[Senate Hearing 117-846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-846

                      CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETING
                        ON BIPARTISAN INNOVATION
                      AND COMPETITION LEGISLATION

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                         COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                      SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION
                               __________

                              MAY 12, 2022
                               __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation
                             

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                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                    
54-928 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2024                   
                
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi, Ranking
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia                 Virginia
                                     RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming


                       Lila Helms, Staff Director
                 Melissa Porter, Deputy Staff Director
       George Greenwell, Policy Coordinator and Security Manager
                 John Keast, Republican Staff Director
            Crystal Tully, Republican Deputy Staff Director
                      Steven Wall, General Counsel


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Hearing held on May 12, 2022.....................................     1
Statement of Senator Cantwell....................................     1
Statement of Senator Wicker......................................     2
Statement of Representative Johnson..............................     3
Statement of Representative Lucas................................     4
Statement of Representative Pallone..............................     4
Statement of Representative Rodgers..............................     5
Statement of Senator Baldwin.....................................     6
Statement of Senator Hickenlooper................................     7
Statement of Representative Lofgren..............................     7
    Article dated February 2, 2022 from the Wall Street Journal 
      entitled, ``The Be More Like China Act'' by The Editorial 
      Board......................................................     8
    Article dated February 7, 2022 from Forbes entitled, ``House 
      Passes Bill With More Measures For Immigrants In STEM 
      Fields''by Stuart Anderson, Senior Contributor.............    10
Statement of Representative Bonamici.............................    12
Statement of Representative Stevens..............................    13
Statement of Representative Bowman...............................    14
Statement of Representative Foster...............................    14
Statement of Representative Weber................................    15
Statement of Representative Waltz................................    16
Statement of Representative Garcia...............................    16
Statement of Representative Eshoo................................    17
Statement of Representative Babin................................    18
Statement of Representative Rochester............................    18
Statement of Representative Schakowsky...........................    19
Statement of Representative Matsui...............................    20
Statement of Representative Tonko................................    20
Statement of Representative Soto.................................    21
Statement of Representative Bucshon..............................    22
Statement of Representative Carter...............................    22
Statement of Representative Duncan...............................    23
Statement of Representative Crenshaw.............................    24
Statement of Senator Menendez....................................    25
Statement of Senator Risch.......................................    26
Statement of Representative Meeks................................    27
Statement of Representative McCaul...............................    27
Statement of Representative Deutch...............................    28
    Prepared statement...........................................    29
Statement of Representative Bass.................................    29
Statement of Representative Houlahan.............................    30
Statement of Representative Jacobs...............................    31
Statement of Representative Chabot...............................    32
Statement of Representative Wagner...............................    32
Statement of Representative Green................................    33
Statement of Representative Kim..................................    34
Statement of Senator Wyden.......................................    35
Statement of Senator Crapo.......................................    35
Statement of Representative Neal.................................    36
Statement of Representative Brady................................    37
Statement of Senator Warner......................................    38
Statement of Senator Cornyn......................................    39
Statement of Representative Blumenauer...........................    40
Statement of Representative Davis................................    40
Statement of Representative DelBene..............................    41
Statement of Representative Chu..................................    42
Statement of Representative Kildee...............................    42
Statement of Representative Gomez................................    43
Statement of Representative Smith................................    44
Statement of Representative LaHood...............................    44
Statement of Representative Miller...............................    45
Statement of Senator Brown.......................................    46
Statement of Representative Waters...............................    47
Statement of Representative Garcia...............................    48
Statement of Senator Murray......................................    48
Statement of Senator Burr........................................    50
Statement of Representative Foxx.................................    50
Statement of Representative Morelle..............................    51
Statement of Senator Peters......................................    51
Statement of Senator Portman.....................................    52
Statement of Representative Maloney..............................    53
Statement of Representative Comer................................    54
Statement of Representative Demings..............................    55
Statement of Representative Titus................................    55
Statement of Representative Khanna...............................    56
Statement of Senator Tester......................................    57
Statement of Senator Moran.......................................    58
Statement of Representative Bost.................................    59
Statement of Representative Pappas...............................    59
Statement of Senator Grassley....................................    60
Statement of Representative Scanlon..............................    61
Statement of Senator Barrasso....................................    62
Statement of Representative Grijalva.............................    62
Statement of Senator Heinrich....................................    63
Statement of Senator Kelly.......................................    64
Statement of Representative McEachin.............................    65
Statement of Senator Capito......................................    65
Statement of Representative Crawford.............................    66
Statement of Representative Malinowski...........................    67
Statement of Representative Herrell..............................    68
Statement of Representative Norcross.............................    69
Statement of Senator Young.......................................    69
Statement of Representative Moore................................    70
Statement of Representative Escobar..............................    71
Statement of Representative Fitzgerald...........................    72
Statement of Representative Davids...............................    73
Statement of Senator Warnock.....................................    73

                                Appendix

Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), prepared statement............    75
Rep. Guest (MS-03), prepared statement...........................    76
Hon. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee, 
  prepared statement.............................................    76
Representative Tiffany, prepared statement.......................    77
Chair Peter A. DeFazio, prepared statement.......................    77
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Chairwoman, Small Business Committee, 
  prepared statement.............................................    78
Chairman Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (VA-3), House Committee on 
  Education and Labor, prepared statement........................    80
Representative Joaquin Castro, prepared statement................    81
Congressman Ami Bera, prepared statement.........................    81

 
                      CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETING
                        ON BIPARTISAN INNOVATION
                      AND COMPETITION LEGISLATION

                              ----------                              


                         THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2022

                                       U.S. Senate,
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Conference Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 
a.m., in room SR-325, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. 
Maria Cantwell, Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Cantwell [presiding], Murray, Wyden, 
Menendez, Brown, Tester, Warner, Baldwin, Heinrich, Peters, 
Hickenlooper, Warnock, Wicker, Grassley, Crapo, Cornyn, Burr, 
Barrasso, Risch, Moran, Portman, Capito, Young, and House 
Representatives.

  OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL, U.S. SENATOR FROM 
                           WASHINGTON

    The Chair. The Conference Committee on the disagreeing 
votes of two House and Senate amendments to H.R. 4521, the 
United States Innovation and Competition Act, will come to 
order. Before I get into the discussion of the process of this 
meeting and opening statement, I would like to start by 
offering a welcome to Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson of 
Texas. She is unable to join us here today because of travel 
and medical reasons, but she will be joining us electronically.
    So welcome to you, Congresswoman Johnson. I would also like 
to take a moment to welcome all members present and to discuss 
the format of today's meeting. Each member will have 2 minutes 
to provide an opening statement. The order of recognition, 
which has been shared with member offices, should ensure 
different bill priorities are discussed together.
    Given that there are 107 members on the Conference 
committee, a historic number for a bill that isn't an annual 
must-pass legislation, I will have to strictly enforce those 2 
minutes so we can get through the Conference, hopefully by 2:15 
p.m. today, when I know there are a series of House votes 
scheduled.
    If any member is unable to speak before 2:15 p.m., please 
notify us and we will try to reconvene after those House votes 
at 4 p.m. And with that, I recognize myself for an opening 
statement. Today is a historic day. Historic because it is one 
of the largest Conference committees in the last 10 years for a 
bill that, as I said, is not must-pass legislation, but it is 
also historic in that we are responding to a supply chain 
crisis brought upon by a 100 year event of the COVID pandemic, 
a war in Europe, and another historic reason.
    I believe this is a Sputnik moment where it is clear that 
Americans--that we are falling behind on innovation, and we 
can't risk falling further behind. We know that R&D is less 
than 1 percent of our gross domestic product invested in 
Federal research, compared to 2 percent in the 60s. That 2 
percent kept us competitive with innovations from DARPA, NASA, 
DOE, NSF, and helped us to win the cold war. But today, we are 
losing ground in a number of areas, semiconductors, artificial 
intelligence, pharmaceuticals, the energy revolution.
    But we are a great Nation, and time and time again, we have 
proven that we can rise to this challenge. If we could come 
together in 12 days and pass a bipartisan Cares Act to restore 
our economy during the COVID crisis, I am pretty sure we can 
resolve the issues between us on these two bills. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues, Senator Wicker, who 
feels passionately about Federal research dollars in areas of 
the country defined by EPSCoR.
    With Congresswoman Johnson who has fought so hard on STEM 
education and NASA and making sure that we get an 
authorization. With Chairman Pallone who has been a big 
advocate for strengthening supply chain. My colleague, 
Representative McMorris Rodgers, who I know wants to talk about 
mineral issues and supply chain. And with all our House and 
Senate members who are here today to represent their particular 
views and perspective on these issues.
    So let's roll up our sleeves, strengthen America's supply 
chain, help drive down costs for Americans, and reinvigorate 
manufacturing here at home. That is what we need to do to help 
for the next years of global leadership and to build things 
right here in the United States of America. I will now turn to 
my colleague, Senator Roger Wicker.

 STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER WICKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI

    Senator Wicker. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I noticed that 
2 minute clock didn't move at all during your remarks. I hope 
it is that slow during mine. The 21st century will be shaped 
largely by the results of the strategic competition between the 
United States and China. This Conference committee can help 
place the United States into an advantageous position by 
reconciling the differences during the Senate-passed U.S. 
Innovation and Competition Act and the House-passed America 
COMPETES Act.
    I applaud the regular order process the Senate followed to 
pass USICA nearly one year ago. Senator Cantwell and I helped 
shepherd the Science and Technology Division of USICA, known as 
the Endless Frontier Act through the Commerce Committee with a 
24 to 4 vote from the Committee.
    In total, the Senate considered over 1,000 amendments and 
adopted over 100 of them into USICA, including more than 20 
separately introduced bills. After improving this legislation 
for over 2 weeks, the Senate passed this bill by 68 to 32 vote, 
with 19 Republican Senators voting in support. The Conference 
committee should appreciate the bipartisan process followed by 
the Senate to craft USICA.
    I hope we can avoid partisan or controversial disputes 
because there are significant areas of agreement between the 
two bills, including funding the CHIPS Act, providing a program 
to incentivize semiconductor R&D and manufacturing in the 
United States, establishing a new directorate at the NSF to 
drive innovation in key technology focus areas such as AI and 
robotics, protecting U.S. R&D and intellectual property from 
theft and the malign influence of foreign competitors, and 
ensuring a fairer national distribution of R&D funding, 
especially through the NSF.
    On that subject, let me reiterate my support for the Senate 
provisions to strengthen the EPSCoR program and to establish 
regional technology hubs at the Department of Commerce. In 
2019, six states plus the District of Columbia received nearly 
half of the total Federal R&D expenditures. We need bold steps 
outlined in the Senate bill to take advantage of the talent, 
expertise, and capabilities found throughout the United States. 
Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will now go remotely to 
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.

        STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

    Ms. Johnson. Well, thank you so very much to you, Chairman 
Cantwell, and to Mr. Wicker. It is an honor to join my 
colleagues this morning to officially convene the first meeting 
of the Conference committee on H.R. 4521, the Bipartisan 
Innovation and Competitiveness Legislation. I am here virtually 
today as I recover from my knee surgery, but I hope to be with 
you in person very soon.
    It is time for us to revitalize Federal support for the 
kinds of research and development initiatives that have long 
made the U.S. a beacon of excellence in science and innovation. 
As Chairwoman of the Committee on Science, Space and 
Technology, I am especially proud of the bipartisan Science 
committee bill that are included in this House-passed America 
COMPETES Act.
    These provisions were built with rigorous input from the 
scientific community, industry, academia, and other 
stakeholders on what we need most to succeed in the 21st 
century. With this legislation, we can usher in a bold and 
prosperous future for American science and innovation and 
maintain our international competitiveness.
    We can build clean energy solutions, address the climate 
crisis, reinforce our National Security, enhance our 
semiconductor research and manufacturing capability, create 
jobs and so much more. We can also take historic and much 
needed action to build a strong and diverse STEM work force. 
Enact legislation that will ensure that we are able to make use 
of all of the brain power and talent we have in this great 
Nation.
    Our work here is critical to ensuring the U.S. has the 
resources to compete globally for many years to come. I look 
forward to a productive Conference process, and I am confident 
we will come out with a strong bipartisan innovation bill to 
deliver to President Biden's desk. Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congresswoman Johnson. Next, 
Congressman Frank Lucas.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN FRANK LUCAS

    Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. We are here today to 
begin the process of reconciling competitive legislation from 
the House and the Senate. It h is been nearly a year since we 
passed the bills at the core of this legislation, and it's long 
past time that we begin work conferencing it.
    We are facing a generational threat from the Chinese 
Communist Party. Their goal is to make Chinese businesses and 
the Chinese economy stronger than ours and to capitalize on 
advanced technologies to undermine our cybersecurity and our 
military strength. We need to take this threat seriously and 
pass strong policy now.
    I have been very clear about my priorities in this 
legislation. It needs to be strategic and focused on the areas 
that will have the most impact. That means targeting basic 
research into critical technologies, building out America's 
STEM work force, and protecting our investments from threat--
theft by China. In short, it means focusing on the thoughtful, 
bipartisan legislation passed by Republicans and Democrats on 
the House Science committee.
    Unfortunately, that legislation was sandwiched into a 
massive list of unrelated provisions that the Speaker threw 
together in the COMPETES Act at the last minute. That made our 
task--that makes our task here even more difficult because we 
are starting with a controversial partisan product.
    To have a successful Conference, we will need to focus only 
on the bipartisan policies that have been thoroughly discussed 
and vetted. In terms of process, from years of experience on 
farm bills, I know that the best way to make progress is by 
having the true four corners engagement between the minority 
and majority of the relevant House and Senate committees. 
Finding bipartisan consensus will take time, but it is worth 
the effort.
    Artificial deadlines and interference by leadership only 
complicates the discussions and jeopardizes the whole process. 
We can't afford that. The Chinese Communist Party is an active 
and growing threat to our economy and National Security. This 
bill must focus on addressing that threat. It cannot be a yard 
sale of policies that have failed other legislative vehicles. I 
look forward to working with the Chairs, the Ranking Members of 
the Committee.
    I am committed in good faith toward a bill that strengthens 
American science and technology and protects our threats from 
Chinese leadership, communist leadership in China. Yield back 
the balance of my time, Chair.
    The Chair. Now we will turn to the Chairman of the Energy 
and Commerce Committee, Congressman Frank Pallone.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE

    Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I am confident 
this Conference committee will take bicameral action to secure 
the future of American manufacturing and ensure we lead the 
21st century global economy. As Chairman of the House Energy 
and Commerce committee, I would like to highlight several 
important provisions in the House passed America COMPETES Act 
that I strongly support and believe should be included in any 
final agreement in order to achieve our goals.
    The COMPETES Act authorizes $46 billion to support supply 
chain resilience and manufacturing of critical goods right here 
in the United States. Earlier this week, a coalition of 134 
manufacturing associations wrote to Congress in support of 
these provisions, writing, that is, and I am quoting, ``will 
play an essential role in strengthening supply chains crucial 
for consumers and ensuring Americans quality of life and 
economic prosperity for decades to come.''
    Now, the COMPETES Act also invests $52 billion to 
incentivize private sector investments in the critically 
important semiconductor industry, chips. Everything from 
military equipment to medical devices to home appliance depends 
on semiconductors, and it is vital that we will be able to 
manufacture them here at home. The bill also invests $3 billion 
to support domestic solar manufacturing so we can aggressively 
counter China's control of the solar market that jeopardizes 
our long term energy security interests.
    And the COMPETES Act also increases our domestic drug 
manufacturing base by expanding the use of advanced and 
continuous manufacturing practices and invests in replenishing 
domestic reserves of critical medical supplies, so we are 
prepared for future public health emergencies.
    The COMPETES Act will help innovate our wireless supply 
chain and network security and ensure that next generation 
mobile wireless networks and technologies are safe and secure 
from foreign adversaries, including by investing $1.5 billion 
in the public wireless supply chain innovation fund. So, Madam 
Chair, we have an opportunity to ensure that America can 
outcompete the rest of the world, and I look forward to working 
with each of you to make that a reality.
    But I want to say Chair Cantwell that, you know, you have 
worked with me in the House and Senate bipartisan leaders on 
many issues in the past where we have had success, and so I 
expect that the same is going to happen again with you as the 
Chair. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you, Chairman Pallone. Now to the House 
Ranking Member on E and C, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers.

          STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN McMORRIS RODGERS

    Ms. Rodgers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. China is 
the greatest threat facing America. The CCP tries to compete 
with the U.S. and other economies using any means necessary. 
That includes cheating, stealing, coercion, and slave labor, 
and using their centrally controlled economy to pick winners 
and losers through massive Government subsidies, and handouts 
that benefit the ruling party's political allies. Can you hold 
on 1 second? Thank you.
    OK. Thank you. There we go. They do not adhere to free 
market principles or the highest labor and environmental 
standards that we have here in the United States of America. 
This is not the model for America. We cannot beat the CCP at 
their own game. The U.S. succeeds when they reward hard work, 
creative thinking, risk taking and innovation, and ensure that 
a company's success isn't contingent on the approval, 
direction, or spending by the Federal Government.
    American competitiveness has suffered because of increased 
regulatory barriers, canceled permits for critical mining and 
infrastructure projects, and record taxpayer spending of money, 
causing inflation, supply chain issues, uncertainty for 
businesses. Now is not the time to burden American families 
with more spending or more inflation. It is important for 
companies that support more spending to keep this in mind and 
understand that they will also be hurt by the negative 
consequences of any anti-competitive tax and spend approach. 
Businesses need certainty.
    Without it, they will go elsewhere. Innovation will be 
stalled, and America's global competitive edge will suffer. No 
amount of Government handouts, subsidies, and financial 
incentives will make up for the damage of regulatory and 
permitting barriers.
    To win the future, we need a reliable, regulatory and 
permitting environment that unleashes innovation, secure supply 
chains, and ensures America's companies are retaining and 
expanding jobs here at home in the United States of America. 
Lifting these burdens must be central to this legislation if we 
want to secure American leadership and beat China. Thank you. I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next, we will hear from Senator Tammy 
Baldwin from the Commerce Committee.

  STATEMENT OF HON. TAMMY BALDWIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM WISCONSIN

    Senator Baldwin. Thank you. And I want to begin by thanking 
you, Chair Cantwell, for your leadership first at the Commerce 
committee, shepherding this legislation through a marathon 
markup, I remember well, and now as chair of this Conference 
committee.
    Passing this legislation will help us build a made in 
America economy by investing in innovation, creating jobs, 
strengthening our supply chains, lowering costs for businesses 
and manufacturers, and reducing prices for working families. 
The Senate and the House have both passed ambitious 
legislation.
    Now we as conferees, must work together to deliver an 
agreement. During the last few years, we have seen how supply 
chain disruptions can cause problems throughout the economy. In 
particular, the shortage of semiconductors has caused 
production delays, putting a strain on manufacturers and 
driving up prices.
    With more ``Made in America'' chips, our equipment 
manufacturers, and I would note particularly in the agriculture 
sector, will have better access to the inputs they need to meet 
increased demand, and our farmers will have the tools they need 
to bring their products to market. It has become clear that we 
can no longer rely exclusively on critical products being 
manufactured abroad.
    Both the House and Senate bills include provisions to make 
our supply chain more resilient and housed here at home rather 
than outsourced abroad. I expect the final agreement to reflect 
this as a top priority. Last, the final agreement must make 
strong investments in research and development.
    Wisconsin is a prime candidate for becoming a technology 
hub because we have world class research universities and a 
workforce with literally centuries of manufacturing experience, 
all of which position the state well for growth in both 
traditional and emerging industries. I look forward to working 
with all of my fellow conferees to come to an agreement on this 
vital legislation.
    The Chair. Thank you. Senator Hickenlooper from the 
Commerce Committee.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HICKENLOOPER, U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO

    Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Chair Cantwell, and 
Senator Wicker, and all the conferees. Honored to serve with 
you on this bipartisan Innovation and Competition Conference. 
During the height of World War II, President Roosevelt wrote, 
``new frontiers of the mind are before us. We are a similar 
point in our Nation's history. We have no choice but to 
reaffirm our commitment to science or fall irrevocably behind 
our rivals.''
    This work on the Conference committee is going to help 
stimulate and revitalize our efforts around renewable energy, 
artificial intelligence, quantum computing, I can go down that 
list. It is going to help unleash American innovation. It is 
going to strengthen our supply chains and ultimately reduce 
costs for consumers.
    I think the key agencies in Colorado that are going to help 
drive this are the National Institute for Standards and 
Technology and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory up in 
Golden, among a number of other agencies. But these are similar 
agencies from all across the country. We need to also ensure 
that every American is prepared to contribute to our national 
goals in research and innovation.
    Our success depends on American ingenuity. That is why I 
look forward to working on this bill, including the Regional 
Technology Hub Program, which will expand workforce education, 
train new and diverse entrepreneurs, accelerate technology 
commercialization, and really seriously help grow rural 
economies.
    This is a rare opportunity to reinvigorate our economy and 
cut the red tape that has been holding back American 
innovation, from helping STEM PhDs get visas so they can stay 
right here in America after school to modernizing our banking 
laws so that the cannabis industry isn't operating in all cash 
darkness. Our economy needs to be supported and to help us meet 
this moment in the past--as it has in the past and as it can 
again today. And we have to make changes to keep up with the 
world.
    Fifty years from today, we will look back on this time as 
the great transition, when we modernized our economy and made 
real strides in our transition to a clean energy economy. I 
look forward to working with all of you in this bipartisan 
victory for American people.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next, we will hear from Congresswoman 
Zoe Lofgren from the House Science and Space committee.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ZOE LOFGREN

    Ms. Lofgren. Thank you very much, Senator. I want to thank 
the House and Senate leadership, as well as our respective 
committees, for getting us to this milestone. The investments 
contained in the America COMPETES Act could hardly be more 
urgent. The bill will increase domestic manufacturing, invest 
in research and innovation, strengthen our supply chains, lower 
prices for all, and create good paying jobs in America.
    This is good for the economy and good for working families. 
The House Science committee divisions of the COMPETES Act 
include multiple bipartisan innovation bills. The proposals 
offer a strategic and sustainable plan to grow American 
science, innovation, and technology, and include incentives to 
encourage domestic manufacturing of critical technologies.
    However, this ambitious agenda is incomplete without 
adequate numbers of scientists and engineers to preserve our 
global leadership for generations to come. Our human capital 
gap is one of the most vulnerable parts of our supply chain. 
But provisions in the COMPETES Act would address this.
    While increasing STEM scholarships for U.S. students, the 
bill simultaneously draws the world's best and brightest STEM 
doctoral recipients and company founders to the United States. 
And there are articles from the Wall Street Journal and Forbes 
celebrating this provision of the bills, and I would, at the 
appropriate time, ask unanimous consent to make them part of 
the record.
    The Chair. Without objection.
    [The information referred to follows:]

Wall Street Journal
OPINION | REVIEW & OUTLOOK

                       The Be More Like China Act

The House competition bill is industrial policy mixed with welfare.

            By The Editorial Board--Feb. 2, 2022 6:15 pm ET
            
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
    PHOTO: AL DRAGO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

    If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Chinese President 
Xi Jinping should feel honored by the 2,900-page bill House Democrats 
claim will make the U.S. more competitive. To counter China, Democrats 
think America must copy Beijing's industrial policy.
    Last summer the Senate passed a $250 billion bill with $54 billion 
in handouts for the U.S. semiconductor industry and much more for 
government science bureaucracies. Now with Build Back Better stalled, 
House Democrats are rushing through their own version that leaves no 
liberal special interest behind.
    Democrats say the $52 billion for chip makers will ease supply-
chain problems. Sorry, but building a foundry takes years. Chip makers 
expect shortages for years no matter how much governments subsidize 
them. The White House laments that the U.S. manufactures only 12 
percent of the world's chips, down from 37 percent in 1990. But most 
chips are commodities, so manufacturing has naturally shifted to lower-
cost Asia. The U.S. still leads in chip design (52 percent) and chip-
making equipment (50 percent). China is years behind the U.S. in both.
    Some rightly worry that China could invade Taiwan and seize its 
foundries, which have a near monopoly on advanced chips, including for 
U.S. military weapons. But the Pentagon is already providing incentives 
to make advanced chips in the U.S., and Taiwan's TSMC is building a $12 
billion plant in Arizona.
    The $52 billion in handouts will trigger a global race to the 
subsidy bottom--ironic given the White House's complaints about 
international tax competition. The European Union's internal markets 
commissioner, Thierry Breton, said last week that it's planning a 
``commensurate'' subsidy package.
    Then cometh lobbying by politicians and businesses. Senate Majority 
Leader Chuck Schumer is pressing the House to pass the bill so chip 
makers can get subsidies to build in upstate New York. The Commerce 
Department would get $45 billion to make and procure ``critical 
goods,'' which isn't defined but no doubt will include lithium ion 
batteries and other green technologies. Every trade association will 
want its products designated ``critical.''
    When government allocates capital, it creates economic 
inefficiencies and market distortions. See how Beijing directed 
investment toward real estate to boost GDP. Now it's trying to keep its 
tumbling property market from collapsing the economy, even as it 
subsidizes inefficient state-owned companies as well as new technology.
    As much as cheap capital, businesses need regulatory certainty and 
skilled workers. Yet the Biden Administration is mounting a regulatory 
assault on business, while progressives dumb down math and science with 
a woke curriculum. In 2019 only 22 percent of 12th graders rate 
proficient in science. The House bill would exempt foreign recipients 
of doctoral STEM degrees from the visa cap, creates new visas for 
entrepreneurs and provides ``temporary protected status'' for Hong Kong 
residents. That about ends the list of useful provisions.
    Congress could counter China by granting trade promotion authority 
to negotiate new trade deals. Donald Trump's biggest strategic blunder 
vis-a-vis China was pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but 
new trade authority isn't in the bill.
    It does include a huge expansion of trade adjustment assistance 
(TAA). Workers putatively harmed by trade receive government assistance 
while they are ``retrained,'' often by unions. TAA recipients would get 
higher benefits plus a $2,000 per-child allowance. And TAA would be 
expanded to public employees. Are government jobs outsourced? Older 
workers who belonged to a union would get an 80 percent tax credit for 
health-insurance premiums. This is Build Back Better for unions.
    The bill would also create a diplomatic climate corp within the 
Foreign Service to promote the left's green agenda, plus give $8 
billion to the United Nation's Green Climate Fund.
    There's plenty more green pork, including $3 billion for domestic 
solar manufacturing and grants for promoting ``well-managed but less 
known'' seafood species.
    Plaintiff attorneys also get a special perk: Platforms like Amazon 
and eBay could be held liable for selling counterfeit products, many of 
which come from China. The House bill is even longer than Build Back 
Better, so these are merely some of the lowlights.
    House Democrats hope to pass the bill this week, and then go to 
conference with the Senate. That's where Republicans will have more 
leverage if they also aren't beguiled by Chinese industrial policy and 
more green subsidies.
                                 ______
                                 

   House Passes Bill With More Measures For Immigrants In STEM Fields

forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2022/02/07/house-passes-bill-with-more-
                 measures-for-immigrants-in-stem-fields

