Senate Aiming to Pass Tech Competition Bill This Month, Schumer Says

The Senate likely will vote on the Endless Frontier Act next week and should pass the bill before the end of the moth, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said May 13. The bill, which would provide more federal funding and incentives for semiconductor research, has “strong” bipartisan support, Schumer said, and will help maintain U.S. technological leadership over trade competitors, including China. “The Endless Frontier Act would right the ship by making one of the largest investments in American innovation in generations,” Schumer told the Senate.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed the legislation (see 2104140051) this week 24-4 with several amendments. Although Democrats and Republicans disagreed with several provisions of the bill over the course of an hourslong May 12 meeting, they eventually passed a bill that could authorize more than $100 billion for advanced technology research.

Several lawmakers framed the bill, originally introduced last year, as a way for the U.S. to take a more offensive strategy amid technology competition with China. They said the U.S. has been too reliant on restrictive trade measures such as sanctions and export controls and needs to focus on domestic research incentives. “It’s very important to thwart aggression by the Chinese Communist Party [by] blocking Huawei, tightening export controls, improving foreign investment rules,” Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said during the committee meeting. “Defensive investment approaches remain important and continue to deserve our firm commitment and attention, but if America is actually to lead the world in the 21st century, we have to go on offense.”

Young added that the bill, if passed by the full Senate, should be just the start of a U.S. push to increase federal investment in innovation and protect U.S. sensitive research from China. “This is a floor, not a ceiling,” Young said. “And I hope we can strengthen these protections further as this bill moves to the Senate floor.”

The bill passed with an amendment introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would restrict “nuclear-related cooperation” between the U.S. and China. It would also require the National Academy of Public Administration to produce a report on U.S.-China nuclear cooperation over the last 25 years, including any cases of nuclear-related “technology exchanges” between the two countries. While the amendment would place “limitations” on nuclear cooperation to “protect our national security and intellectual property,” Cruz said it also includes an exception for “limited and important” cooperation between the two sides.

“There's a deliberate strategy of espionage and theft of intellectual property that [China] pursues as a national strategy,” Cruz said. “It is difficult to conceive of a more sensitive technological area than nuclear technology.”

Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the bill is important to aid the U.S. in the “race for innovation.” She said the U.S. “needs to look at our [research and development] infrastructure” and “move forward as we face growing competition around the globe.”

The Semiconductor Industry Association applauded the committee’s vote and said they “look forward” to making sure the legislation is enacted and funded. “The Endless Frontier Act would reinforce U.S. leadership in the critical technologies of the future, including semiconductors, and strengthen America’s economy, national security, and global competitiveness,” SIA President John Neuffer said May 12.

The vote was an "important step" toward boosting the U.S.'s advanced technology competitiveness, Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, said May 13. "Passing and fully funding the EFA will be one of a number of key steps Congress will need to take to avoid the U.S. losing its competitive position to China," Atkinson said.