies, chaired by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, is completing plans for a coordinated interagency effort to promote:

• partnerships to support manufacturing R&D in government laboratories, universities, and industrial consortia;
• rapid adoption of advanced technologies through a nationwide network of industrial outreach services;
• development and diffusion of environmentally benign manufacturing practices; and
• strengthening and expansion of manufacturing and engineering education and worker training programs.

Within Federal science and technology agencies, manufacturing research will receive greater attention. The Administration championed, and Congress approved, a sizable FY 1994 budget increase to deepen and broaden the laboratory, competitive-grants, and manufacturing extension programs of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

A portion of the 21-percent increase in funding for NIST's intramural research (to $226 million) will be used to increase the agency's advanced manufacturing research.

At NIST and other Federal laboratories, information technology and its applications will be a major focus of manufacturing research. Plans call for transforming NIST's Automated Manufacturing Research Facility, a factory-like laboratory for developing the technology for flexible computer-integrated manufacturing, into a national testbed for the network technologies and protocols needed for virtual manufacturing enterprises. The facility will become a node in an experimental, electronic manufacturing network linked to counterpart research facilities in companies, government laboratories, and universities.

In March, an industry-led, federally facilitated effort achieved initial international acceptance of a universal standardized system for electronic exchanges of technical information on products and manufacturing processes.

The digital format, called Standard for the Exchange of Product (STEP) model data, was approved as a draft standard by the International Organization for Standardization; after a 6-month comment period, it will become an international standard. Wide-scale adoption of a standardized, digital format for describing part information would eliminate many of the barriers that prevent units within companies and groups of companies from working as teams on design and manufacturing projects.

In September, Ford Motor Co.'s Powertrain Operations in Dearborn, MI, and the Department of Energy's Allied/Signal Kansas City Plant jointly designed and built an engine part using the STEP standard. The Departments of Commerce and Defense now are playing key supporting roles in the drive to develop standards that enable agile manufacturing.

DOE has taken several actions to make extensive in-house manufacturing facilities available to U.S. industry. Much of the advanced equipment that once was restricted to classified personnel can now be used by industry,university, and other government researchers. For example, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's once highly secretive Y-12 plant made components for nuclear warheads and optical components for the former Strategic Defense Initiative. Now, outside researchers have access to one Y-12 plant's concurrent engineering center, prototyping facility, and ultraprecision manufacturing equipment that were formerly reserved for military work. Additional efforts to enhance industrial competitiveness are being planned as the Y-12 plant is fully converted into a Center for Defense and Manufacturing Technology.

DOE is pursuing a wide range of initiatives to make its manufacturing technologies, capabilities, and know-how available to U.S. industry. In addition to contracted R&D work in support of the Department's defense and energy missions, DOE is stressing cooperative work with individual firms and with teams of companies, making available to industry its specialized centers of manufacturing expertise, and collaborating with Federal and State agencies in efforts to enhance the capabilities and competitive performance of small and medium-sized manufacturers. Currently, DOE has under way or in negotiation more than 115 advanced manufacturing cooperative projects involving more than 60 companies. Over the life of the projects, the level of effort is expected to exceed $270 million.

Over the past 9 months, the Defense Department's shift to foster a dual-use manufacturing capability has gained momentum, propelled by the Administration's Technology Reinvestment Project and planned reform of an acquisition process that discouraged integration of defense and commercial technology-development efforts (see page 51). For example, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (formerly the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), long successful in nurturing progress in the development of technologies that have enabled the Nation to maintain a superior military, is undertaking an ambitious program to speed the development of dual-use technologies in strategically important areas. Research on dual-use technology accounts for a substantial portion of the agency's $2.2 billion budget.

ARPA allocated about $600 million for manufacturing-related research during FY 1994. It is investing its resources to drive advances in materials and materials processing, production technology, design-process integration, agile manufacturing, and enterprise integration.

The National Science Foundation and ARPA are running a joint program to support agile manufacturing projects led by industry and hosted by a university or not-for-profit institute. Award announcements are expected early in 1994.

MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

Working with a growing roster of Federal agencies and laboratories and State and local organizations, the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology is moving ahead in its plans to build a nationwide network of electronically linked manufacturing extension centers. As envisioned in the Administration's Technology for America's Economic Growth, A New Direction to Build Economic Strength, this Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MEP, will provide a coordinated mechanism for delivering technical and business support services to the nation's 350,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers.

These firms employ some 6 million Americans, supply components to U.S. makers of higher-value-added products such as computers and automobiles and are essential to the health of regional, State, and local economies.

Yet, a sizable fraction of these critically important elements of the manufacturing "food chain" have been slow to adopt modern, performance-enhancing equipment, production methods, and organizational techniques, leaving them illprepared to meet the challenges posed by foreign competitors that are exploiting the advantages of modern technology.

Through the MEP, the Administration is following through on its pledge to establish a nationwide network of 100 manufacturing extension centers by 1997 to assist manufacturers to modernize their production capabilities. Concrete steps taken thus far to build this vital component of the Nation's manufacturing infrastructure are described below.

• NIST designed scale-up plans that allow the MEP to expand smoothly and to maintain both high-quality standards and close regional and local linkages.
• The deployment portion of the Administration's Technology Reinvestment Project includes $87 million for manufacturing extension programs (see page 51). Aimed at improving the quality, productivity, and performance of small manufacturing firms, the industrial outreach programs approved by the Defense Department-managed TRP will speed development of the nationwide MEP network.
• As requested by the President, Congress has approved a two-thirds increase in the MEP budget, raising it to $30.2 million in FY 1994.
• Linkages have been formed recently between the MEP and Federal agencies with roles to play in the delivery of technical assistance and workforce training and small business support services. Alliances with the:

     Environmental Protection Agency will help U.S. manufacturers
     adopt technologies and practices that can reduce sources of
     pollution.

     Small Business Administration will link NIST's seven
     existing regional Manufacturing Technology Centers with
     SBA's Small Business Development Centers. SBDC subcenters
     will be set up in each MTC to provide business-planning and
     financial services geared to the needs of manufacturers.

     Navy and University of Maryland will promote adoption of
     "best manufacturing practices" identified in a long-standing
     Navy benchmarking program.

     Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore Laboratory will
     provide industrial clients of the California MTC with access
     to laboratory scientists and engineers and to its research
     and testing facilities.

     Department of Labor will focus on workforce training needs
     and will provide MEP personnel with tools to assess the
     training needs of client firms.

     The Labor Department also will assist the MEP in helping
     businesses to integrate new technology with innovative
     workplace practices and human resource policies.

