[1492] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Something new -- and even on the subject
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joe Abernathy)
Thu Oct 10 18:59:43 1991
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 91 17:54:33 CDT
From: edtjda@magic322.chron.com (Joe Abernathy)
To: com-priv@psi.com
Rep. Gephardt sent letters today to D. Allan Bromley, the
president's science adviser; and His Excellency Ryohei
Murata, ambassador, embassy of Japan.
The letters describe potential violations of the 1990 U.S.-Japan
supercomuter agreement, specifically regarding pricing agreements.
In summation, Gephardt feels that the High Performance Computing
Act should become a test case for the resurgent interest in
industrial policy (see the current issue of MIT's Technology
Review).
As most of you know, the so-called "buy american" provision of
the House-passedversion of the HPCA has become a sticking point,
with Bush threatening to veto the measure if this amendment
is included.
An industry consortium, reportedly led by IBM, has stronlgy
denounced the measure. Gephardt replies by suggesting that
industry cannot be relied upon to Do The Right Thing to ensure
that Japan or Europe do not steal this industry from America.
The bill now appears to be headed for a full, formal Conference
Committee of the House and Senate.
Joe Abernathy
