Inventing Al Gore: on Technology

Assisted heavily with invention of Internet in 1989

In 1989, Gore introduced the National High-Performance Computer Technology Act, a five-year, $1.7 billion program to expand the capacity of the information highway to connect government, industry, and academic institutions. Signed by President Bush in 1991, the bill supported research and development for an improved national computer system, and assisted colleges and libraries in connecting to the new network. While Gore is not, as he suggested in 1999, the father of the Internet, he can credibly claim credit as the wealthy uncle who stepped up to provide funds at an important moment. In 1989, when few public officials grasped the profound changes that new information technology would bring, Gore saw them plainly. “I genuinely believe that the creation of this nationwide network will create an environment where work stations are common in homes and even small businesses,” he told a House committee in the spring of 1989. Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.217

Supported V-Chip; pushed TV execs for rating system

Gore made the entertainment industry one of his principal election-year targets in the values offensive. The new telecommunications bill he championed included a provision Hollywood had fought for years, the so-called V-chip to help parents electronically deflect shows and movies they didn’t want their kids to see. The law mandated the V-chip in most new sets and gave the industry one year to devise a “voluntary” ratings system to determine which programs would be blocked. Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.305-6

*The above quotations are from Inventing Al Gore, by Bill Turque.* Click here for definitions & background information on Technology. Click here for more quotes by Al Gore on Technology.
*Other candidates on Technology:*
Pat Buchanan George W. Bush Al Gore Ralph Nader Harry Browne Dick Cheney Joe Lieberman *2002 Candidates:* Elizabeth Dole Janet Reno Jeb Bush Robert Reich	*Withdrawn Candidates:* Lamar Alexander Gary Bauer Bill Bradley Steve Forbes Orrin Hatch John Kasich Alan Keyes John McCain Dan Quayle Bob Smith Donald Trump Paul Wellstone
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