The New York Times, from 13 February 2013, explains in more detail the objectives of this program:
The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.
The project, which the administration has been looking to unveil as early as March, will include federal agencies, private foundations and teams of neuroscientists and nanoscientists in a concerted effort to advance the knowledge of the brain’s billions of neurons and gain greater insights into perception, actions and, ultimately, consciousness.
More information available at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/science/project-seeks-to-build-map-of-human-brain.html