• Implementation of TECNET, an electronic dissemination and access system, has begun, initially linking the NIST MTCs and client firms. TECNET will be the backbone of the MEP electronic network, which will provide manufacturers with easily accessible technology and business-support services.

The Departments of Commerce and Energy now are expanding and diversifying already-existing collaborative efforts to strengthen industrial outreach efforts, including a toll-free number that provides U.S. machine-tool manufacturers with access to NIST and DOE manufacturing experts. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Y-12 plant provides technical assistance to the Southeast MTC, and it has a field staff that works with Southeast manufacturers and responds to telephone inquiries. This year alone, Y-12 plant personnel have responded to about 500 requests for help.

At Sandia National Laboratories, an electronic technicalassistance system will soon go on line. Called the Technology Information Environment for Industry, or TIE-In, the system will contain technical databases, technology tutorials, analytical tools, and other resources. It also will provide industrial users with access to high-performance computers.

MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVENESS INITIATIVE

The Department of Commerce plans to begin an annual strategic assessment of the health of the U.S. manufacturing base. This assessment will characterize the comparative strength of U.S. manufacturing, measuring the extent to which U.S. industry has adopted modern manufacturing technologies and modern workforce and organizational practices. An understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. manufacturing will help to direct government resources and guide the development of legal and regulatory policies.

U.S.-JAPAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

With Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Commerce Department initiated, in January, an innovative program to place U.S. engineers in Japanese manufacturing firms for up to 1 year. The goal of the Manufacturing Technology Fellowship Program is to help U.S. engineers to learn Japanese manufacturing practices firsthand and to promote long-term professional exchanges with the Japanese. More than 60 Japanese firms have signed on as host organizations. Numbering 30, the first fellows will begin working for their host companies in February 1994 after a thorough orientation and training session. An agreement reached with the Society of ManufacturingEngineers provides additional private-sector involvement.

ELECTRONICS

Electronic devices, components, and systems are vital "building-block" technologies of modern industry and commerce. The public and private sectors must devote increased effort to maintaining U.S. leadership in those areas of electronics where it remains strong. They also must strive to recover lost ground in established and emerging technology areas dominated by foreign industry.

Comparative competitive assessments indicate that the United States lags well behind the competition in 13 critical electronic technologies, including optical information storage, multichip packaging systems, and display technology.

Two key thrusts of the Defense Department's dual-use technology strategy information technology and advanced manufacturing focus directly on issues critical to the health of the U.S. electronics sector. The ability to perform massive amounts of computing equivalent to that done on today's supercomputers on machines scaled for use by individuals or by individual enterprises will revolutionize information processing. Over the next 5 years, new scalable computer architectures will make extremely powerful software applications available to users over a broad range of computers. Computers with this common software will enable a wide range of users to analyze problems that now require the most specialized of systems. A new Defense Department initiative will help to establish a new computing paradigm based on scalable, affordable systems, from workstations to supercomputers with 200 times the capabilities of today's machines.

A second major R&D activity will establish an all-optical network testbed operating at 100 gigabit (billion bits) per second by 1995 or 10 times faster than the commercial networks that will then be available. The network testbed will be the foundation of an information superhighway that can provide new commercial opportunities to U.S. manufacturing and service firms.

The dual-use thrust in advanced manufacturing will emphasizemultichip modules, a technology offering the potential to interconnect dozens of "bare" silicon chips in a single package no larger than the packages that now hold individual integrated circuits. At the system level, the benefits of this technology could translate into a 70-percent reduction in volume and weight, a doubling of performance capabilities, and a tenfold increase in reliability. The Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing more than $75 million annually to help develop a viable domestic merchant multichip module infrastructure, enabling the United States to compete strongly in a new industry anticipated to have a multibillion dollar global market by the end of this decade.

Other actions in the electronics R&D area taken during the Administration's first 9 months include:

• ARPA provided $20 million in July to a consortium of display manufacturers working with government to create an infrastructure supporting the development and growth of a U.S. display industry. Modeled after SEMATECH, the effort is one element of ARPA's High Definition Systems program, which aims to rebuild U.S. strength in this militarily and commercially important technology area now dominated by foreign competition.
• ARPA is investing $8 million annually to support R&D work on microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS. A revolutionary enabling technology with applications in many commercial industries and in "smart" defense systems, MEMS are fabricated from the same materials and with the same processes used to make today's integrated circuits. Goals of the program include: demonstrating processes and prototyping systems; merging sensors, actuators, and computing devices; and lowering the barriers to access and commercialization by developing an infrastructure to support multiuser design, fabrication, and testing of new MEMS.
• ARPA's support for SEMATECH in FY 1994 will focus on the manufacturing tools and methodologies needed for low-cost, flexible, scalable manufacturing to meet defense and commercial needs. Currently, the industry is optimized to produce single part types in large volumes. Emphasis will be on combining advances in manufacturing equipment with software innovations to enable state-of-the-art microelectronics manufacturing facilities capable of producing many part types in rapid turnaround time and with reduced cost sensitivity to manufacturing volume.
• ARPA's Advanced Materials Synthesis and Processing Partnerships Program began negotiations with several consortia to advance dual-use technology objectives in strategically important areas of electronics and photonics:

Smart materials and structures ($4.5 million);

     Advanced molecular beam epitaxy technology ($4.7 million);
     Organic thin-film materials for optoelectronic technologies
     ($2.5 million);
     and
     
     Visible vertical cavity surface emitting laser ($4.6
     million).

• The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories are coordinating their R&D efforts and assigning 40 researchers to address priority technology needs and issues identified by the Semiconductor Industry Association. In March, Sandia and NIST announced that they will align their efforts with the trade association's technological road map, which details the technological milestones that U.S. integrated circuit manufacturers must achieve to remain internationally competitive.
• NIST issued in April a comprehensive summary specifying the broad range of measurement needs that must be addressed to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in electronics. The publication, Measurements for Competitiveness, was developed in consultation with industry, and it has been favorably reviewed by some 20 industry periodicals. A portion of the FY 1994 increases sought and received by the Administration will support expanded NIST laboratory research and services for industry in this area.

REALIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THE INFORMATION AGE

Information is a critical resource, for service industries as well as manufacturing, for economic as well as national security. By one estimate, two-thirds of U.S. workers are in information-related jobs, and the rest are in industries that rely heavily on information.

