Supercomputer export link in National Security Committee report

[Ernest Hua <hua@chromatic.com>]

>From JYA's copy ("Purpose and Background" section, about
8 paragraphs down):

             (3) It would direct the Secretary of Commerce to
            allow the export or re-export of encryption-capable
            software for non-military end-uses in any country, or
            computers using such software based on considerations
            of foreign availability.
    
        Importantly, the committee notes that section 3 of H.R. 695
    would require the government to approve exports of high
    performance computers (so-called ``supercomputers'') if those
    computers contain encryption products or software that are
    commercially available. In the committee's view, this is one of
    the most serious consequences and flaws of the bill. Under this
    proposed arrangement, any company would be in a position to
    force the government to allow the export of even the most
    powerful supercomputer available in the United States, if they
    first loaded a piece of foreign-available encryption software
    on the supercomputer. As confirmed by Secretary Reinsch in his
    testimony before the committee, this provision would overturn
    the Spence-Dellums amendment to H.R. 1119, the National Defense
    Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, adopted by the House on
    June 19, 1997, by a vote of 332-88. That amendment would
    prevent the inadvertent export of supercomputers to
    questionable end users in countries of proliferation concern.

Are we getting screwed by a false link to supercomputers?

Ern