[Pages S2568-S2569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1260) to establish a new Directorate for 
     Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, 
     to establish a regional technology hub program, to require a 
     strategy and report on economic security, science, research, 
     innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a 
     critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other 
     purposes.


                          Amendment Withdrawn

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the 
committee-reported substitute amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
withdrawn.


                           Amendment No. 1502

       (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.)

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I call up amendment 1502.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New York [Mr. Schumer] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 1502.

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am going to speak on this amendment for 
a minute, then we will move to the motion to discharge Kristen Clarke.
  Mr. President, I have just filed a substitute amendment to the 
Endless Frontier Act that will pull together bipartisan legislation 
from across the Senate committees into a single comprehensive bill to 
restore America's competitive edge.
  This new bill will be called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, 
and it will include bipartisan legislation from the Foreign Relations 
Committee to strengthen our alliances and hold China accountable for 
predatory trade practices; bipartisan legislation from the Homeland 
Security committee to invest in AI, cyber security, and policies to 
make sure American taxpayer money is used to buy American products; 
bipartisan legislation from the HELP Committee to protect our research 
and invest in STEM; bipartisan legislation from the Judiciary Committee 
to bolster antitrust enforcement; bipartisan legislation from Banking 
to sanction predatory behavior from the Chinese Communist Party. And, 
very importantly, the substitute amendment will now include a historic 
$52 billion investment to make sure the United States stays on the 
cutting edge of chip production--semiconductor chip production--which 
is essential for this country's economy, including our auto industry, 
our tech industry, and our military.
  Again, this legislation will now include a historic and immediate 
infusion of Federal money in the semiconductor industry to boost 
domestic production and shore up critical supply chains.
  This is a very big deal. It fits in with the concept of the Endless 
Frontier Act, and I am very pleased it will be in the bill.
  American manufacturing has suffered rather dramatically from a chip 
shortage. We have all heard about auto plants in our States that are 
closed or operating in reduced capacity because they can't get the 
chips. The shortage in our tech industry shows how vulnerable our 
supply chains are.
  We simply cannot rely on foreign processors for chips. This amendment 
will make sure we don't have to.
  America invented the semiconductor chip. We are still at the cutting 
edge of research, but fewer than 12 percent of them are made in 
America. And if this bill doesn't pass, it will go down to 6. Other 
countries--notably, China--will become the leaders, not just in chip 
manufacturing and chip production but in the many industries that 
depend on chips. We cannot let that happen.
  The best way to do that is to add this amendment to the bill, which I 
have just done, and make sure it passes.
  The substitute amendment is dramatic not only in terms of chips but 
in terms of American investment in research, in science, and 
innovation. When we invest in research and science and innovation, 
millions of good-paying jobs follow, and the American economy leads the 
world. Our failure to invest will displace us from that position and 
all too soon.

[[Page S2569]]

  All told, the substitute amendment will mean that the legislation we 
are about to debate is the product of a half a dozen Senate committees, 
with input from just about every Member of the Senate. This 
legislation, I am proud to say, is thoroughly bipartisan, and it shows. 
When our colleagues will work with us, we want to work together 
whenever we can.
  Now, these policies may sound complicated, but they are propelled by 
a simple motivation--making sure the United States stays the global 
economic leader. In the 20th century, American prosperity was anchored 
in our unmatched capacity for innovation and invention. Researchers at 
American universities and laboratories fashioned marvels that changed 
the way we work, the way we communicate, and the way we live. American 
workers and businesses brought those innovations to a global market, 
producing the largest middle class in the world and an almost innate 
optimism about the future.
  Here, unfortunately, in the 21st century, America is falling behind. 
Other countries are investing more in their economies and training 
their focus on beating the United States to the key technologies of the 
future. If we don't step up now--now, not 2 years from now--and if we 
don't step up in a big and bold way, we risk missing out on a 
generation of good-paying jobs, millions and millions of them. We risk 
ceding the mantle of global economic leadership to our adversaries. We 
risk losing the sunny optimism that has defined the American character 
for generations.
  This is an issue where we can unite our country behind the goal of 
keeping America No. 1 in science and in technology, and this bill puts 
us a giant step closer to keeping America one step ahead for decades to 
come.

                          ____________________