    By Stuart Anderson, Senior Contributor--Feb 7, 2022, 12:11am EST

    Amendments to a recently passed House bill will expand immigration 
opportunities for foreign-born scientists and engineers. If retained 
during negotiations with the Senate, the measures in the bill could 
become the most significant on legal immigration to pass Congress in 
more than 30 years.
    Supporters of the provisions will argue that no bill promoting 
innovation can justify not including improved ways to attract and 
retain foreign-born talent. More than 70 percent of the full-time 
graduate students at U.S. universities in electrical engineering, 
industrial engineering and computer and information sciences are 
foreign nationals. Members of Congress have recognized that other 
countries are doing a better job than the United States attracting and 
retaining such talent.
    House Bill: On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives 
passed the America COMPETES Act 222 to 210 with only one Republican 
vote. In June 2021, the Senate passed a similar bill. There are enough 
differences between the two bills to make final passage uncertain.
    Significant Immigration Provisions: On January 25, 2022, the House 
Rules Committee added Rep. Zoe Lofgren's (D-CA) LIKE Act to create an 
immigrant startup visa and also an exemption from annual green card 
limits and backlogs for foreign nationals with a Ph.D. in STEM 
(science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Because of the 
potential to provide new opportunities for entrepreneurs and top 
researchers around the world, these two additions, in the long run, 
might produce more innovations in the United States than all the other 
sections of the nearly 3,000-page bill. Both measures fund additional 
scholarships for U.S. students in STEM fields by charging $1,000 
supplemental fees for those receiving a green card or status under the 
legislation.
    As discussed here, the bill creates a temporary visa for foreign-
born entrepreneurs who qualify and ``Allows the founder to apply for 
and receive lawful permanent residence if the startup entity meets 
certain additional benchmarks.'' The lack of a startup visa 
disadvantages the U.S. compared to other nations like Canada in 
retaining and attracting foreign-born entrepreneurs. The absence of a 
startup visa and the per-country limit caused Jyoti Bansal to wait 7 
years for a green card before he could start AppDynamics, which grew to 
employ over 2,000 people and was valued at $3.7 billion when Cisco 
acquired it in 2017.
    Exempting individuals with Ph.D.s in STEM fields from annual green 
card limits would relieve many from long wait times for permanent 
residence and (indirectly) reduce the decades-long waits for other 
highly skilled immigrants. The provision would allow U.S. employers to 
gain a significant competitive edge by offering the chance at permanent 
residence to outstanding researchers from around the world, including 
those early in their careers and engaging in cutting-edge work. (See 
here.)
    Katalin Kariko, who produced the underlying research breakthrough 
that made messenger RNA possible for life-saving vaccines, could have 
benefited from a special green card provision for Ph.D.s. Kariko earned 
her Ph.D. in Hungary and toiled for years in America, first as a 
postdoctoral researcher, before her work became recognized as life-
saving.
    Approximately 56 percent of postdoctoral researchers work on 
temporary visas, with many in biological sciences, medical sciences, 
engineering and research and development. The new measure would allow 
many more an opportunity to stay in and contribute to the United 
States.
    ``The America COMPETES Act also helps build our domestic STEM 
workforce and encourages start-up companies to establish roots here,'' 
Rep. Lofgren said in a statement. ``Individuals who earn STEM doctoral 
degrees from top research universities in the U.S. will be able to 
quickly obtain permanent residence and founders of start-up companies 
will have a chance to grow their companies here. These measures will 
help ensure that America is once again the number one destination for 
the best and brightest innovators and the next generation of 
entrepreneurs worldwide.''
    Does The House GOP Understand Its Position On Immigration Aligns 
With The Chinese Communist Party's Leadership?: If the Chinese 
Communist Party lobbied in Congress, it likely would have applauded a 
statement issued by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that 
called for removing the bill's provision to bring more Ph.D.s in STEM 
fields to the United States.
    Analysts who have studied China and its technology plans understand 
that the country's leadership fears a more open U.S. immigration system 
able to attract high-level science and engineering talent. It would 
welcome removing from the bill measures to attract STEM talent to 
America.
    ``Chinese leaders understand the extent to which the United States 
benefits from international talent inflows,'' writes Remco Zwetsloot in 
a report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ``They 
therefore celebrate America's flawed immigration system and fear 
reforms that would improve U.S. talent attraction and retention. 
Commenting on
    U.S. retention of Chinese STEM students, the head of the CCP's 
Central Talent Work Coordination Group has complained that `the number 
of top talents lost in China ranks first in the world.' ''
    Zwetsloot cites a Chinese artificial intelligence white paper that 
found U.S. immigration restrictions ``have provided China opportunities 
to bolster its ranks of high-end talent.'' Moreover, ``The deputy 
editor of China Daily USA, a government newspaper, said that expansion 
of the U.S. employment-based immigration system `would pose a huge 
challenge for China, which has been making great efforts to attract and 
retain talent.' ''
    The evidence indicates removing the provision to provide more green 
cards for Ph.D.s in STEM fields would please the leaders of China and 
hurt the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally.
    Ross Amendment Adds Health Professions: An amendment at the Rules 
Committee sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) added ``health 
professions and related programs'' to the STEM fields for which Ph.D.s 
are eligible under the bill to be exempt from the annual limit on 
employment-based green cards. The bill already covered physicians with 
a medical residency.
    In a press statement, Rep. Ross elaborated on who would be added 
under ``health professions and related programs'' in her amendment by 
including a link to the Classification of Instructional Programs 
covered: ``Expand the bill's green card cap exemption for individuals 
with doctorates in STEM fields to include individuals with doctorates 
in these health care fields.''
    Foster Amendment Adds Dual Intent For Many International Students: 
An amendment sponsored by Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) provides 
international students on F visas in STEM fields with ``dual intent.'' 
That means a consular officer no longer will need to be convinced a 
student in a STEM field will not seek permanent residence in the United 
States. The Biden administration recently reversed restrictive guidance 
in the Foreign Affairs Manual--added during the Trump administration--
that would have a similar effect to the Foster amendment. However, a 
law is more difficult than guidance for a new administration to change.
    Manning Amendment Expands Eligibility For STEM Green Card 
Exemption: An amendment sponsored by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) expanded 
the exemption from the annual numerical limit for green cards for 
Ph.D.s in STEM fields to include individuals with a master's degree 
``in the case of an alien who works in a critical industry.''
    What is a critical industry? ``The term `critical industry' means 
an industry that is critical for the national security or economic 
security of the United States, considering key technology focus areas 
and critical infrastructure,'' according to the America COMPETES Act. 
The term ``critical infrastructure'' under 42 U.S.C. 5195c ``means 
systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United 
States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets 
would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic 
security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those 
matters.''
    In sum, like most new laws, regulation will define the scope of the 
provision, but it is likely to include several technology specialties.
    E-4 Visas For Specialty Occupation Professionals From South Korea: 
An amendment by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) would add South Korea as a 
country from which the United States can accept, on a reciprocal basis, 
specialty occupation professionals in a new E-4 status. The annual 
limit is 15,000, though the experience with Australia is far fewer 
visas likely would be used each year.
    The bill also includes immigration and human rights measures for 
Uyghurs and residents of Hong Kong.
    Challenges in the Senate: Before the House-passed immigration 
provisions become law, they must overcome three challenges in the 
Senate. First, the bill will require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, 
meaning a compromise with Republicans in the Senate is necessary.
    The Senate's version of the bill passed 68-32 in June 2021, so 
there has been bipartisan support for the legislation. ``Sen. Todd C. 
Young (R-Ind.), who was a lead proponent of the Senate bill, said the 
House measure would have to undergo large changes for a deal to be 
struck,'' reported the Washington Post. ``[Commerce Secretary Gina] 
Raimondo said that the most contentious of the numerous partisan 
disagreements over the House package concerned its trade-policy 
changes,'' according to the Wall Street Journal.
    Second, it is unclear if there are Senate Republicans who will 
oppose the House-passed immigration provisions, but given Rep. 
McCarthy's statements, that is a possibility. Third, it is unknown 
whether Senate Democrats will fight to keep the immigration measures. 
In the past year, most of the immigration energy among Senate Democrats 
has focused on legalizing individuals here without lawful status.
    An optimist would say the time has come for change. The year 1990 
was the last time Congress passed legislation that included legal 
immigration reforms as significant as startup visas for immigrant 
entrepreneurs and a smooth path to permanent residence for the world's 
top scientists and engineers. A pessimist would take the opposite 
position: If it's a good provision on immigration, it likely won't 
become law. Members of Congress have the rest of the year to prove the 
pessimists wrong.

    Ms. Lofgren. This is a matter of National Security. The 
businesses and individuals will not wait for Congress to act. 
They will look toward our global competitors who have already 
jumpstarted innovation and economic growth to make themselves 
more desirable destinations for international talent and 
investment.
    Inaction is not an option. As conferees, we have a 
responsibility to ensure that the policies and investments 
reflected in the final package are aligned with our Nation's 
long term interests, and I am optimistic that we can work 
together to accomplish that. And I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. My Northwest colleague, 
Congresswoman Susan Bonamici.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN BONAMICI

    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Senator Cantwell, Chair Cantwell. 
It is an honor to be part of this Conference committee, and I 
thank Chair Johnson and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership. 
Through the Bipartisan Innovation Act, we can and will 
reinvigorate our scientific enterprise, invest in American 
workers, uplift clean energy research and development, and 
restore U.S. leadership in domestic manufacturing.
    As the representative of the Silicon Forest in Northwest 
Oregon, I strongly support bringing the semiconductor supply 
chain onshore. By passing $52 billion in funding for 
semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, we will move this 
important goal forward. Whenever possible, I encourage my 
colleagues to remember the inextricable link between U.S. 
competitiveness and climate change.
    The House passed version of this bill, the COMPETES Act, 
includes many important climate provisions I have worked on as 
a member of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology. 
This includes the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program, 
modeled in part after legislation I introduced to help cutting 
edge clean technologies achieve commercialization by leveraging 
regional capabilities and markets.
    The House passed version also includes three bipartisan 
bills I introduced in the House, the Blue Carbon for our Planet 
Act, Cost Research Act, and Blue Globe Act. These bills will 
strengthen coastal acidification research and monitoring, 
expand efforts to map and conserve blue carbon ecosystems, and 
enhance ocean data collection.
    And I thank Senators Murkowski and Whitehouse for their 
motion to instruct on these three bills, which will bolster the 
blue economy, and for their leadership as my Oceans Caucus 
counterparts. I also urge this Conference committee to address 
workforce challenges, in part by including the House passed 
National Apprenticeship Act in our final bill.
    This legislation will create about 1 million new registered 
apprenticeships, a powerful tool to improve career pathways and 
transform the lives of working Americans. Strengthening our 
Nation's workforce is paramount to competing on the global 
stage. We may have difficult conversations ahead, but I know we 
agree more than we disagree.
    And I am committed to working with everyone in this room to 
get this important legislation across the finish line to help 
the people we are all honored to represent. I look forward to 
working with members of this Conference committee to advance 
competitiveness legislation that uplifts American workers, 
addresses climate change, and importantly, puts the U.S. at the 
forefront of innovation and manufacturing. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congresswoman--I am so sorry, 
Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN HALEY STEVENS

    Ms. Stevens. What an honor to be with all of you here today 
for the first Conference meeting of the Bipartisan Innovation 
and Competitiveness legislation. As Chair of the subcommittee 
on Research and Technology within the House committee on 
Science, Space and Technology, I am proud of the Science 
committee's bipartisan provisions that will contribute to this 
package.
    I am especially supportive of the spirit of my NIST for the 
Future Act, which is a bipartisan and comprehensive 
reauthorization for the agency to support U.S. competitiveness 
through research technology standards and support for U.S. 
manufacturing.
    As a conferee, I will work to ensure investments that will 
spur innovation, create jobs, and build a strong and diverse 
STEM work force. Since Oakland County, Michigan sent me to 
Congress, I have been laser focused on championing our 
innovation economy through electric vehicle and autonomous 
vehicle technology, representing the largest concentration of 
automotive supplier jobs in our country.
    Every day I wake up to local headlines about the chips 
shortage hurting workers and small manufacturers who yesterday, 
just yesterday MEMA said are on shakier ground than they were 
during the Great Recession when GM and Chrysler were facing 
liquidation. My top priority here is to get this bill done and 
pass the CHIPS legislation immediately.
    Michigan and its wide ranging economy is counting on us, 
and I stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle, as well as both chambers of this Congress to see 
this through. As we expect to celebrate America's 246th 
birthday on July 4th, my goal is to also be celebrating a 
signed bipartisan Innovation and Competitiveness package.
    This bill is an investment in our people. It reflects our 
ability to retire, think deeper, and invent solutions not only 
to today's problems, but solutions for tomorrow's as well. 
Thank you so much and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Support your passion. We now will 
hear from Congressman Jamaal Bowman. So, Jamal, thank you. 
Welcome.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JAMAAL BOWMAN

    Mr. Bowman. Thank you, Chair Johnson and Speaker Pelosi, 
for giving me the opportunity to participate in this Conference 
committee. And thank you to Chair Cantwell for convening us 
here today. You know, prior to coming to Congress, I had the 
pleasure of being an educator for over 20 years.
    I worked in K-12 schools in the Bronx and parts of 
Manhattan that served our most vulnerable and most needy 
students who lived in communities that had been redlined by the 
U.S. Congress many decades ago. These are kids and communities 
that have been underinvested and under-resourced for their 
entire lives. So despite how brilliant they were, because they 
didn't have access and opportunity to the resources that other 
kids in other communities have, they begin to internalize that 
they do not matter, and they do not have access to the American 
dream.
    As we seek to compete with other nations, we have to look 
in the mirror and ask ourselves, are we investing equitably in 
the children of our country and are we investing equitably in 
the communities of our nation? Because without equity, we do 
not have a democracy.
    Without equity, we cannot compete with any other Nation 
that we are concerned about. If we invest equitably, a rising 
tide lifts all boats and gives every American the opportunity 
to be a part of the American dream. Our kids are creative, 
dynamic and innovative.
    When we talk about STEM education, we have to talk about a 
K-12 pipeline that creates opportunities for all children. I 
also want to mention the expanding role of NSF in this agenda 
will be essential. But as Chair of the Energy subcommittee on 
House Science, I am eager to see the Department of Energy play 
a central role as well.
    That is why the House bill includes legislation like the 
Department of Energy Science for the Future Act, the first ever 
comprehensive authorization of DOE's Office of Science. This 
legislation enables paradigm shifting research from discovering 
the basic building blocks of matter to the development of 
revolutionary clean energy technologies like next generation 
batteries and nuclear fusion. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Now, Congressman Bill Foster.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BILL FOSTER

