Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet
Denver – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, applauded passage of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Preeminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (COMPETES) by the U.S. House of Representatives.
“For too long, Washington has taken America’s competitiveness for granted, while China has closed the gap with mercantilist trade policies, intellectual property theft, and massive investments in key technologies. It’s allowed good-paying jobs to go overseas and critical sectors and supply chains to wither, driving up costs for American families and hurting both our economy and security,” said Bennet. “We’re one step closer to a historic investment in American competitiveness to shore up our supply chains and lower costs, create jobs, and secure U.S. leadership in semiconductors, 5G, artificial intelligence, and more. I urge both chambers to move swiftly to reconcile their differences so we can send a final bill to the President’s desk.”
The legislation, modeled after the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), will invest in emerging technologies, shore up critical supply chains, and bolster America’s economic competitiveness and national security. USICA passed the U.S. Senate 68-32 last June. The recently passed COMPETES contains several Bennet-backed provisions:
- Funding for semiconductor manufacturing. COMPETES includes $52 billion to fund the CHIPS for America Act, which was authorized in the 2020 annual defense spending bill. This funding will primarily support grants through the Department of Commerce to bolster America’s domestic semiconductors manufacturing capacity.
- Funding for 5G. COMPETES also includes $1.5 billion for O-RAN, a virtualized approach to 5G wireless networks that plays to America’s competitive advantages and can provide credible alternatives to Huawei and ZTE. The funding mirrors the USA Telecommunications Act, which Bennet introduced last year.
- Funding for medical supply chains. COMPETES provides $1.5 billion for pilot program to enhance domestic medical supply chains and reserves, mirroring Bennet’s bipartisan Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act he introduced last year with Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
- Emerging Technology Leads. This bipartisan provision, supported by Senators Bennet and Sasse (R-Neb.), would require each federal agency engaged in the development, application, or oversight of emerging technologies to appoint a senior, full-time employee to drive the responsible use of emerging technologies, provide expertise on responsible policies and practices, and lead interagency coordination.
- National Technology Strategy. COMPETES includes a National Strategy for Science and Technology strategy, which broadly aligns with a bipartisan Bennet amendment to USICA he introduced with Senator Sasse last summer.