The Clinton Administration has taken a leadership role in putting information technology and resources to better use in promoting U.S. economic growth. The Administration recognizes clearly that Americans have a stake in the construction of an advanced National Information Infrastructure (NII), a web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips. The information infrastructure can be used by all Americans, not just by scientists and engineers. As entrepreneurs, factory workers, doctors, teachers, school children, users of public libraries, Federal employees, and citizens, Americans can harness this technology to:

• create jobs, spur growth, and foster U.S. technological leadership;
• reduce health care costs while increasing the quality of service in underserved areas;
• deliver higher-quality, lower-cost government services;
• prepare our children for the fast-paced workplace of the 21st century;
• support lifelong learning; and
• build a more open and participatory democracy at all levels of government.

THE NII: A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION

Promoting rapid, equitable, and smooth development and use of the NII is one of the Administration's highest priorities. In September, Vice President Gore and Commerce Secretary Brown released a policy statement and action agenda for speeding up full development and utilization of the NII. The policy statement clearly recognizes that private-sector firms are already developing and deploying that infrastructure today. It is the private sector that will build and own the NII of tomorrow. Nevertheless, there remain essential roles for government in complementing the efforts of the private sector and assuring the growth of an information infrastructure available to all Americans at reasonable cost.

In developing our initiatives in this area, the Administration is working in close partnerships with business, labor, academia, the public, Congress, and State and local government.

To ensure effective coordination of government activities and full involvement of the private sector, the President:

• Established an interagency Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) to work with Congress and the private sector to develop initiatives needed to accelerate deployment of a National Information Infrastructure. Chaired by Commerce Secretary Brown and composed of high-level Federal agency representatives, the IITF's three committees are now focusing on telecommunications policy, information policy, and applications.
• Established a private-sector Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. The Council will consist of 25 members, who will be named by Secretary Brown by December 1993.

ACTION PLAN AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Information Infrastructure Task Force is undertaking work in nine major areas where government action is warranted.

• Promoting private-sector investment, through tax and regulatory policies that encourage innovation and promote long-term investment, as well as wise procurement of services.

The Administration is working with Congress to pass legislation by the end of 1994 that will increase competition and ensure universal access in communications markets particularly those, such as the cable television and local telephone markets, that have been dominated by monopolies. Such legislation will explicitly promote private-sector infrastructure investment both by companies already in the market and those seeking entry.

The President has signed into law tax incentives for private-sector investment in R&D and new business formation, including a 3-year extension of the R&D credit and a targeted capital gains reduction for investments that will help spur the private-sector investment needed to develop the NII.

• Extending the "universal service" concept to ensure that information resources are available to all at affordable prices. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a series of public hearings on universal service and the NII, beginning by December 1993. Building on the knowledge gained from these activities, the IITF will work with the NII Advisory Council and with State regulatory commissions to determine how the universal service concept should be applied in the 21st century.
• Promoting technological innovation and new applications. The Administration will commit government research programs and grants to help the private sector develop technologies needed for the NII. These government programs will focus on the development of public applications in such fields as education and health care.

The Administration will continue the High-Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program. This program funds R&D designed to create more powerful computers, faster computer networks, and more sophisticated software. It is also intended to enable scientists and engineers to tackle "Grand Challenges," such as forecasting the weather, building more energy efficient cars, designing life-saving drugs, and designing and simulating next-generation aircraft. The Administration requested $1 billion for the HPCC Program in FY 1994 and is in the process of forming a "High-Performance Computing Advisory Committee" to provide private-sector input on the Program.

The Administration requested an additional $96 million in the FY 1994 budget to create a new component of the HPCC Program Information Infrastructure Technologies and Applications (IITA). This program will develop and apply high-performance computing and high-speed networking technologies for use in the fields of health care, education, libraries, manufacturing, and provision of government information.

The Administration won FY 1994 funding from the Congress for NII networking pilot and demonstration projects. Under NTIA's direction, this $26 million pilot program will provide matching grants to State and local governments, health care providers, school districts, libraries, universities, and other non-profit entities. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and will fund projects to connect institutions to existing networks, enhance communications networks that are currently operational, and permit users to interconnect among different networks.

Another $40 million was requested for research by the Department of Energy's national laboratories on technologies and applications related to the information infrastructure.

By the end of January 1994, the IITF will complete an inventory of current and planned government activities and will widely disseminate the results through electronic and printed means. The IITF applications committee is establishing an electronic forum to encourage government and private-sector contributions and comments about government applications projects.

NASA recently launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), an experimental testbed bringing together industry, government, and academia to test pioneering concepts and technologies that advance on-demand, flexible communications services. Over 50 experiments are scheduled in areas such as business communications and supercomputer networking, as well as technology verification and scientific research. To date, over 21 industrial partners and 25 universities have developed experiments for ACTS and have agreed to contribute $8 million over the life of the program.

• Promoting interactive, user-driven operation of the NII. As the NII evolves into a "network of networks," government will ensure that users can transfer information across networks easily and efficiently. To assure interoperability and openness of the many components of an efficient, high-capacity NII, standards for voice, video, data, and multimedia services must be developed. Those standards also must be compatible with the large installed base of communications technologies and be flexible and adaptable enough to meet user needs at affordable costs.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has named an interagency panel to review open systems network requirements and recommend policies on the use of networking standards by the Federal Government. The panel will consider issues related to the Internet Protocol Suite and Open Systems Interconnection specifications, as well as proprietary networking protocols.

The Administration also will work closely with the private sector, as well as State and local governments, to identify government policies and regulations that may hinder the growth of interactive services and applications. The IITF will determine how those regulations should be changed.

• Ensuring information security and network reliability. The NII must be trustworthy and secure, protecting the privacy of its users. Government action also will aim to ensure that the overall system remains reliable, quickly repairable in the event of failure, and, perhaps most important, easy to use.

The Administration is completing a Presidentially directed review of Federal policies on encryption technology. In addition, Federal agencies are seeking to work more closely with industry to develop new technologies that protect the privacy of citizens, while enabling law enforcement agencies to continue to use court-authorized wiretaps to fight terrorism, drug rings, organized crime, and corruption.

The National Communications System (NCS) brings together 23 Federal agencies with industry to reduce the vulnerability of the Nation's telecommunications systems to accident, sabotage, natural disaster, or military attack. And the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has an industry and user Network Reliability Council to advise it on ensuring the reliability of the Nation's commercial telecommunications networks. These efforts are increasingly important as the threat posed by terrorism and computing hacking grows.

• Improving management of the radio frequency spectrum, an increasingly critical resource. Many of the dramatic changes expected from the development of the information infrastructure will grow out of advances in wireless technologies. The ability to access the resources of the NII at any time, from any-where in the country, will be constrained, however, if there is inadequate spectrum available.