    Mr. Foster. Thank you. I would like to thank our Chairwoman 
for convening this meeting and to say how proud I am to be part 
of the House Science committee's delegation to the Conference. 
I was very involved in the Dodd-Frank Conference committee a 
decade ago, where I ended up being 10 for 10 in getting my own 
amendments into the House passed version, of which 7 survived 
the final Conference in the Senate.
    I found that the transparency of conferencing to be a very 
useful mechanism to focus on the essential elements while 
stripping out extraneous and counterproductive provisions. And 
the Dodd-Frank bill has stood the test of time.
    And as Congress's token Ph.D. physicist with decades long 
career in our national labs, my focus will be unlocking in an 
expansion of our Nation's effort in basic research, while 
avoiding measures that risk diluting investment in peer 
reviewed, competitively awarded basic research, unless new 
funding is actually appropriated for these new missions.
    And we must avoid Congressional micromanaging of scientific 
priorities and leave that to the experts. And also, as someone 
who has a teenager who started a high tech manufacturing 
company that now provides over 1,200 good manufacturing jobs 
and has kept those jobs in the Midwest, all the while competing 
successfully with offshore manufacturers and dealing with 
offshore supply chain issues for over four decades, I hope that 
we settle on a realistic and workable set of proposals in the 
tech transfer area.
    And finally, as perhaps Congress's only chip designer and 
someone who has managed teams of chip designers, some of the 
most brilliant of which were born abroad, the House proposals 
for expanding and expediting immigration for individuals with 
high tech STEM skills will be near the top of my list. Lots to 
work on here. Let's get moving and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. I think so far the most mentioned 
word has been STEM, so I think we are all in agreement on that. 
Congressman Randy Weber, welcome. Thank you.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RANDY WEBER

    Mr. Weber. Thank you, Chair Cantwell and Chairwoman Johnson 
and my colleagues for calling this Conference so that we can 
resolve the differences between the House's COMPETES Act and 
the Senate's USICA. How Science produced the DOE Science for 
the Future Act, legislation that represents the first 
Department of Energy Office of Science Reauthorization, which 
passed the House by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 351 to 
68.
    Unfortunately, this good legislation was crammed alongside 
billions of dollars in partisan spending on controversial 
international climate slush funds, anti-competitive, pro-union 
mandates, and skewed trade provisions just to name a few. If 
Democrats were serious about addressing climate change, this 
Conference must pare back the partisan provision from the 
COMPETES Act and focus on the bipartisan energy legislation 
that was carefully negotiated between Republicans and 
Democrats.
    And let's focus on investing in the innovative technologies 
that are actually going to reduce our emissions. Basic science 
research is the most effective way to encourage the development 
of new technologies. The House Science committee has already 
passed more than a dozen bills to responsibly invest in 
America's research and development capabilities over the next 
decade.
    Prioritizing investment in American innovation to develop 
the next generation of clean energy, produce and export clean 
and affordable technology will ensure the United States remains 
the global leader in energy. That is how we compete and how we 
win.
    This great legislative body and the Federal Government 
cannot duplicate a non-market economy by forcing mandates and 
regulations. We must arm our dynamic private sector with the 
tools necessary to commercially--commercialize sustainable, 
affordable, and clean energy solutions. And I will yield back, 
Chair Cantwell.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you very much. Congressman 
Michael Waltz.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN MICHAEL WALTZ

    Mr. Waltz. Thank you, Chairwoman. And I think we all agree 
that China is absolutely stealing its way to the top through 
theft, outright theft of our technology through cyber, through 
malign M&A activity, and through outright theft of our academic 
institutions and our research institutions. I also sit on the 
Armed Services committee.
    What I don't think we, all of my colleagues appreciate is 
the extent and scale to which the Chinese Communist Party is 
passing this science and technology that they are stealing from 
us to their military. It is called their civil fusion program, 
their China 2025 program. It is a massive, massive undertaking. 
And I think historians are going to look back at this moment 
and say, what did you do to protect our intellectual property?
    A key provision of the House bill was the National Science 
Foundation. That is responsible for about 40 percent of the 
grants that go to our research institutions and universities. 
They have received 1,000 percent increase in referrals from the 
FBI for grant fraud. Do you know how big their security office 
is? One woman, one person. We have to change that.
    But some of the things that we included in the NSF for the 
Futures Act and that we included within a bipartisan manner, 
prohibiting malign foreign talents programs such as thousand 
talents, requiring annual training for research grantees, 
providing NSF, the National Science Foundation, and 
universities with new tools to combat foreign threats, 
prohibiting funding from going to Chinese State owned 
enterprises, and supporting domestic critical minerals 
development.
    We have--we cannot responsibly pass this legislation, make 
these investments, and then watch it flow right out of the back 
door to our greatest adversary. I thank my colleagues for their 
work on this and I yield.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next will be Congressman Mike Garcia.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN MIKE GARCIA

    Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Madam Chair. It is an honor to be a 
part of this very important process. I am going to start by 
saying something that may be controversial to some, but China 
is not our friend. These aren't good people leading the Chinese 
communist regime. They are conducting one of the largest 
genocides that our globe has seen, especially since the 
Holocaust. We can't do anything that appeases them and 
ultimately should not pass anything that enables them. If we do 
that, we are doing it wrong. And I do look forward to putting 
party politics aside through this process.
    And if we get to the right legislation, we should treat 
this as a must pass. The Chinese Communist Party is actively 
attempting to supplant the United States as the driving force 
in science and technology. To achieve this, the CCP has 
actually targeted American basic research at our universities 
and our businesses, and they have embarked on a systemic 
campaign to steal American intellectual property.
    The economic injury of this process in this campaign to 
steal our IP is roughly $400 billion to $600 billion per year. 
And they orchestrate cyber-attacks which threaten to cripple 
American businesses and infrastructure in parallel. In June 
2021, the House SST committee passed multiple bipartisan 
measures to invest in American innovation, to counter Chinese 
cyber-attacks, and to improve intellectual property security 
throughout the research enterprise.
    Unfortunately, nearly a year was wasted in delaying 
conferencing the House and Senate passed bills. And to make 
matters worse, when the House finally did act, the Speaker 
chose to put poison pills into the good work of the SST bill by 
including unrelated and frankly harmful provisions that 
actually diminish our competitive--competitiveness with China 
and enable China, funneling more money into slush funds like 
the U.N. Climate Change Fund, and adding sense of language 
provisions which actually don't protect us from this very 
existential Chinese threat.
    So I look forward to this process. I think we need to do a 
little bit better on this front, that we need to, as a Nation, 
recognize China as the existential threat that it is, and not 
adopt an appeasement or enabling strategy. And this is very 
important. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. And for those of you who are 
following our process, that concludes our comments from our 
House Science, Space and Technology members. There were a few 
who were absent, I think, due to illness, but they if they come 
back, we will hear from them. But we are now going to turn to 
the House Energy and Commerce members to hear from their 
sections' relevant pieces of legislation. And first, 
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. Congresswoman.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ANNA ESHOO

    Ms. Eshoo. Thank you very much, Chairwoman Cantwell, 
Chairwoman Johnson, Senator Wicker, all of my colleagues that 
are part of this Conference. It is an honor to be an honoree. 
The House passed America COMPETES Act is very important 
legislation to bolster our economic competitiveness, protect 
our National Security, and ensure the United States remains a 
global leader in science and technology.
    I want to focus on three specific areas of priority, 
semiconductors, the drug supply chain, and cybersecurity. My 
Silicon Valley Congressional district takes its name from the 
material used to make semiconductors. But today, very, very few 
semiconductors are made in the Valley or anywhere in the United 
States. Our reliance on foreign made semiconductors is an 
economic and National Security risk, and it is why this 
legislation's $52 billion in funding for the CHIPS Act is so 
important.
    The House bill includes provisions that I authored to 
expand the eligibility of chips programs to include 
manufacturers of semiconductor equipment and evaluate the role 
of Government purchasing. We should all be highly concerned 
about our Nation's overreliance on the foreign production of 
critical drugs and medical products. The House bill includes my 
legislation, giving the FDA authority to collect additional 
information on drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients that 
are manufactured overseas.
    Finally, on cybersecurity, the House bill includes four 
bipartisan bills that I authored to improve cyber preparedness 
among small businesses, nonprofits, local Governments, and the 
general public. I would just say, last, that our challenges 
really present opportunities for us. America is waiting. Let's 
get on it. Let's get this done. And when we do, we will ensure 
our Nation's global economic competitiveness. Thank you, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chair. Thank you. Just as I closed out Science and 
Technology, you must have heard that. I must have been--
trajectory out to the hall. Congressman Babin showed up. So if 
you would like to make your comment, sir.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BRIAN BABIN

    Mr. Babin. Thank you. It is Babin.
    The Chair. Babin. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Babin. Thank you very much. Good being with you all 
today. Hopefully make some progress on this very important 
bill. Unfortunately, we have a lot of work to do because 
instead of focusing on common sense solutions to our problems, 
we seem to be seeing that Speaker Pelosi has championed a bill 
that concedes to China and actually makes us less competitive 
with them and less protected from them.
    The House Concedes Act lets the CCP off the hook for 
failing to contain COVID-19. It fails to ban funding to CCP 
tide organizations. It fails to punish the CCP for its blatant 
human rights abuses. And it fails to strengthen our competitive 
edge over China. Instead of putting us in a strategic position 
to succeed, this bill allows the CCP to continue its 
misinformation campaign to steal scientific technology from us 
and bolster its economic advantages.
    As the Ranking Member of the Space and Aeronautics 
subcommittee, I have a front row seat to watch China 
continuously pour huge investments into its space program. The 
U.S. still has a significant advantage over the rest of the 
world, but when it comes to space--but if we fail to maintain 
continuity of purpose on our programs, or if we fall victim to 
partisan gamesmanship, that leadership will erode over a 
relatively short time period. Whoever leads in space sets the 
rules, and I, for one, don't want the Chinese Communist Party 
setting those rules.
    This highlights the need for us to get a NASA authorization 
done. However, House priorities must be reflected in that final 
bill. We have successfully collaborated on this in the past, 
and I highly encourage my colleagues, every one of you here 
today, to work toward that again. And so with that, I want to 
end by emphasizing this opportunity that we have here today to 
correct these major issues in this legislation. So I want to 
thank you and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. We are going now to Congresswoman 
Lisa Blunt, Rochester.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN LISA BLUNT

    Ms. Blunt. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. Thank you to the 
Speaker and to my generous E and C colleagues and everyone here 
for your contributions to the historic and vital package. Our 
American spirit, history, and heritage is one of being 
pioneers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. But over the decades 
and due to the pandemic, we have witnessed long developing 
weaknesses in our infrastructure and supply chains, resulting 
in shortages and increasing cost.
    Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, we addressed our 
aging infrastructure and broadband, and now it is time to 
address our national competitiveness and security. From COVID 
masks being sold for over $100 a piece, or nurses wearing trash 
bags because they don't have the gowns, or delays in getting a 
car, or no baby formula on the shelves in our supermarkets, 
these shortages and supply chain disruptions have a ripple 
effect in every facet of our economy, contributing to rising 
cost and inflation.
    This competition package is about our health, our wealth, 
and our National Security, and I am proud to have led the 
bipartisan supply chain resilience subtitle in the America 
COMPETES Act to protect us from facing these threats again, a 
focus on jobs, research, manufacturing, and quality of life. 
And if we can make it in America, let's make it in America. 
These supply chain provisions have the support of over 150 
organizations, from labor to industry.
    And as the bipartisan Future of Work Caucus chair, with 
this package, we have an opportunity to propel our country into 
a prosperous future. Let's get it done. Thank you, Madam Chair, 
and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will now turn to the subcommittee 
chair of Consumer on E and C, Congresswoman Schakowsky.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN JAN SCHAKOWSKY

    Ms. Schakowsky. Thank you so much. I am really proud to be 
here with my fellow conferees and to represent the Energy and 
Commerce committee and the subcommittee on Consumer Protection 
and Commerce, which I am proud to chair. The legislation that 
we are considering today must strengthen supply chains, protect 
consumers, bolster American manufacturing, and invest in our 
scientific and technological leadership.
    We can defend consumers and legitimate businesses from 
unsafe and counterfeit products by passing--by including my 
bipartisan Informed Consumers Act, which is included right now 
in the America COMPETES Act. I call on my colleagues to make 
critical investments in American manufacturing by creating 
regional technology hubs across the country and a program 
championed by Representative Bowman.
    Finally, this legislation must bolster supply chains. We 
know that we are continuing to see these vital shortages from 
everything from cars to baby food. I ask for your support for 
the--to include the bipartisan supply chain resilience subtitle 
championed by my colleague Representative Blunt Rochester.
    I look forward to working with all of you on the Conference 
committee to enhance American leadership and the benefits for 
American workers as well as consumers. And I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you so much. Next, we will hear from 
Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN DORIS MATSUI

    Ms. Matsui. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I am 
very--it is a pleasure to join you all here to kick off the 
critical work that we were doing Conference in COMPETES and 
USICA. For me, like you, this meeting is a culmination of many 
months of hard work. Almost 2 years ago, I joined a bipartisan 
group in the House and the Senate to introduce the Chips for 
America Act. This bill establish a road map for reassessing or 
reasserting American leadership in the strategically important 
semiconductor industry.
    Since then, two things have happened. The Chips Act was 
signed into law as part of the 2021 defense bill, and the need 
to fund it has only grown more severe as a global semiconductor 
shortage has dragged on. Thankfully, both COMPETES and USICA 
includes the full $52 billion we need to comprehensively 
implement the CHIPS Act. This funding is about more than any 
one specific technology or industry. It is about securing a 
fundamental building block of the 21st century economy.
    But there is more than--there is more that we can do. As an 
original co-sponsor of the FABS Act, I believe we have a unique 
opportunity to lay the groundwork for generational leadership 
in the semiconductor innovation and job creation. I want to 
work with you to do just that. I have also been a strong 
advocate for modernizing our telecommunications networks 
through Open RAN.
    This exciting technology will help diversify our supply 
chains and create new opportunities for American companies to 
enter the market and compete. In March, I led a bipartisan, 
bicameral letter signed by 147 Members of Congress urging the 
leadership of our respective chambers to begin this Conference 
process immediately.
    Well, we have begun, and I am excited to work with all of 
you to continue our bipartisan process and secure America's 
position as a global pacesetter for innovation. And thank you, 
Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you so much. We will next turn to 
Congressman Paul Tanaka.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN PAUL TANAKA

