Schumer Plans Democratic Bill on 5G, Chip Investment

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday that he plans to lead Democrats in bowing legislation aimed at using investment in 5G and other emerging technologies to counter Chinese advances. Senate Democrats’ emerging tech package needs to “address America’s short-term and long-term plans to protect the semiconductor supply chain, and to keep us No. 1 in things like [artificial intelligence], 5G, quantum computing” and data storage, Schumer told a news conference. “We can’t let China get ahead of us in chip production.” Schumer expects the Senate to be ready to consider the measure on the floor this spring. “We need to get a bill like this to” President Joe Biden’s “desk quickly to protect America’s long-term economic and national security,” he said. The Semiconductor Industry Association praised Schumer’s plan. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., raised concerns during a Tuesday hearing about China’s “aggressive attempts to undercut our current technological superiority.” Lawmakers “must also be concerned about the strength of our national research and innovation enterprise, including the workforce, the health of the manufacturing and industrial base, and the infrastructure that we need to support technology development,” he said.