The President in August 1993 signed the Emerging Telecommunications Technology Act, which directs the Secretary of Commerce to transfer, over a 10-year period, at least 200 MHz of spectrum now used by Federal agencies to the FCC for subsequent licensing to the private sector. It allows the FCC to use competitive bidding to grant new license assignments for spectrum.

This will accelerate the development of new wireless industries such as Personal Communications Services and will help to create good jobs. The entire cellular industry, which has generated 100,000 jobs, was created by licensing only 50 MHz of spectrum. The Commerce Department is currently determining what frequencies should be transferred to the FCC.

The Administration has pledged support for greater reliance on market principles in distributing spectrum among the widely differing wireless services that will be a part of the NII. At the same time, the Administration will promote policies to ensure that entrepreneurs and small, rural, and minority and women-owned businesses are able to participate in spectrum auctions. The FCC is currently conducting proceedings to implement these policies.

• Protecting intellectual property rights. The Administration will recommend ways to strengthen domestic copyright laws and international intellectual property treaties to prevent piracy and to protect the integrity of intellectual property.

To ensure broad access to information via the NII, the IITF will study how traditional concepts of fair use should apply with respect to new media and new works.

The IITF will explore the need for standards for the identification of copyright ownership of information products in electronic systems (e.g., electronic headers, labels, or signature techniques).

• Coordinating with other levels of government and with other nations.

Because information crosses State, regional, and national boundaries, coordination is important to avoid unnecessary obstacles and to prevent unfair policies that handicap U.S. industry.

The IITF is planning to meet later this month with State and local officials, the private sector, and non-Federal agencies as it devises proposals for regulatory reform and other NII policy issues.

The Administration will work directly on behalf of U.S. firms to open overseas markets for telecommunications-related goods and services to potential overseas customers. This includes elimination of trade barriers raised by incompatible U.S. and foreign standards or more subtly between the methods used to test conformance to standards. The Administration also is working to lift export controls that handicap U.S. manufacturers of computers and telecommunications equipment.

The IITF will coordinate the Administration's examination of policy issues related to the delivery of telecommunications services to and from the United States, including claims by some U.S. companies that regulatory practices in foreign countries deny market access for U.S. carriers and impose excessive charges for completing calls from the United States, thus harming the competitiveness of U.S. industry.

• Providing access to government information and improving government procurement. As described in the National Performance Review, Federal agencies, in concert with State and local governments, will use the NII to open the immense reservoir of government information to easy public access. Additionally, Federal procurement policies for telecommunications and information services and equipment will promote important technical developments for the NII and provide attractive incentives for the private sector to contribute to NII development.

IITF working groups will carefully consider the problems associated with making government information broadly accessible to the public electronically.

Additionally, several interagency efforts have begun to ensure that the right information is stored and available. Finally, to help the public find government information, an interagency project will develop a virtual card catalog to indicate the availability of government information in whatever form it takes.

The Federal Government has taken a number of steps to promote wider distribution of its public reports. A number of Federal agencies are converting their public information into electronic form and disseminating it over the Internet. In September, "FedWorld," an electronic locator and gateway to government information operated by the Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service (NTIS), was made accessible via Internet. FedWorld links the public with more than 100 Federal bulletin boards and information centers.

In June 1993, OMB prescribed new policies that will lower the cost to the public of acquiring information from Federal agencies. Among other things, the policies mandate that, in distributing information to the public, Federal agencies should recoup only those costs associated with the dissemination of that information, not with its creation or collection. Other efforts are also under way to afford greater public access to the government. One project would turn thousands of local and field offices of various Federal agencies into Interactive Citizen Participation Centers, at which citizens can communicate with the public affairs departments of all Federal agencies.

The President and Vice President have made White House documents accessible to the public via electronic mail. The Administration is using on-line information services and the Internet to make available speeches, press briefings, executive orders, and a summary of the budget.

DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY: THE PAYOFFS FOR ECONOMIC AND MILITARY SECURITY

Historically, this Nation's policies to support the development of advanced industrial technology were motivated primarily by national security concerns. This linkage traces back to post-Revolutionary times, when the government spurred the development of an interchangeable parts approach to manufacturing to meet a pressing need for rifles. The government's impact on manufacturing was significant then and it remained so, at least until recently.

During and after World War II, new high-technology industries were driven and assisted by the government's push to strengthen national security. Defense programs dominated the Federal Government's R&D portfolio. The payoffs were substantial, with U.S. industry benefiting from defense-driven investments.

But an increasingly inflexible defen acquisition process lengthened production cycles and increased costs at the same time that commercial enterprises began the drive to reduce costs and time to market. Defense systems' development needs and benefits diverged from the industrial mainstream, which was spurred by stiff overseas competition and dramatic technology advances.

Today, though defense continues to blaze the trail in key areas of leading-edge research, the rate at which that innovation is actually moved into production often lags well behind that of commercial industry in important sectors such as computers and microelectronics.

Three Pillars of a 21st-Century Defense Technology Strategy The Clinton Administration intends to reverse this trend and will pursue more efficient and effective strategies for defense investments in technology. The three pillars that will serve as the foundation for a 21st-century defense technology strategy are:

• Reform the current Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition process, now biased against the use of commercial processes and products within defense systems.
• Focus more R&D within DOD on dual-use products and processes, emphasizing the need to achieve advances in high-tech defense systems that are affordable.
• Reach out globally to our allies, to benefit from international cooperation on a technology-by-technology basis.

These strategic thrusts are beginning to redirect this Nation's massive defense investment so that it is both more effective and more supportive of our broader industrial base.

Reform the current DOD acquisition process to encourage the use of commercial processes and products within defense systems. By using components, technologies, and subsystems developed by commercial industry whenever possible, defense should be able to attain three compatible objectives:

• Shorten development times, increasing the pace at which innovation is incorporated into new defense systems in critical areas. Introduce the commercial high-tech sector's continuous stream of improvements and updates during both the development and deployment phase.
• Reduce costs for procuring leading technology to satisfy military needs. Commercial components, technologies, and subsystems in many instances can meet functional needs at lower costs than technology that is military-driven and customized. Eliminate unnecessary military specifications, testing requirements, and procurement procedures.
• Prepare for building back military capabilities. Close integration with the private sector is imperative if the Nation is to be equipped to quickly gear up its capabilities.

Focus more R&D within DOD on dual-use products and processes, emphasizing affordable advances in high-tech defense systems. Investments in technologies that are both critical to defense systems and vital to commercial industries serve a dual use.