    Mr. Tanaka. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. The landmark 
innovation package that we are considering today will indeed 
transform our ability to compete abroad while securing good 
jobs here at home. A $52 billion investment in the Chips for 
America Act is essential to expanding America's semiconductor 
manufacturing capabilities.
    New York's capital region has so much to gain from strong 
investments in semiconductor manufacturing, which provides 
thousands of jobs in our region and is uniquely poised to lead 
the Nation in advancements in the emerging field, which is why 
I have led the fight to get this critical initiative funded in 
the House.
    The funding will also allow us to stand up the National 
Semiconductor Technology Center, which I am working to host in 
New York's capital region, and the bipartisan Micro Act 
included in the House bill will complement chips by 
accelerating early stage microelectronics research at the 
Department of Energy to feed into these national semiconductor 
technology center concepts and manufacturing facilities.
    These investments must be accompanied by efforts to better 
attract and retain qualified workers from across the globe, 
while supporting greater domestic STEM education and workforce 
development. DOE is critical to this effort, and our national 
labs must be well-represented in a final Conference agreement. 
In addition to R&D, DOE can play a role, key role in improving 
domestic manufacturing.
    Provisions like my Flex Tech legislation included as an 
amendment in the House would establish a program for States to 
support manufacturers by funding energy studies and the 
implementation of recommendations from those studies. Many 
States already have successful programs to support industrial 
energy efficiency, and this provision would build on those 
efforts.
    We also know that the solar industry is currently involved 
in a major tariff case, and I fear these types of cases will 
only continue until we invest throughout the entire domestic 
solar supply chain. We should enact the provision included in 
the House passed bill to reclaim solar manufacturing. Finally, 
an amendment based on my Restoring Offshore Wind Opportunities 
Act was included in the House bill to overturn the arbitrary 
leasing ban set to go into effect this summer in North and 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
    Blocking offshore wind development not only hurts our clean 
energy goals, but also undermines America's offshore 
businesses, which are working to create high quality jobs and 
ensure America's leadership in this emerging global industry. 
With that, I look forward to this Conference reaching agreement 
on a package that prioritizes these issues, supports microchip 
manufacturing, supply chain crisis done domestically as a 
response, and trade policy that will reform and emphasize 
American workers.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congressman Darren Soto.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DARREN SOTO

    Mr. Soto. Thank you, Madam Chair. Members, the pandemic has 
revealed a chilling reality, America no longer manufactures 
many of the goods essential to our great Nation. From 
microchips to telecom, to PPE and pharmaceuticals, batteries, 
solar, even cranes at our ports, and electrical equipment for 
our utilities, Americans now rely on manufacturing halfway 
across the world. This has made us vulnerable.
    Supply chains have raised prices because of the pandemic, 
and the loss of these factories have cost us jobs. To make 
matters worse, we rely on economic rivals like China who spy on 
us and don't share our democratic values for these essential 
goods. I have hope, though, these challenges are not 
insurmountable. Many prior Congresses and both parties have 
promised to bring jobs back from overseas.
    Many Congresses have promised to kickstart a manufacturing 
renaissance and to harness the hard work and ingenuity of our 
greatest resource, the American people. They have promised, but 
they have never delivered. Like with the bipartisan 
infrastructure package, this Congress will act. In central 
Florida, we make microchips in aerospace, space and voting 
manufacturing.
    The CHIPS Act will be essential to help with that, and the 
provisions should be expanded and eligibility to both large and 
small firms, and there should be both grants and loans. 
Critical industries and critical goods--this 100 day supply 
chain report that was issued on June 8th of 2021 lays out 
several key areas, from pharmaceutical products and essential 
ingredients to critical minerals and rare earth elements to 
high capacity batteries.
    The time for excuses and partisan gridlock is over. The 
Congress must act and must act now to boost manufacturing, 
lower costs, and to help us succeed in the 21st century 
economy. And I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you. Congressman Larry Bucshon.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN LARRY BUCSHON

    Mr. Bucshon. Thank you, Madam Chair. The goal of this 
legislation shouldn't be about leveling the playing field with 
China or trying to beat them at their own game. It should be 
about making sure that the Chinese Communist Party never has 
the opportunity to play on the same field as the United States.
    The United States is the home of innovation and ingenuity. 
It is a land where hard workers, critical thinkers, and risk 
takers are rewarded. Sadly, American competitiveness is 
suffering through more regulatory barriers, canceled permits 
for critical mining and infrastructure projects, and supply 
chain woes that are crippling Main Street.
    These are the real problems, not the lack of Government 
funding. It troubles me that our own Government, the Government 
of free market principles and competitiveness, is resulting to 
picking winners and losers through Government subsidies, rather 
than promoting innovation and allowing for competitiveness. 
There isn't a corner of America that isn't feeling the 
hardships from the supply chain woes and the high cost of 
living. Inflation is an all-time high.
    Gas prices are at an all-time high, and Hoosiers in my 
district are faced with the unthinkable decision to forgo 
everyday goods just to be able to pay their energy bills. If we 
truly want to stay competitive, let's focus on maximizing the 
use of the abundant resources we have here at home.
    Let's focus on America. America ensures that the Chinese 
Communist Party is never playing on the same field as us by 
embracing innovation, unleashing domestic energy production, 
and creating a reliable regulatory and permitting environment, 
not through Government subsidies and wasteful spending.
    Lifting these barriers must be central to this legislation 
if we want to build off of our storied history of global 
competitiveness and secure American leadership. Thank you. I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next, Congressman Buddy Carter.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BUDDY CARTER

    Mr. Carter. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I would 
like to reiterate what Representative Garcia said earlier in 
this meeting, but I will take it just a step further. China is 
not our friend. They are not our adversary. They are our enemy. 
And everyone on this Conference committee needs to keep that in 
mind as we go through this process. From genocide against 
Uyghur Muslims to COVID-19, the world is less safe under 
China's influence. In addition to promoting the ideals of 
freedom and democracy, the United States must stop relying on 
this foreign adversary for manufacturing.
    In the first Congressional district of Georgia that I have 
the honor and privilege representing, we have two major 
seaports, the Port of Savannah, the Port of Brunswick. 
Brunswick is the number two roll on, roll off port in the 
country. Right now we have a backlog of cars and trucks because 
they don't have the necessary chips to be brought to market. We 
should be doing our best to make sure those chips are made 
here.
    Make no mistake, I intend to fight for increased domestic 
manufacturing in this Conference, along with finding ways to 
reduce the barriers to growth that come from unnecessary 
permitting and burdensome regulations. In addition to chip 
manufacturing, I intend to highlight issues such as ensuring 
that Americans have a constant stockpile of essential 
medicines.
    As a pharmacist, that is very important to me. It is very 
important for us to have pharmaceutical independence, just as 
it is important for us to have energy independence for our 
National Security. Identifying long standing emergency 
challenges related to wildlife poaching and trafficking is also 
something I want to concentrate on, elements of the Inform Act 
and tariffs, along with holding China accountable, accountable 
on COVID origins.
    Energy and Commerce Republicans have been investigating 
COVID origins for over a year now, and it seems more and more 
likely and probable that it originated in a lab leak at the 
Wuhan Institute of Virology. This bill, this bill that I am 
sponsoring, H.R. 5270, would prohibit gain of function research 
for 5 years.
    This language should be included in any final bill. Gain of 
function research is nothing more than intellectual arrogance, 
and it should not be allowed anywhere. Madam Chair, in 
addition, we also need to hold China accountable for their role 
in the pandemic and ensure our medical supply chains are 
secure.
    A lot is at stake here. I hope all of us will be mindful of 
that. I thank Leader McCarthy for giving Georgians a voice on 
this important issue. And I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congressman Jeff Duncan.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JEFF DUNCAN

    Mr. Duncan. Madam Chair, thank you for convening this 
important Conference on this critical topic today. But let's be 
clear, if we want to compete with China, so much of the House 
legislation is just silly virtuous signaling. This nonsense has 
absolutely nothing to do with competing with China and 
everything to do with pointing to the left wing base and 
saying, see, we are fighting for you.
    And then you want to be able to tell the American people, 
see, we can fight against China, too. Well, guess what? We 
Republicans don't have that problem. We have been fighting 
consistently against China for years under President Trump 
while Hunter was cutting deals with the Chinese Communist Party 
and making sure that the big guy got his cut. If you actually 
want to fight China, these bills aren't going to get that done 
as currently written.
    If you want to get serious about American competitiveness, 
you have got to get serious about one of the most important 
legacies of the Trump Administration that the Biden 
Administration has been fighting against from day one, and that 
is reestablishing American energy dominance.
    What works for America and against China and Russia is 
pushing policies that get Americans working on energy again, 
revitalizing and modernizing nuclear power, an area that China 
is kicking our rear ends in, getting the next generation 
nuclear power, exploration and production, exports of oil and 
natural gas, whether on Federal or private land, offshore, 
onshore, and the OCS.
    And using hydraulic fracturing to maximize production. I 
would note that Senator Barrasso had a successful motion to 
instruct on opening OCS for Federal leases again. That is a 
good starting point out of this bill. You want more chip 
manufacturers to come to the U.S.? They need a reliable, 
affordable, 24/7, 365 baseload power supply and a nonunion 
workforce that is affordably trained just like any other 
manufacturer, and currently as constructed, this legislation 
fails on both of these points.
    I am here today because I want this to be a serious 
negotiation that actually focuses on the problems at hand for 
our manufacturers, including semiconductors. If you are serious 
about that, let's work together to make America more 
competitive in the real world, not in the Ivy League, 
intellectual centers of the left. Ditch the Marxist, socialist 
policy dreams and the wacky green new deal environmental 
policies and let's get serious.
    Republicans stand ready with actual policy solutions that 
will make this a better bill and move us toward the goal of 
beating China. For that to happen, the Democrats on this 
committee are going to have to abandon their overregulating tax 
and spend big Government agenda. With that, I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congressman Dan Crenshaw.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DAN CRENSHAW

    Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you to the Chair and Ranking Member for 
the time today and appreciate the opportunity to serve on this 
very important Conference committee. And the conferees have 
been charged with a multitude of tasks to improve America's 
position vis a vis China. This is a good and noble objective, 
and I want to make sure we accomplish it, especially with 
respect to one of our most important goals, a vastly expanded 
domestic supply chain for semiconductor chips.
    Now, it should be said that if we get this wrong, we will 
only exacerbate already high inflation. If we spend the 
proposed $52 billion on semiconductors but also fail to 
increase their domestic supply, we will still fail to compete 
with China all while putting inflationary pressures on our 
economy. I think we need to avoid that, and we avoid it by 
looking at the chip shortage holistically and specifically 
taking into account the materials necessary to make chips in 
the first place.
    Making chips requires materials that are hard to produce 
and expensive to come by. According to the White House in their 
review of supply chains, it takes hundreds of fluoro chemicals 
and dozens of different gases, and in this review, they go on 
to say what I haven't heard mentioned here today, which is that 
looming EPA regulations are the biggest barrier to making 
semiconductors here at home.
    Without addressing these regulations, which threaten to 
derail any attempt to increase domestic production of chips, 
all this provision will accomplish is driving up inflation 
without actually reducing shortages. So I sincerely hope that 
we will address this extremely important issue and thus ensure 
the success of this bill. And I look forward to working with my 
colleagues and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. That concludes our Energy and 
Commerce colleagues. I want to thank all our House colleagues 
for coming, both from Science and Technology and Energy and 
Commerce committee. We are going to take a short recess while 
the room is reset for the Senate Finance and House finance 
colleagues.
    [Recess.]
    The Chair. The Conference committee will reconvene. This 
next session, we are going to hear from members from both the 
Senate Foreign Relations committee and the House Foreign 
Relations committee on sections of the bill dealing with their 
priorities. I would like to now call on the distinguished 
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, my dear 
friend, Senator Bob Menendez.

                STATEMENT OF HON. BOB MENENDEZ, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY

    Mr. Menendez. Thank you, Madam Chair. Today's Conference 
addresses one of the most significant pieces of legislation I 
believe the Congress will deal with, an unprecedented 
bipartisan effort to mobilize all United States strategic, 
economic, and diplomatic tools to enable the U.S. Government to 
compete effectively with the People's Republic of China and the 
challenges it poses to our National Security and to our economy 
in the coming decades.
    I think we all share a common view that we are entering a 
new and more competitive era with China, and that the United 
States must develop and deploy policy and strategy that is 
equal to the enormity and urgency of the challenge.
    China today, led by the Communist Party and propelled by Xi 
Jinping's hyper nationalism, is unlike any challenge that we 
have faced as a Nation before. So this is a moment that demands 
a strong strategic response that can begin to rebuild American 
leadership and invest in our ability to outcompete the PRC in 
the generation ahead. That is what this legislation does.
    Last year, I authored the Strategic Competition Act with 
Senator Risch, which we move through the Senate Foreign 
Relations committee by an overwhelming bipartisan margin, and 
which was then incorporated into the Senate U.S. Innovation and 
Competition Act, which advances concrete cooperation with 
alliances and partnerships, restores American leadership of 
international and regional organizations, addresses China's 
predatory economic practices and malign influence campaigns, 
emphasizes that--our economic strength and innovation in 
technology and digital connectivity, and grounds U.S. policy in 
our Nation's values and highest aspirations.
    In addition to these provisions from the Strategic 
Competition Act, I also look forward to working with our House 
colleagues to establish an Inspector General at the Office of 
the U.S. Trade Representative. USTR carries out decisions 
affecting every worker, business, and consumer in this country, 
but is currently operating without one of the most effective 
guardrails we have against overreach.
    This powerful fix would bring a more transparent, 
accountable, and effective trade policy, and it received the 
unanimous bipartisan support of the Senate to vote last week. 
Inclusion of these provisions, I believe, are essential to 
ensure that our efforts here create and provide a durable and 
enduring framework for U.S. strategic competition with China in 
the years ahead.
    And I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 
House and the Senate on both sides of the aisle to arrive at a 
successful Conference. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I know that our 
colleague, Senator Risch, is on his way and we will call on 
him. Oh, well, here, speak of--here he is, our colleague from 
the Northwest. Senator Risch, we have a seat right next to 
Senator Menendez. I don't know if you want a minute or two or 
if you are ready to give your comments now, but we welcome you 
to the Conference committee.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES RISCH, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

