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David McNew/Reuters
2001
Introduced by then Senator Al Gore (D-TN), the High Performance Computing Act (HPCA) was passed by Congress in December. The bill allocated $600 million for high-performance computing. HPCA also created the National Research and Educational Network, and led to the creation of breakthrough internet technologies. These groundbreaking innovations include high-speed fiber optic computer networks that drastically improved internet useability.