Dual-use technologies include manufacturing processes as well as products. For example, the Microelectronics Manufacturing Science and Technology (MMST) Program supported by DOD was designed to develop fast, flexible, cost-effective techniques for manufacturing semiconductors. The primary goal was to meet military needs for relatively small batches of semiconductors at affordable cost, but the technology is valuable to commercial production as well. In fact, it was developed in partnership with the commercial division of Texas Instruments.

Reach out globally to our allies, to benefit from international cooperation on a technology-by-technology basis. Technology today is global, flowing with relative freedom across national boundaries. We need to ensure that the flow of defense technology-related knowledge is not just one way. In the recent past, we have shared considerable expertise and technology with our allies. A part of our strategy now must be to strengthen our relationships with allies and explore how they may be helpful to us in solving technology-based problems.

PROGRESS TO DATE

The Administration has taken concrete steps to implement its new vision for a defense strategy, which makes the most of our national investment in technology by supporting both military and economic strength:

• DOD is explicitly emphasizing dual-use R&D to better integrate defense technology development with commercial industry. This is a break from past Administrations' unwillingness to address defense technology's dual-use needs and opportunities. Application of critical technologies will be accelerated in four focused "thrust areas": information technology, manufacturing, materials, and advanced simulation and training.
• President Clinton has changed the name of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to reflect its new focus on dual-use technologies. ARPA is rebalancing its advanced research portfolio while continuing its emphasis on electronics and information processing; it is also strongly supporting the High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative and the National Information Infrastructure, two notable dual-use efforts. ARPA also is seeking to transform manufacturing production processes through advances in materials, equipment, design-process integration, agile manufacturing, and enterprise integration. A key to ARPA's strategy is its emphasis on partnerships and cost sharing.
• The Administration successfully launched the Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), the largest multiagency technology program ever conducted by the Federal Government. President Clinton introduced this top-priority dual-use effort in March 1993 as a cornerstone of his $1.7 billion Defense Reinvestment and Conversion Initiative. The TRP stresses partnering among industry, government, and universities; it has drawn a powerful show of interest, especially from industry.

TRP funds are available for three key areas: technology development, to create new technologies with the potential for commercialization within 5 years; technology deployment, to disseminate existing technology for near term commercial and defense products and to support improved use of technologies in small businesses; and manufacturing education and training, to strengthen engineering and workforce capabilities necessary for a competitive industrial base.

Six Federal agencies jointly manage and implement the TRP. Led by the Defense Department's ARPA, the other participating agencies are the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Transportation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.

Project managers sought broad participation through an "800" hotline and a series of regional briefings sponsored by the White House. The hotline received 35,000 calls and 55,000 information packages were distributed, reflecting an extraordinary level of interest. More than 2,800 proposals, requesting $8.5 billion, were submitted in response to the offer of $472 million in merit-based, matching Federal grants from the TRP. Proposals were received from organizations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The President on October 22 announced the first successful applicants:

41 projects accounting for $140 million in requested Federal matching funds.

The remainder of the awards will be announced in November.

Planning is under way for an expected follow-up round of competitions for the TRP.

• Technology application efforts and acquisition are beginning to reflect the new strategy for integrating defense and commercial technologies. Advanced Technology Demonstrations (ATD) in DoD are increasing the focus on manufacturing and speeding the rate at which new technology is fielded by our military. For example, the Technology for Affordability "thrust" is now seeking major advances in design tools, process integration and control, and production management.
• DOD is emphasizing technology in the acquisition process to improve efficiency. An example is a greatly enhanced Continuous Acquisition Life-Cycle Support (CALS) program, which aims to automate much of the routine work associated with logistics support. Another element is automation of the procurement process, with pilot programs being launched to electronically advertise and respond to procurement requests. DOD intends to take an active part in the expected large-scale movement of business information into the National Information Infrastructure.
• To encourage defense firms to participate in dual-use cooperative R&D, the Administration has clarified regulations regarding the use of independent research and development (IR&D) funding as part of a firm's contribution to a cost-sharing proposal. Use of IR&D monies as part of industry matching funds is permitted in certain kinds of cooperative arrangements involving contractors working jointly with others (e.g., joint ventures, teaming arrangements, and consortia).
• DOD has launched a major new initiative with Japan to gain access to its commercial technologies, manufacturing know-how, components, and subsystems. This effort seeks to better balance the significant amounts of U.S. defense technology that flow to Japan, with a compensating flow of dual-use technologies obtained from commercial firms in Japan for use in defense applications. The emphasis is on fostering company-to-company linkages that gain access for our defense industrial base to Japanese expertise and information.
• DOD has proposed significant new initiatives in jointly developing military systems with our NATO allies. Joint development programs can lead to additional expense since language, cultural, and institutional differences typically must be overcome. But this Administration is firmly convinced that gains from splitting development costs with partners and from interoperability of systems can greatly exceed the incremental costs of taking the trouble to work with allies.

A dual-use strategy as discussed above offers clear advantages to the military. Defense planners know that the way to get the most out of shrinking dollars is to buy as much as possible from commercial manufacturers who, under the discipline of the market, must give their customers good value high quality, reliable products embodying the latest and best technologies at competitive prices. While the dual-use approach is not as central to the interests of commercial companies, they too will benefit. Defense spending for dual-use R&D and procurement has a more than proportionate effect on advancement of technology, because investments will be heavily weighted to leading-edge technologies with potentially broad application.

Nevertheless, defense spending makes up a small and declining share of a $5.5 trillion to $6 trillion economy. Civil-military integration is just one part, though an important part, of successful conversion to a post-Cold War economy. The best and broadest conversion strategy must also include government investments that lift the performance of the whole economy. This means:

• investing in first-class education and training of all our workers;
• forming R&D partnerships with industry on promising technologies that are primarily commercial as well as dual use; and
• developing new national initiatives that meet widely agreed public needs while also fostering the advance of technology, the growth of knowledge-intensive, wealth-generating industries, and the creation of high-quality jobs.

Other sections of this progress report deal with these broader strategies for transition to a post-Cold War world.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT: NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR GROWTH

In his February 22, 1993, statement on Technology for America's Economic Growth, President Clinton's foremost goal is "long-term economic growth that creates jobs and protects the environment." In establishing this goal, the President rejected the conventional view that economic growth and environmental quality are inversely related that is, that gains in one produce setbacks in the other.

Today's high fuel and waste-disposal costs, stiff business competition,and high levels of national and international environmental awareness have fundamentally changed the economic growth/environment equation. Inefficient industrial practices that were economically and environmentally practical just 10 years ago are no longer viable. Today, such waste is too costly to business competitiveness and to our environment, especially with growing concern over urban air quality and global warming.