    Mr. Risch. Well, thank you very much. And I am ready----
    The Chair. Proceed.
    Mr. Risch. And I am used to sitting next to Senator 
Menendez, so thank you for sitting me here. It is very nice. 
Well, good morning, colleagues. I have been involved with this 
bill since its inception as an author of the Strategic Act way 
back in 2020. It has come a long, circuitous route since then.
    And then I was involved in the Strategic Competition Act in 
2021. My message has remained the same from the beginning. To 
effectively compete against China, we need a bill that is 
concrete, is actionable, and is truly bipartisan. If we are 
going to achieve that, this bill must do several things.
    First, to counter the insidious influence of the Chinese 
Communist Party and their influence in our open society, 
including at our universities, which I worked closely with, 
with Senator Menendez as we developed language in that regard, 
it needs to strengthen our security posture and alliances in 
the Indo-Pacific, and it needs to push back on China's 
anticompetitive economic behavior.
    I will work in good faith toward a strong, concrete, 
bipartisan, actionable bill. However, I have a lot of concerns 
about the bill passed by the House. There was no Republican 
input. The bill doesn't really seem to be about China. I will 
not accept any bill that weakens us just for the sake of saying 
that we did something.
    China is the greatest challenge we face today. It is not a 
Republican or Democrat issue, it is an American issue. And I 
look forward to working with all of you, many of you, as we 
take this task on. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Risch. We will now 
turn to our House colleagues. Again, welcome. Thank you for 
making it over here to participate in the Conference. And now 
the distinguished Chairman of the House committee, Congressman 
Gregory Meeks.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN GREGORY MEEKS

    Mr. Meeks. Thank you, Senator, and Representative Eddie 
Bernice Johnson. And I want to thank you for the opportunity to 
speak today. You know, last year, President Biden declared that 
we are in a competition with China and other countries to win 
the 21st century. We are in a competition to safeguard the 
international system that America helped build, and we are in a 
competition to save democracy and human rights from the agents 
of violence and authoritarianism.
    The fact is that we have increasingly seen the People's 
Republic of China commit genocide, manipulate international 
organizations, break international law, steal our technology, 
and use its economic and military sway to bully and coerce. Xi 
Jinping thinks he can get away with all of this because he is 
betting that America is in terminal decline and that our 
democracy cannot get its act together. Over the coming weeks, 
this Conference committee will be further proof that he is 
wrong.
    In front of us are two bills that lay out a comprehensive 
blueprint to position the United States to win this 
competition. And I am confident that we can get a strong 
package if all of us are willing to negotiate in good faith. 
You know, I often hear my colleagues declare that China is an 
urgent challenge. Well, it is time for us to put our money 
where our mouths are. America COMPETES has dozens of provisions 
that are not in the Senate bill that will strengthen our 
ability to compete with China.
    This includes provisions to provide refugee protection for 
the Uyghurs and Hong Konger, to support Taiwan, strengthen our 
supply chains, and demonstrate U.S. leadership on global 
challenges like climate change. The last thing the PCR wants is 
for us to send a bill to the President's desk.
    Let's come together as Americans to show Beijing and the 
world that America's best days are ahead of us. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Chairman. Next, we will hear from the 
Ranking Member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, 
Congressman McCaul.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN MICHAEL McCAUL

    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me just say that 
the Chinese Communist Party poses the greatest generational 
threat to the United States and our allies, and the alliance 
with Mr. Putin demonstrates this. And this is not a partisan 
issue, it is an American issue. And this, Madam Chair, has to 
pass with both sides of the aisle supportive.
    This could be the most important legislation passed in this 
Congress and is desperately needed. I don't always says this, 
but I think the Senate did a pretty good job. They came up with 
a bipartisan bill. I am disappointed to say that did not happen 
in the House. We--what we produced out of the House is a very 
partisan bill. That is the challenge of this Conference 
committee, to make this a truly bipartisan bill. And I just 
want to touch on a few key areas in the 1-minute I have left.
    I introduced the Chips for America Act with George--Matsui, 
Senator Cornyn, with Senator Warner, broad based support on 
both sides of the aisle, bicameral. This will bring 
manufacturing of our advanced semiconductor chips out of the 
vulnerable area of Asia into the United States and also protect 
our most--our National Security and our most advanced weapons 
systems that we rely on these chips for.
    I think that is really a crowning centerpiece of this 
legislation. I hope, Madam Chair, at a minimum, we can get that 
done for the Nation. I know the White House is supportive. I 
know of both sides of the aisle in the Senate and House are as 
well. I would like to see export controls being used here. Too 
often we have given them our technology. They have stolen it 
from us, and now we see that we are selling it to them.
    And when we saw the hypersonic launched out of China, 
around the world hitting with precision, that was built on the 
backbone of American technology. Madam Chair, I believe that 
needs to stop, and I look forward to working with you and the 
Senate on this truly what I hope will be a bipartisan exercise.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you and Congresswoman Matsui 
for that legislation. We will next turn to Congressman Ted 
Deutch.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN TED DEUTCH

    Mr. Deutch. Thanks, Chair Cantwell, distinguished members 
of the Conference committee. Honored to be a conferee for the 
America COMPETES Act, a vital piece of legislation that will 
strengthen our supply chains, make transformational investments 
in research, innovation and domestic manufacturing, that will 
advance American competitiveness in the 21st century.
    Competing with China requires a strong defense of our 
values, and I am proud that the America COMPETES Act includes 
in our legislation the Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act, 
which expedites refugee processing for persecuted Uyghurs by 
designating them Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian 
concern. It also recognizes that China is committing crimes 
against humanity in its persecution of the Uyghurs and other 
Muslim ethnic minorities in China.
    And the America COMPETES Act includes several additional 
provisions related to the treatment of Uyghurs in China, 
including further sanctions and export controls imposed for 
human rights abuses and surveillance in Xinjiang. I am eager to 
work with my colleagues in the Committee to ensure these 
important provisions are included in the final package.
    Additionally, defending the United States against China 
means defending our people. The America COMPETES Act is an 
essential tool in the fight against the scourge of opioid 
trafficking. It will help us confront the underlying drivers of 
the overdose epidemic, the trafficking of fentanyl to the 
United States, and its precursor chemical--its chemical 
precursors to Mexico from China, by requiring the Secretary of 
State, Secretary of Treasury, Attorney General all to submit 
reports to Congress describing our Nation's efforts to gain 
commitments from the Chinese government to combat fentanyl 
production and trafficking.
    As many here know, I lost my nephew Eli to a tragic 
accidental overdose when he unknowingly took a legal supplement 
that was laced with fentanyl. This tragic story has been 
repeated too many times nationwide. More than 107,000 Americans 
died of drug overdoses last year. These are our neighbors, our 
relatives, our kids. More must be done to end this tragic 
epidemic. And ensuring these provisions to confront China on 
the export of these precursor chemicals is an important step in 
this fight.
    I appreciate the time, and I look forward to participate in 
this Conference committee and working swiftly to deliver this 
legislation to the President's desk.
    [The prepared statement of Representative Deutch follows:]

                 Prepared Statement of Rep. Ted Deutch
    Chair Cantwell, distinguished members of the conference committee, 
I am honored to be a conferee for the America COMPETES Act, a vital 
piece of legislation that will strengthen our supply chains and make 
transformational investments in research, innovation, and domestic 
manufacturing that will advance American competitiveness in the 21st 
century.
    Competing with China requires a strong defense of our values, and I 
am proud that the America COMPETES Act includes our legislation, the 
Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act, which expedites refugee processing 
for persecuted Uyghurs by designating them as Priority 2 refugees of 
special humanitarian concern. It also recognizes that China is 
committing crimes against humanity in its persecution of the Uyghurs 
and other Muslim ethnic minorities in China. The America COMPETES Act 
includes several additional provisions related to the treatment of 
Uyghur's in China, including further sanctions and export controls 
imposed for human rights abuses and surveillance in Xinjiang. I am 
eager to work with my colleagues on the committee to ensure these 
important provisions are included in the final package.
    Additionally, defending the United States against China means 
defending our people. The America COMPETES Act is an essential tool in 
the fight against the scourge of opioid trafficking. It will help us 
confront the underlying drivers of the overdose epidemic--the 
trafficking of fentanyl to the U.S. and its chemical precursors to 
Mexico from China--by requiring that the Secretary of State, the 
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General all to submit 
reports to Congress that describe our Nation's efforts to gain 
commitments from the Chinese and Latin American governments to combat 
fentanyl production and trafficking. I lost my nephew, Eli, to a tragic 
accidental overdose when he unknowingly took a legal supplement that 
was laced with fentanyl. This tragic story has been repeated too many 
times nationwide--more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses 
last year. These are our neighbors, our relatives, our kids. More must 
be done to end this tragic epidemic and ensuring these provisions to 
confront China on the export of these precursor chemicals become law is 
an important step in this fight.
    Thank you for your time. I look forward to participating in the 
conference committee and working to swiftly deliver this important 
piece of legislation to the President's desk.

    The Chair. Thank you, Congressman Deutch. And we are sorry 
for your family's loss, so very much sympathies to you. Next, 
we will hear from Congresswoman Karen Bass.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN KAREN BASS

    Ms. Bass. Thank you, Madam Chair. As Chair of the House 
Foreign Affairs committee on Africa, I did want to mention the 
Young African Leaders Initiative in this bill to counter not 
just China, but Russia, particularly in Africa, in continued 
support for global health. I want to highlight provisions of 
Division D from the Foreign Affairs committee bill, a few 
provisions and their daily impact on the lives of those 
residing in California's 37th Congressional District that I 
have the honor of representing.
    By modernizing the global supply chain and its 
diversification, we will strengthen our ports and the logistic 
economy located nearby. The Port of Los Angeles and Port of 
Long Beach combine to make our ports complex the largest in the 
Western Hemisphere, handling roughly 40 percent of all inbound 
containers for the entire United States. By investing now and 
improving these supply networks, not only will we support U.S. 
based manufacturers, but nationwide supply chain.
    By including provisions to help curtail the flow of illicit 
fentanyl into the United States from both Latin America and 
China, we can investigate crime organizations and save lives 
here at home. According to a Pew study released in January 
2022, more Americans died from overdose in 2020 than any 
previous year on record.
    By focusing not only on China, but with improving American 
leadership in Asia, and with our allies partners in the region, 
we continue to benefit from the economic impacts of trade and 
tourism. The Port of Los Angeles moved record cargo volumes 
last year amid an import surge at the U.S. worldwide container 
supply chain snarls.
    However, as we move forward in this effort to compete with 
China and the threats from China, we must make sure that we 
don't contribute to anti-Asian discrimination, racism, and 
attacks that too many Asian Americans feel, and they are 
worried about being a victim of racial attacks.
    My colleagues, we have a historic opportunity to enact into 
law a far reaching bill that will impact our country and its 
ability to not just compete but lead in the 21st century 
economy.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you very much for your 
statement. I know we were just joined by Congresswoman 
Houlahan. Are you ready to give your statement?

          STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN CHRISSY HOULAHAN

    Ms. Houlahan. Thank you.
    The Chair. Proceed.
    Ms. Houlahan. Thank you. And as a member of both the Armed 
Services committee and the House Foreign Affairs committee, I 
have been very fortunate to be able to play an active role in 
the United States approach to China over the last 3 years. The 
appointments have provided me ample opportunity to use my 
personal, professional experience working in manufacturing and 
overcoming supply chain challenges on a weekly, if not daily 
basis.
    In fact, last year I served on the House Armed Services 
committee's Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force, and we 
were successful in leading an effort to include recommendations 
from our report in last year's NDAA. For these and so many 
other reasons, I am truly honored to be part of this Conference 
and a conferee on the USICA, America COMPETES Act, and our 
Conference process.
    Like all of you, my constituents are feeling the burden of 
supply chain issues and inflation that stems from an 
overreliance on imports from China. It is well past time that 
we as Members of Congress enact meaningful reform to return 
good manufacturing jobs to America and to make sure that we 
aren't dependent on nefarious actors for critical supplies.
    I am also honored to be here on behalf of the House Foreign 
Affairs committee, and I was proud to vote to pass the Ensuring 
American Global Leadership and Engagement or EAGLE Act out of 
our committee last year. This legislation does a number of 
things, including helping U.S. companies address supply chain 
issues related to China, providing financing to developing 
countries to counter their dependehnce on China, increasing the 
U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific, and establishing an 
interagency working group to counter Chinese cyber aggression 
in Africa.
    Last, it authorizes activities to promote democracy in Hong 
Kong. This legislation is particularly important, as we know 
all China--that China is closely watching the conflict in 
Ukraine and applying it to their aims in Taiwan. I also want to 
quickly mention an amendment that I was thrilled to have 
included in the COMPETES Act, which is the Strengthening Supply 
Chains for Servicemembers Security Act.
    We saw during the early days of COVID the dangers that come 
from having critical supply chains based in unreliable 
countries. In closing, I want to thank Chairman Meeks for his 
support in appointing me to this committee, and I look forward 
to working with you all to produce a bill that reestablishes 
our country as a global manufacturing leader and a strong 
defender of democracy in the face of autocratic intentions. 
Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SARAH JACOBS

    Ms. Jacobs. Well, thank you, Chair Cantwell and members of 
the Conference committee. Thank you to Speaker Pelosi, and also 
thank you to Chairman Meeks for your leadership on the foreign 
affairs piece of this legislation.
    I am excited to be with you all this afternoon because the 
America COMPETES Act is so important for our country, our 
domestic priorities, and our global leadership. As we have seen 
so clearly from the war in Ukraine, so much of our power and 
our National Security stems from being able to muster 
international coalitions. And to be able to do that, we need to 
double down on leading with our values.
    That is why it is so important to get the COMPETES Act 
across the finish line into the President's desk. Our 
competitive edge in the global competition with China is the 
commitment to our values, and we need to restore our 
credibility and reputation as a country that upholds those 
values in everything we do abroad and keeps our promises in the 
international community.
    That is the best way to ensure that the real source of our 
power, our alliances, our partnerships, our ability to get 
other countries to join with us remains intact as we engage in 
this competition. And a big part of this is upholding our 
promise at the U.N. and fully funding our peacekeeping 
operations so that we are not letting other low income 
countries bear that burden, which creates a crack in our 
alliances that we know the Chinese government is already 
working to exploit.
    That is why I was so glad to see my bill to lift the cap on 
peacekeeping dues and ensure we are paying our fair share 
included. We also have to ensure that the source of our 
strength, our values are infused in everything we do and not 
let short term security considerations override our longer term 
strategic objectives.
    I am grateful that my amendment to ensure that human rights 
spending in our security assistance to partners abroad was also 
included. The America COMPETES Act recognizes that our strength 
abroad ultimately comes from our strength at home. I look 
forward to working with this Conference and my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle to create a final package that reflects 
the best of America on the world stage. Thank you, and I yield 
back.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. Next, we will turn to 
Congressman Chabot.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN STEVE CHABOT

    Mr. Shabot. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. As Ranking Member 
of the Asian Pacific subcommittee, it is my belief that this 
century will be defined by how we counter the Chinese Communist 
Party and its clear ambitions for not just regional but global 
hegemony. On every front, the Chinese Communist Party is 
aggressively challenging the free world and our belief that 
open societies, free markets, and the rule of law are the way 
to a prosperous and equitable civilization.
    The CCP's ambitions have thrust us into what amounts to a 
new cold war, and a new arms race that we did not start and do 
not want, but which we must win. If we rise to the challenge, 
freedom and democracy will continue to flourish. If we fail, 
the CCP will replace the post-World War II order with a new 
global order that revolves around Beijing.
    As for the legislation being considered, while there are 
worthwhile provisions such as the CHIPS funding, which I 
strongly support, neither chambers' legislation really does the 
hard things that we need to do if we honestly believe our own 
rhetoric. For instance, neither bill has meaningful export 
control provisions.
    The outbound investment provisions are a mess in the House 
bill and are completely lacking from the Senate's bill. And 
neither bill really tackles research security. Let's face it, 
we aren't going to win the competition against the CCP by 
having the State Department write more reports, or by dumping 
taxpayer money into a U.N. climate slush fund that actually 
gives money to China.
    By wide margins, the American people view China as a major 
threat. We should have the will to act on their convictions and 
the clear facts. After decades of inaction, this Conference 
presents the opportunity to reevaluate and dramatically improve 
our basic approach toward engagement with China. The question 
is, will we take it? I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, sir, for that. Congresswoman Ann 
Wagner, welcome.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ANN WAGNER

    Ms. Wagner. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am honored to serve 
as a conferee alongside so many of my colleagues. The United 
States competition with China is a generational challenge, and 
I believe this may be one of the most consequential legislative 
initiatives that we will work on in our time in Congress.
    Unfortunately, I have to say, the House version of this 
legislation absolutely does not reflect the gravity of this 
challenge. Republicans were not engaged in the drafting 
process, and the resulting bill consists overwhelmingly of non-
substantive findings and reports, except for an outrageous $8 
billion authorization for a Green Climate Fund. It contains no 
export controls, as many of my colleagues have brought up, nor 
does it include guardrails to ensure that funding is not used 
to subsidize the Chinese Communist Party.
    The final legislation must codify tough export controls to 
prevent the CCP from using American products to gain an edge. 
And it must impose robust and meaningful accountability 
measures for China's egregious human rights violations. We 
should also include a provision that I was proud to sponsor to 
reduce the number of Chinese military researchers who slip 
through the cracks in our visa system, protecting critical 
research from being used to fuel China's military 
modernization.
    Researchers affiliated with the Chinese military, the 
People's Liberation Army, the PLA, use U.S. universities and 
research institutes to spy on cutting edge research, train 
personnel, and improve military capabilities. This is a 
colossal security risk. University staff who largely rely on 
the U.S. Government to identify or deny the visas of students 
sponsored by or affiliated with the PLA, need the United States 
to step up its efforts to catch PLA spies before they enter 
American soil.
    This provision would require the United States to publish a 
list of research, engineering, and scientific institutions 
affiliated or funded by the PLA and ensure that the list is 
available to American education and research institutions. I 
look forward to working with my fellow conferees to strengthen 
this important bill, and I again thank the Chair very much, and 
the Ranking Member for his confidence, and our Chairman of the 
House Foreign Affairs committee. And I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congressman Mark Green, welcome.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN MARK GREEN

    Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the 
opportunity to be here today, and of course, thank Leader 
McCarthy and Ranking Member McCaul for the opportunity. It is 
disappointing that the Foreign Affairs committee majority, 
which is traditionally a very bipartisan committee, did not 
work to secure an agreement with Republicans on the foreign 
affairs portion of this bill.
    As a result, we have a weaker product and a long road ahead 
of us. The COMPETES Act contains a ton of reports, census of 
Congress, and a green slush fund, but it isn't tough on China. 
Critical National Security provisions are missing. For example, 
the bill contains zero export controls, as had been said, and 
no guardrails to ensure that taxpayer money does not benefit 
the Chinese Communist Party.
    It doesn't confront the CCP's rampant environmental 
destruction and debt trap diplomacy through their Belt and Road 
Initiative. And it fails to hold the CCP accountable for 
covering up the first cases and spread of COVID-19. That has to 
change. Additionally, as Ranking Member of the Western 
Hemisphere subcommittee, I would be remiss if I did not mention 
the need to counter China's malign activities in Latin America 
and the Caribbean.
    That is why I introduced, with Chairman Sires and the 
support of members of the State Department, the bipartisan 
Western Hemisphere Nurturing Act, which would reduce our supply 
chains dependence on Chinese manufacturing while fostering 
economic prosperity among our Southern neighbors. I encourage 
all of my House colleagues to co-sponsor this critical piece of 
legislation.
    As conferees, we have the real opportunity to enact 
legislation to confront the Chinese Communist Party head on. 
But we all know that if this legislation is to pass both 
chambers and be signed into law, it must be bipartisan. I hope 
the majority will work with Republicans on this initiative. 
Thank you, and I yield.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next, Congresswoman Yong Kim.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN YONG KIM

    Ms. Kim. Thank you, Chairwoman. And I would like to give a 
big shout out and thanks to our Ranking Member McCaul for 
appointing me to this Conference committee. And I want to--I 
really want to thank you for the opportunity for me to address 
you today on the Conference process for the China competition 
bills. With inflationary risks rising daily, we can't afford to 
spend billions on controversial partisan priorities. We must be 
targeted and focused on our approach.
    Instead of focusing on the targeted, bipartisan investments 
in basic research that would help America excel in competition 
against China, the COMPETES Act is filled with priorities that 
did not enjoy bipartisan support. Whoever leads in the next 
generation of science and technology will set the rules of the 
road across scientific fields for decades to come. As much as 
85 percent of America's long term economic growth is due to 
advances in science and technology, and we cannot take that 
continued growth for granted.
    Competing with China in the next generation requires 
targeted investments in basic research and emerging 
technologies, investments in our STEM work force, fully funding 
the CHIPS Act, and to increase our semiconductor manufacturing 
capacity, smart foreign policy approaches that hold the CCP 
accountable for its human rights violations and genocide of 
Uyghurs, and closer ties with our allies in the Indo-Pacific 
region.
    The CCP has made it clear, its goal is to become the 
world's top economic and military superpower by 2025, and has 
shown it will undermine human rights, freedom, and decency in 
pursuit of this quest for the world dominance. Xi Jinping is 
watching us and hopes that we are unsuccessful in producing a 
bipartisan, bicameral bill that improves our ability to compete 
with them globally.
    We must send a strong message that the United States will 
continue to lead on the world stage and will counter this 
aggression. So I look forward to working with my colleagues 
from both sides of the aisle to ensure we increase our 
competitiveness and be less reliant on adversaries like China 
for our supplies of critical technologies. Thank you, and I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you so much. That concludes the segment on 
hearing from the Senate Foreign Relations committee and House 
Foreign Relations committee. We will take a few minute recess 
while we reset for the Senate Finance committee and the House 
Ways and Means committee, which I see many of our colleagues 
are here. So just give us a few minutes to reset the room and 
we will welcome you up.
    [Recess.]
    The Chair. The bipartisan committee on Innovation and 
Competition will reconvene. We are now being joined by our 
distinguished colleagues from the Senate Finance committee and 
from our House colleagues from Ways and Means. We want to 
welcome you and thank you for being here to make remarks about 
this section of the legislation before us. I will now turn to 
the distinguished chair of the Finance committee for his 
remarks, Senator Ron Wyden.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM OREGON

    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Senator Cantwell. And so all of 
you get a Northwest perspective on this. I think the Pacific 
Northwest and the country is very well-served by having Chair 
Cantwell using her considerable abilities on these hugely 
consequential issues, and we look forward to your leadership, 
Senator Cantwell. I am just going to make a couple of quick 
points over my couple of minutes.
    First, I strongly believe that our workers can outcompete 
anybody, anywhere as long as we have a level playing field. And 
so that is job number one. At the same time, our factories and 
workers are being sidelined by a lack of semiconductors, and it 
is absolutely critical that this Conference make certain that 
those chips are manufactured in the United States of America.
    Absolutely essential. I think it is also worth noting that 
these shattered supply chains for semiconductors and other 
crucial materials have directly hit Americans in their 
pocketbook for many months and have been a significant factor 
in inflation, and is yet another reason, Chair Cantwell, why it 
is so important that we manufacture in this country domestic 
semiconductors. Last point I will make very quickly, is I think 
we all understand we have a big challenge with respect to 
international trade.
    I think many of my colleagues from the Pacific Northwest, 
something like one out of three jobs in the Northwest, revolves 
around international trade. The trade jobs often pay better 
than do the non-trade jobs. So it is absolutely key that we get 
trade right. That means we have got to go after blatant trade 
rip offs that undercut our jobs and our consumers.
    And it is particularly important to shed light on 
repressive censorship by China, Russia, and other Governments 
that hurt Internet users, trample on human rights, and makes it 
tough for American exporters to compete. For a lot of us, we 
have been through these kinds of challenges--Conferences.
    I am looking at my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 
This one is going to be big by anybody's past history of these 
issues. I look forward to working with you and our colleagues, 
Madam Chair, and particularly a Ranking Member Senator Crapo, 
who shares my concern about semiconductors.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Crapo, welcome.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE CRAPO, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

    Senator Crapo. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I share Senator 
Wyden's feelings about confidence in your leadership on this 
issue. It is critical, and I look forward to building a strong 
resolve to make America stronger and more competitive, and to 
resolve these issues. We began this Congress working together 
in the Senate to produce a bipartisan bill to improve American 
competitiveness against China.
    The Senate's bill, and particularly its trade title, 
succeeded in that respect. Passing, as Senator Wyden likes to 
say, with nail biting margin of 91 to 4. What didn't work in 
this Congress was the partisan battles we had over 
reconciliation and a number of other issues. So as we begin to 
work in this Conference, let's return to that bipartisanship.
    On my end, I am open to add, modify, and subtract from the 
Senate trade title, if such changes enjoy support from the four 
corners in the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means 
committee and broad support from the conferees. Because of the 
limited time today, I am not going to comment on specifics of 
the trade title at this time, but I appreciated Senator Wyden 
raising semiconductors.
    In the spirit of bipartisanship, there are some key tax 
proposals that haven't been included in the bill yet, that have 
been raised by members from both sides in our committees of 
jurisdiction that could meet that bipartisan standard. I am 
referring to the R&D expensing provisions under Section 174, 
and the FABS Act, the Fabricating American Build Semiconductors 
Act, which could be significant in achieving the very 
objectives that Senator Wyden and talked about in terms of 
making sure that our semiconductors are manufactured here in 
the United States.
    Each of these provisions incentivize innovation and 
sophisticated manufacturing, which we should all agree, will 
make us more competitive against China. My goal is not to get 
out of Conference with the bare minimum of support, but to 
expand bipartisan support on those elements that will further 
American competitiveness.
    The Senate and House were able to do that when we worked 
together on the Russia trade legislation that passed the Senate 
100 to 0 and passed the House 420 to 3. I thank Senator Wyden 
and Congressman Neal and Brady for the way they all work 
together with us on that issue. I am willing to work in this 
Conference toward the same thresholds for our China 
legislation.
    We all want to improve our competitiveness against China, 
but we need to be mindful particularly because of high 
inflation, that unnecessary spending will also make us less 
competitive. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you for your important remarks 
and for your important leadership. We are now joined by the 
distinguished Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, 
Congressman Richard Neal.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RICHARD NEAL

    Mr. Neal. Thank you, Chair Cantwell and Chair Johnson, for 
calling this important meeting. I am delighted to be joined by 
my friend, Mr. Brady, the Ranking Member on the Ways and Means 
committee as well, and actually to participate in what I think 
is going to be a real Conference.
    The Congress I came to actually did this with great 
regularity, and it was a great subject of open debate but real 
negotiation. Refraining from saying things in public that we 
would have trouble walking back. Understanding that in line 
with negotiation, it genuinely is give and take. I think while 
we are in broad agreement on principle, as is always the case 
in negotiations, it is the specifics that sometimes divide us. 
But I also am pleased that this Conference is taking place.
    A reminder, I think, to our friends in the media as well. 
If we were holding this Conference about a year and a half ago, 
we would have all been told what a great job the Chinese had 
done of managing COVID. And now we find that if management of 
COVID is arresting people in the streets who dare to protest 
the lockdown procedures that have taken place, we might come to 
a different conclusion.
    This is not about being anti-Chinese. This is about 
addressing a serious international trade issue. Again, upon 
arrival in Congress, trade was a very bipartisan consideration. 
All sides found agreement and accommodation in advancing the 
principles of trade. But it is also a broad acknowledgment 
today that China presents a key and defining challenge in our 
time.
    We have spent the past few decades attempting to 
incorporate China into the global trading and international 
economic system, hoping that they would eventually play by the 
same rules that the rest of the world would play by. They would 
continue to move toward democracy, support human rights at home 
with the understanding that more choices in the marketplace 
would invite more choices in the polling place. Unfortunately, 
that has not happened.
    Instead, they have become more emboldened in the use of 
non-market and anti-competitive trade practices. They have 
taken a step backward on human rights. And they continue to 
deploy economic coercive tactics against allies and our own 
American businesses' interests. Now, there is growing concern 
regarding China's support of Russia's unprecedented invasion of 
Ukraine.
    This Conference is an opportunity for both parties in both 
chambers to come together to directly respond to this 
challenge. I am committed to working in a bipartisan, bicameral 
fashion to deliver a strong bill that supports American 
workers, manufacturers, and businesses, while confronting 
unfair international trade practices head on.
    So let's take advantage of the moment. I think that we all 
need to be rowing the boat in the same direction. And let's 
reward American innovators in a competitive international 
marketplace, shore up our supply chains, and propel the United 
States to a prosperous, secure future for generations to come.
    And those of you who have worked with me over the years, 
you know that what I just said is entirely sincere. I want to 
work with both chambers and both parties to get a really good 
piece of legislation. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you, Chairman Neal. Next, welcome to the 
Ranking Member from the House Ways and Means committee, 
Congressman Kevin Brady.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN KEVIN BRADY