The Clinton Administration is working with the U.S. business and research communities to promote the development and deployment of new technologies that simultaneously prevent pollution, increase energy efficiency, and promote economic growth. Clean technologies such as energy-efficient light bulbs and motors, alternative fuel cars, and advanced steel making reduce air pollutants and other pollutants. Such technologies also reduce the energy needs of U.S. companies, trimming costs, improving international competitiveness, freeing up money for capital investments, and reducing the Nation's energy trade deficit. The result is improved environmental quality and long-term economic growth.

Adding to these positive effects are the tremendous opportunities for increasing U.S. exports of environmental technologies. Over the next decade, developing nations will be expanding their economies fivefold, while the global population doubles. Limited capital and rising world demands for environmentally responsible production will make traditional resource-inefficient development impractical. Sustainable development, based on energy efficient, environmentally benign processes, is the necessity of the future.

The United States is the world's leading producer of environmental technologies with 35 percent of the current market. The Clinton Administration is working to ensure that America maintains and improves its leadership position in this growing global market.

Since release of the February policy statement, the Administration has launched new initiatives and strengthened existing programs to accomplish its national energy and environmental objectives. Together, these programs represent a coordinated, government-wide effort to:

• create high-wage, secure U.S. jobs through production of new and existing environmental technologies;
• promote environmental technology exports;
• improve energy efficiency and conservation;
• improve environmental quality;
• minimize industrial wastes;
• maximize industrial competitiveness;
• diversify energy supply and demand; and
• reduce energy trade deficits.

Actions Taken to Date Clinton Administration Initiatives

Climate Change Action Plan. This plan, released in October, presents the Administration's strategy for reducing the growth of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The plan will reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2000 to 1990 levels. It includes more than 50 new or expanded initiatives, relying primarily on increased energy efficiency. It will stimulate investments in technologies of the future, strengthening America's position in the global environmental technology marketplace. The Administration proposes to support the program with $1.9 billion largely through redirected Federal funding between 1994 and 2000. This funding will leverage an additional $60 billion in private-sector investments in environmental technology. Projected energy savings from these investments total more than $60 billion between 1994 and 2000, with continued benefits of over $200 billion in energy savings between 2001 and 2010. By the year 2000, the program should reduce total annual carbon emissions by the equivalent of 109 million metric tons of carbon.

Clean Car Initiative. On September 29, 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore joined with General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler to an nounce an historic new partnership. The Clean Car Initiative aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness by developing technologies for a new generation of vehicles that are both safer and up to three times more fuel efficient (80 miles per gallon or better) than today's cars. Major collaborations with the Big Three U.S. automakers are under development. On the government side, a high-level coordinating committee chaired by Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Mary Good is directing R&D in a strategic plan to avoid duplication, focus on priority areas, and make the most of existing resources. The first stage of the plan is in fast-track development, to be completed before the end of the year.

Environmental Technologies Initiative. The Environmental Protection Agency in April launched its Environmental Technologies Initiative, designed to stimulate technological innovation to meet the Nation's environmental objectives. The initiative aims to create a more productive environmental technology marketplace and works toward incorporating environmental considerations into the design of new technologies and into upgrades of existing technologies. Projected funding for this initiative is $36 million for FY 1994. Funding is expected to increase over the next decade.

Environmental Technology Export Strategy. Following President Clinton's Earth Day charge, an interagency committee has been working with the environmental technology industry to develop a national environmental export strategy that will help coordinate public and private activities and help U.S. companies to take advantage of a world market estimated at $275 billion to $300 billion. The group has been focusing on trade development and technical assistance to increase exports of U.S. environmental technologies.

Chaired by the Commerce Department with the participation of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and 10 other agencies, the Interagency Environmental Technologies Exports Working Group will soon release a report including specific recommendations to increase these exports.

The National Environmental Trade Technology Initiative demonstrates how better coordination can provide industry with critical assistance. This initiative combines the Commerce Department's export-promotion expertise with the financial capabilities of the Export-Import Bank to introduce practical solutions to environmental problems in developing countries like Mexico, which need environmentally responsible technologies. The EnviroMex '93 conference held in Mexico last month, for instance, brought together over 200 American and Mexican industry representatives interested in exploring opportunities for increased trade.

Environmental Technologies and NAFTA. President Clinton has pushed for ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), knowing that this agreement and the supplemental agreement on environmental cooperation will enhance opportunities to export U.S. environmental technologies and create jobs at home. Many of the goods and services provided by the U.S. domestic environmental technology industry are being marketed and sold throughout Mexico. These exports are valued at about $1 billion each year and support about 27,000 jobs in the United States. As exports to Mexico grow, so will the number of jobs here and export-related jobs on average pay almost one-fifth more than other jobs. The NAFTA initiative clearly ties together the Clinton Administration's goals of American international economic competitiveness and global environmental security.

Budget Priorities. The Department of Energy has revamped its science and technology budget priorities. Dramatic increases will be seen in funding for research programs related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural gas, alternative fuels, and technology transfer.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reallocated substantial funding to global warming and the environmental technology initiatives described above.

Similar changes are under way at other science and technology agencies, such as the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Expansion of NIST's Manufacturing Extension Partnership to meet the President's goal of 100 manufacturing extension centers across the country to help small and medium-sized companies adopt updated technologies will include an emphasis on environmentally sound manufacturing. In September, EPA and NIST announced a pilot, collaborative effort to help companies adopt pollution-prevention technologies that also reduce operating costs.

The Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), designed to assist in the transition to an integrated industrial base that can meet both defense and commercial needs, also will provide support to environmentally sound manufacturing. Several of the initial projects selected for funding have the goal of assisting smaller companies to increase their competitiveness by matching energy, environmental, and manufacturing technology needs.

Clean Cities. Clean Cities is a market-driven initiative developed by the Department of Energy to promote the use of alternative fuels and assist in the implementation of the Energy Policy Act. Since its September national kickoff, Denver, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC, have been formally designated Clean Cities. The program works by establishing partnerships between Federal, State, and local governments and the private sector, including utilities, fuel suppliers, fuel distributors, auto manufacturers, and organizations committed to acquiring alternative-fueled vehicles for their fleets. Together, these groups create a fleet large enough to support an emerging refueling and maintenance infrastructure and operate on American-produced fuels, which will improve the U.S. trade deficit and decrease reliance on insecure energy sources, create jobs, and improve air quality.

Natural Gas Strategic Plan. The Administration has put in place, and funded at $200 million per year, the first, credible, long-term Federal R&D effort for natural gas. It focuses on strategic opportunities in end-use markets, such as ultra-high efficiency utility gas turbines, fuel cells for both industrial and automotive applications, and natural gas vehicles.

Motor Challenge. In October, the Administration launched the Motor Challenge program to provide industry leaders an opportunity to demonstrate how improved efficiency of electric motor systems can enhance industrial productivity and profitability while preventing pollution. The program is a collaboration between the Federal Government, motor manufacturers, electric utilities, and industrial motor systems users. By promoting a systems approach to electric motor system design and implementation, the program seeks the largest and most profitable opportunities for increasing industrial motor efficiency.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). In FY 1993, the Department of Energy devoted $49.7 million in grants under this competitive grants program that supports phased research and development on advanced concepts and technologies related to energy and the environment. The Department hosted a Commercialization Opportunity Forum in late September. After receiving extensive training in development of a business plan for a successful SBIR project, 24 companies made presentations to 56 representatives from venture capital firms and large corporations at the forum. These contacts are expected to produce significant investment in the SBIR projects, which will result in the creation of new jobs. Growing interest in the SBIR program among U.S. businesses was evident at the program's national conference in October 1993.

The meeting attracted 1,100 attendees, the largest of any such meeting in the program's history.

"Golden Carrot" Market-Pull Consortia. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), and utilities issued a challenge and an opportunity to manufacturers of refrigerators: the company that could build a chlorofluorocarbon-free refrigerator that also exceeded energy performance standards would receive a guaranteed market, with the consortium making up the difference in price between the new super-efficient refrigerator and more conventional units.

President Clinton has directed DOE and EPA to expand this program to additional industries to accelerate the commercialization of advanced, energy-efficient technologies through partnerships with key market players.

These partnerships may include contests for new technology introductions, working with government procurement agencies to leverage their purchasing power of certain qualifying products, and working with utilities to create market incentives for new technologies.

"Green Lights" Program. EPA is expanding this voluntary program aimed at improving lighting efficiency. The program enlists participants who agree to survey all of their domestic facilities and upgrade their lighting wherever profitable over a period of 5 years. The program now has over 1,000 participants.

Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Centers. This program involves local colleges and universities in performing audits of small businesses and manufacturing plants to identify opportunities for energy-efficiency improvements and waste minimization. The Administration plans to expand this program, which currently funds about 700 audits per year. This will increase to about 2,000 per year by the year 2000.

Federal Fleet Conversion Task Force. This task force is working on a plan to convert the Federal automotive fleet to alternative fuels that are cleaner burning and less expensive. The Administration plans to use the Federal Government's purchasing power to stimulate the domestic alternative fuels market and to develop a refueling infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. This law offers increased flexibility in how states spend their resources, thus allowing for greater flexibility and innovation. The Clinton Administration has further increased state options by expanding opportunities for states to use Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems and telecommunications strategies to meet their Clean Air goals.

Climate-Wise Recognition Program. EPA and DOE have proposed a new program dubbed "Climate-Wise" to encourage and recognize voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-Wise will reinforce statutory provisions under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and contribute to U.S. environmental objectives by allowing organizations to receive public recognition for their voluntary greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. They would be eligible by initiating actions that reduce or offset greenhouse gases, such as energy conservation and efficiency measures, switching to lower-carbon content fuels, establishing programs to encourage employees to use mass transit or carpools, or implementing carbon sequestration activities, such as urban and rural tree planting.

Long-Range Environmental Export Strategy Clean Production. As a follow-on initiative to the Environmental Technology Export Strategy, the Department of Energy has proposed to develop a long-range environmental market strategy focused on the strategic market growth potential of clean production technologies.

Transportation and the Economy

As noted in the President's Technology for America's Economic Growth, A New Direction to Build Economic Strength, a competitive, growing economy requires a transportation system that can move people, goods, and services quickly and efficiently. To meet this challenge, each transport sector must work effectively both by itself and as part of a larger, interconnected whole. Technologies that increase the speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of the transportation sector also will increase the economy's competitiveness and ability to create jobs.

Today, one of the greatest challenges we face is to rehabilitate and properly maintain the huge stock of infrastructure facilities already in place. Providing a world-class transportation sector will require the Nation to meet the challenges posed both by increased congestion in many parts of the transportation system and by the need to rebuild and maintain a public capital stock valued at more than $2.4 trillion.

The Federal Government is committed to leading an effort to realize the vision of "sustainable" transportation, with the goal of balancing different modes of transportation while taking into account performance, cost, resource use, and social impact. Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles President Clinton and Vice President Gore have joined with the Big Three American automakers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler in an historic new partnership to strengthen U.S. competitiveness by developing technologies for a new generation of vehicles up to three times more fuel efficient than today's. It is a technological venture as ambitious as any America has ever attempted and is a model for the new partnership between government and industry envisioned by President Clinton. It is an all-out effort to ensure that the U.S. auto industry leads the world in technology. It will expand economic opportunity, preserve jobs, protect the environment, and strengthen our economic competitiveness.

The long-term goal of the partnership is the development of affordable, safe, attractive, and dramatically more efficient automobiles. Groundbreaking research and development goals for industry and government engineering teams will be launched in three categories:

• Advanced manufacturing techniques to make it easier to get new product ideas into the marketplace quickly. Such techniques would include rapid, computer-based design and testing systems and new automation and control systems that can lower production costs.
• Technologies that can lead to near-term improvements in automobile efficiency, safety, and emissions, such as lightweight, recyclable materials and catalysts for reducing exhaust pollution.
• Research that could lead to production prototypes of vehicles capable of up to three times greater fuel efficiency. Radical new concepts, such as fuel cells and advanced energy storage systems like ultracapacitors, will be developed to produce more fuel-efficient cars that are affordable, meet or exceed current safety standards, and retain the performance and comfort available today. Led by Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Mary Good, the project will be managed by an interagency team consisting of representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and the National Science Foundation. This interagency team is preparing an inventory of government programs that can help meet the partnership goals, as a first step in rapid development of a coordinated R&D strategy. Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles The Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected six regional coalitions in Hawaii, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Boston to work on electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology and infrastructure. The projects will focus on conversion or replacement to electric or hybrid of small pickup trucks and medium-sized buses on military bases and installation of the vehicle support infrastructure; conversion or purchase of electric or hybrid vehicles for commercial use in the community, including infrastructure; research to advance the state-of-the-art on one or more components or systems for electric or electric hybrid vehicles or for their support infrastructure; and support activities.

Research and Technology Outreach Seminars

DOT also has begun a series of outreach seminars entitled "Promoting Transportation Applications in Defense Conversion and Other Advanced Technologies." Held in Ann Arbor, MI; Davis, CA; Cambridge, MA; and Austin, TX, the seminars are bringing together representatives of academia, State, and local governments, and private industry to discuss transportation and the environment, infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance, and new vehicle technology. DOT will use the information gathered in these meetings to shape its Transportation Research and Technology Strategic Plan.

Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems (IVHS) DOT has initiated studies aimed at having a prototype demonstration of an automated highway system by 1997. To foster improvements in IVHS user services, DOT has begun a 3-year process to establish the overall IVHS system architecture. DOT plans to make maximum use of defense-oriented firms' developments in sensor technologies, high-speed computing, communications, human factors, display technologies, and autonomous vehicle control systems.

Working with Montgomery County, MD, which is installing 200 video cameras along its roads, the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology is evaluating automatic vision-based surveillance to determine the types of useful traffic information the system can obtain and how to quickly extract, analyze, and translate the information into traffic management decisions that ease congestion and avert safety hazards.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

GPS is a space-based positioning, navigation, and time distribution system designed for worldwide military use. In May 1993, the Secretaries of Transportation and Defense established a joint task force to examine the possibilities for expanded civil participation in the implementation, operation, and support of the GPS. A DOD-DOT team is working to identify and resolve issues related to augmentation of the current system and funding to provide civilian users with the necessary accuracy and integrity. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defined the technical standards for GPS receivers to be used in civilian aviation and approved supplemental use of the GPS for all phases of flight. NASA and the FAA are testing the GPS system to investigate ways to improve navigation and collision avoidance. Full operation of GPS is expected in FY 1995.

Climate Change Action Plan

As part of the climate change action plan released in October, the Administration is conducting a year-long process to identify and implement policies in the transportation sector to reduce the projected growth of greenhouse gases. This process will involve all relevant stakeholders and will consider, among other issues, policies to increase the fuel efficiency of new personal vehicles.

Magnetic Levitation (MagLev)

High-speed magnetically levitated ground transportation is a new mode of surface transportation in which vehicles glide above their guideways, suspended, guided, and propelled by magnetic forces at speeds of 250 to 300 miles per hour or higher. The Administration is publishing the results of the 3-year national MagLev initiative, a cooperative interagency effort of the Department of Transportation and its Federal Railroad Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Energy. While questions remain about the commercial viability of MagLev, the Administration should proceed with the development of a program. In FY 1994, $20 million was provided to continue research and analysis of MagLev.

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act offers increased flexibility in how states spend their resources, thus allowing for greater flexibility and innovation. The Clinton Administration has further increased state options by expanding opportunities for states to use Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems and telecommunications strategies to meet their Clean Air goals. In July 1993, DOT published the Surface Transportation Research and Development Plan to develop a range of technologies needed to produce convenient, safe, and affordable modes of surface transportation by the mid-1990s and to maintain a long-term advanced R&D program for next-generation systems. DOT published Intermodal Technical Assistance Activities for Transportation Planners in August 1993 and is actively seeking feedback to improve the quality of its assistance programs. Aeronautics

For decades, the United States led the aviation revolution every step of the way, and America ruled the skies. Today, the aeronautics industry is one of the largest in the country employing nearly 1 million people in high-quality jobs, generating almost $100 billion in annual sales, and producing tens of billions of dollars in exports.

Today's aeronautics environment, however, is extremely dynamic foreign competition, economic deregulation of the airline industry, the end of the Cold War, and the growing concern for the global environment have all changed the aviation industry. The Administration is committed to making the changes required to strengthen civil aviation in the United States. NASA is addressing the technology needs of civil aviation by expanding its investments in high-speed research, advanced subsonic technologies, and high-performance computing and communications. The plans for these programs have been developed and will be refined. By working closely with industry and government agencies, NASA aims to ensure that design, manufacturing, and operations issues are addressed early in the technology development process and to maximize its investments through effective and timely technology transfer.

High-Speed Research (HSR)

NASA is developing the technologies that industry needs to design and build an environmentally compatible and economically competitive high-speed civil transport (HSCT) for the 21st century. As currently envisioned, an HSCT aircraft would carry 300 passengers at Mach 2.4 on transoceanic routes over distances up to 6,000 nautical miles at fares comparable to subsonic transports.

An HSCT would reduce flight times from California to Japan to about 4 hours, and from California to Australia to about 7 hours. Such an aircraft will be essential for capturing the valuable long-haul Pacific Rim market. Market studies indicate that the successful development of a domestic HSCT will result in $200 billion in sales and 140,000 jobs for U.S. industry.

Before industry can develop this type of aircraft, environmental concerns, such as aircraft noise, sonic boom, and atmospheric contaminants, must be addressed. An HSCT must meet not only the current regulatory standards but also those anticipated for the early part of the next century. NASA is sponsoring an independent, international scientific assessment to determine globally acceptable levels of engine emissions and noise.

In FY 1994, NASA will focus on technologies required to make an HSCT economically feasible and competitive. In close cooperation with U.S. industry and the university research community, NASA plans to develop and validate technologies for an HSCT, including advanced propulsion systems, new structural materials, improved aerodynamic designs, and state-of-the-art flight control and display systems.

While NASA is concentrating its investments in the early, high-risk stages of development, the aircraft manufacturing industry has indicated that it is willing to make a substantial investment in this program as the technological risk decreases. The High-Speed Research program aims to produce an industry HSCT prototype around the year 2000.

ADVANCED SUBSONIC TECHNOLOGY

Subsonic airliners will continue to be a vital element of both long-haul and domestic air travel for the foreseeable future, and the Administration and

NASA are accelerating investments in this key area through the Advanced Subsonic Technology Program. In partnership with U.S. industry, NASA is developing lightweight, highly reliable optical systems; lightweight, low-cost composite structures; highly efficient turbofan engines; and integrated wing design techniques. These R&D efforts are intended to increase airline profitability through increased aircraft productivity, lower ownership costs, and reduced direct operating costs, resulting in increased economic valuation of the aircraft relative to foreign competitors.

In a collaborative effort to increase safety, FAA and NASA have successfully flight tested three types of sensors that increase warning times to airline pilots. They also are evaluating a four-dimensional Aircraft Traffic Management System known as the CENTER/TRACON Automation System, or CTAS, that will enable more on-time arrivals and departures and cut fuel consumption. By early in the next century, the combination of CTAS, GPS, and other navigation and display technologies could provide a significant improvement in the efficiency of our national airspace system and create a market for new products.

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