    Senator Brady. Thank you, Chair Cantwell and members of the 
Conference committee. The litmus test for this Conference is 
twofold, will the final bill significantly counter China's 
economic aggression, and does it confront China's predatory 
trade practices? If not, there is no reason to advance it.
    In trade, while portions of the Senate bill are bipartisan, 
the House version is not. I will do my best to find common 
ground and work closely with someone who I respect and have a 
good track record with finding common ground, Chairman Neal. If 
we are serious about countering China's economic aggression 
around the globe, America must begin to lead on trade, pursuing 
strategic trade agreements that strengthen reliable supply 
chains and opens new customers for Made in America products and 
services.
    Without trade agreements and trade promotion authority, 
there is no need for TAA. GSP And MTB should have been extended 
last year with bipartisan support. We must be cautious about 
extreme ideological proposals that make it harder for 
developing countries to qualify for GSP.
    U.S. manufacturing companies and their workers shouldn't 
lose out to foreign competitors due to tariffs on select parts, 
equipment, or materials not available in America today. Trade 
remedy and investment provisions work best when they are fully 
and carefully vetted in both chambers of Congress.
    Serious concerns exist, and I hope they can be addressed. 
We should avoid stoking President Biden's inflation further, 
harming small businesses fighting to succeed in international 
commerce or distracting U.S. Customs from deterrence of illegal 
trade in major shipments through hasty changes and reasonable 
de minimis limits.
    Finally, I see no need for a tax title in this Conference 
report, especially one favoring a single industry. If at all, 
we should confront the brazen Made in China 2025 plan for 
industrial and technological dominance by unleashing all of 
America's innovation and economic might across myriad 
industries.
    With that, I too look forward to working with Chairman 
Wyden, Senator Crame--Crapo, Chair Cantwell, and others in this 
Conference committee.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will now hear from the author of--
--
    [Technical problems.]

                STATEMENT OF HON. MARK WARNER, 
                     U.S. SENATOR VIRGINIA

    Senator Warner. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. Thank you for 
your great work on this, and to our colleagues in both the 
House and the Senate. This CHIPS legislation came about because 
John Cornyn and I both serve on the Intelligence committee, and 
we hear the complete story of China's remarkable level of 
investment in cutting edge technologies. And let me echo what 
Chair Neal said, our beef is with the Communist Party of China 
and Xi Jinping's leadership, but not with the Chinese people or 
the Chinese diaspora around the world.
    We have seen America's supply of semiconductors fall from 
about 33 percent, manufacturing down to single digits. We have 
almost seen the exact converse take place in terms of China's 
investments. My fear, as well is that what we are seeing in 
semiconductors and the need for us to make investments, we may 
need similar type approaches in artificial intelligence, 
quantum computing, synthetic biology.
    We need to maintain America and the West's leadership in 
cutting edge technologies. I am concerned and think there needs 
to be a real sense of urgency around getting this job done. I 
personally believe that regardless of announcements made by 
Intel or TSMC or Samsung or others, there will be no American 
manufacturing fab built at all, regardless of the 
announcements, unless we complete this legislation and the 
CHIPS component.
    I would add we also need, and we may have to wrestle with 
this one a little bit, I do think we need a tax title, the FABS 
component. Again, Senator Cornyn, I have worked with Senator 
Crapo and Senator Wyden on this issue. I would point out as 
well, last comment, that we have to do this to stay competitive 
with China. But one of the great ironies is that we came up 
with this idea roughly about a year ago, and on a relative 
basis, the Senate moved fairly quickly.
    The Europeans at that point did not even have a plan in 
place. Europeans took our plan, and when European bureaucracy 
moves quicker than America, we know we need to kind of take a 
deep breath. And I know Intel, we received close to =8 billion 
euros of German support for their facility that they have 
announced in Germany before they see a single dime from any 
American investments.
    So we need to get this done. I appreciate Chair Cantwell's 
great work and let's work together to make it happen.
    The Chair. Thank you. Now the other author of the CHIPS 
legislation, Senator John Cornyn.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS

    Senator Cornyn. Thanks, Madam Chairman. And I know you have 
been anxiously awaiting this day and so have I. COVID-19 
exposed supply chain vulnerabilities from PPE to 
semiconductors. But if you start focusing on our dependency on 
foreign sources of semiconductors, these advanced micro 
circuits that basically run everything with an on and off 
switch, it is truly shocking the extent to which the United 
States is dependent on importing these advanced semiconductors 
from Asia, primarily.
    90 percent of the advanced semiconductors in the world are 
made in Asia. About 63 percent of that 90 percent are made in 
one place, Taiwan. And given the explicit threats of the 
Chinese Communist Party made against Taiwan, it is not unlikely 
that we could see one of three things either be because of a 
pandemic, because of a natural disaster, or because of an 
invasion of Taiwan, we might see the United States access to 
these advanced semiconductors that run everything, from our 
cell phones to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, in jeopardy.
    Right now, we are seeing what the impact of the sanctions 
that the United States has imposed against Russia on imports of 
advanced technology, what impact that is having. Secretary 
Raimondo has spoken quite well on that. So this is money that 
will be well spent. For some of us, it is a little bit outside 
of our ordinary comfort zone.
    But the competition we are having with China is unlike any 
we have experienced throughout our history, and we have to 
begin to close these vulnerable supply chains. So I agree with 
my dance partner, Senator Warner. We--there is a sense of 
urgency. If we don't do this and don't do it quickly, the 
companies from Micron to Intel to Samsung and others will be 
making these investments somewhere, but it won't be here in the 
United States.
    And they have a huge demand for their product. It is 
growing exponentially. And if we don't do something about it in 
the immediate future, I think it will be a missed opportunity, 
and that vulnerability that I just described will continue. 
Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you. Next, we will hear from my Northwest 
colleague, Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN EARL BLUMENAUER

    Mr. Blumenauer. Thank you, Madam Chair. This Congress has a 
chance to deal with several longstanding policy challenges, 
investing in the semiconductor manufacturing including legacy 
chips, providing cannabis businesses with access to banking, 
and responding to the challenges of the United States American 
trading relationship. It is critical that the Safe Banking Act 
be retained in the final Congress.
    You saw, Madam Chair, three people killed in one week in 
your state. The Safe Banking Act is an issue of public and 
workers safety. It has passed the House six times. I hope we 
work together to retain it because it is a matter of life and 
death. I am proud that this--of the strong trade title in the 
America COMPETES Act, which confronts China head on and 
supports American workers and manufacturing, not just talking 
about it.
    I will measure each provision in the trade title by two 
metrics, is it tough on China and does it support American 
workers. I note the recent vote on the motion to recommit 
suggests to me that there is some flexibility in our--with our 
Senate colleagues. The trade provision in the COMPETES Act is 
pro-worker and responsive to the challenges of China trading 
relationship. Workers businesses will benefit from a 
dramatically improved trade adjustment assistance. Without our 
action, it disappears entirely in July.
    Workers and communities deserve better. And we get tough on 
China by closing that de minimis loophole on goods from China, 
eliminating finished products from the trade bill. Taken 
together, these changes restore the programs back to their 
original intent, supporting American workers and domestic 
manufacturers, not undercutting American suppliers to Chinese 
benefit.
    At its core, this Conference committee must contain a trade 
title that meets workers' needs and bolsters America's ability 
to compete with China and the rest of the world. Thank you, 
Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Congressman Davis.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DANNY K. DAVIS

    Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be a 
part of this Conference reconciliation process, which is 
designed to strengthen manufacturing opportunities in the U.S. 
and reduce our reliance on goods made in other countries, and 
especially China. When we compare the two bills, we find 
strengths and weaknesses. We find more strengths in one and 
more weaknesses in the other.
    We find worker protections in one and the absence of worker 
protections in the other. I believe that as we proceed to merge 
the two, I think it is in the best interests of the U.S. trade 
and manufacturing policies to preserve, protect, and promote 
the reestablishment of manufacturing and job creating 
opportunities back to the front line in urban communities where 
people are hurting for job training and work opportunities.
    It is my belief that the COMPETES Act of 2022 does a better 
and more effective job of doing just that. I thank you and 
yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congressman. Welcome to my Northwest 
colleague, Congresswoman Susan DelBene.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN DelBene

    Ms. DelBene. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, I want to thank 
Chair Cantwell, my colleague from Washington State, for her 
leadership on this important Conference committee. And I also 
want to thank Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Neal for appointing 
me to serve on the Committee. I think we have a unique 
opportunity to work together, not just as Democrats and 
Republicans, but as one Congress to deliver for workers, for 
families, and for the American economy.
    As the Chair of the 98 member New Democrat Coalition, I am 
also very laser focused on reaching an agreement that invests 
in American jobs, growth, and resilient supply chains that will 
address the real concerns that Americans have about inflation 
and our economic future. This includes making more computer 
chips right here in the U.S., which are critical for many 
sectors of manufacturing in Washington State, including medical 
devices, trucks, and new technologies to power the increasingly 
digital economy.
    We also have an opportunity to ensure that no community is 
left behind, and I support preserving the RECOMPETE Pilot 
Program to provide resources to economically distressed 
communities. It is a key priority. As a leader on the Ways and 
Means committee, I am also focused on reducing barriers to 
trade, leveling the playing field for American workers, forging 
new trade rules for the digital economy, and building stronger 
ties with like-minded countries to counter unfair trade abuses 
from China and others.
    These investments are critical to putting America on the 
path to be a global leader in the 21st century. And all the 
work that has gone into these proposals so far means nothing 
until we get legislation to the President's desk. And so, as 
others have stated, we must show a sense of urgency in our work 
here.
    We don't break ground on new factories, hire more American 
workers, and build more products here at home until we get this 
done. The American people want governance to work again, and 
that is our charge in this committee. Thank you, Madam Chair. I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. I am going to turn the gavel over to 
my colleague from Oregon while I run to the floor to vote, but 
next will be Congresswoman Judy Chu.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN JUDY CHU

    Ms. Chu. Thank you. As chair of the Congressional Asian 
Pacific American Caucus, I would like to speak about the unique 
impact the bipartisan Innovation Act has on the Asian-American 
community. As we continue this Conference process it is 
imperative to keep in mind that the language we use to talk 
about this bill matters.
    Anti-Asian hate is still rising. Alarmingly, a recent 
survey found that over the past few years, Americans have 
become more, not less likely to suspect that Asian-Americans 
are more loyal to the countries they or their families 
immigrated from than the United States. The cost of this 
suspicion is the lives that have been lost to anti-Asian hate. 
There have been more than 11,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate 
since March 2020 and hate crimes against Asian communities have 
increased 339 percent.
    As leaders, it is our responsibility to do everything we 
can to stop anti-Asian hate. That starts with changing our 
rhetoric. We are here today to discuss a bill that will 
transform the American economy and improve the lives of 
countless Americans, and we support that 100 percent. Framing 
it as an American leadership bill rather than the China 
competition bill reduces the risk of hate against our 
communities here at home.
    Second, there are four provisions in the Senate passed 
version of the bill that open the door to racial profiling of 
Asian Americans from within our own Government. These 
provisions would essentially empower Government agencies to 
investigate individuals, organizations, or businesses just 
because they have economic, social, cultural, or family ties to 
China.
    These policies are blatantly discriminatory, and I look 
forward to working with all of you to ensure that our concerns 
are addressed in the final bill. Thank you, and I look forward 
to working with all of you throughout the Conference process.
    Senator Wyden. I thank my colleague. Next three in order 
will be Congressman Kildee, Congressman Gomez, and Congressman 
Smith.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DAN KILDEE

    Mr. Kildee. Thank you, Senator Wyden. And my thanks to 
Chair Cantwell and especially to Speaker Pelosi and Chairman 
Richie Neal for naming me as a member of this really important 
Conference committee. With this committee, we have an 
incredible opportunity to work together, Democrats and 
Republicans, to increase America's competitiveness in the 
world, particularly with China.
    And I believe we have an obligation to move beyond 
conversation and to deliver, to get a bipartisan compromise 
bill to the President's desk. There are so many aspects of this 
legislation that are important, strengthening domestic supply 
chains to lower costs for families, investing in the domestic 
production of critical components like semiconductors, to bring 
more manufacturing back to America and ensuring that we have a 
robust trade agenda, including a Trade Adjustment Assistance 
for Communities Program, to help those places that have been 
left behind by past trade deals.
    Right now, in my hometown of Flint, thousands of cars sit 
unfinished, finished except for chips. These chips were 
invented here in America, and for many years they were made 
here too. But now the dependence and shortage of foreign made 
chips is resulting in Michigan workers being laid off, 
furloughed, facing work stoppages, and it is costing the 
automotive industry billions of dollars in lost sales.
    As conferees, we must prioritize investments to boost 
domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, including investment 
specifically for chips used in automobiles. And I have--as I 
have mentioned, perhaps a time or two, we must prioritize a 
robust Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities Program.
    I represent mid-Michigan, as I said, which includes many 
smaller, older industrial communities that have been hurt by 
past deals. As a member of the Ways and Means committee, I have 
worked with my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to 
replace outdated trade deals like NAFTA with stronger 
agreements like the USMCA.
    But our trade deals can only be truly fair when every 
community, especially those that have suffered chronic economic 
hardship and job loss due to trade, can compete for the new 
economic investments and the jobs that this opportunity offers. 
Included in the House passed version of our bill is my 
legislation, TAA for Communities, a program that will help 
qualifying communities create and execute locally driven, 
market based economic development plans.
    So I look forward to working with every member of this 
important committee, Democrats and Republicans, from the House 
and the Senate, to get this job done for the American people. I 
yield back.
    Senator Wyden. Congressman Kildee, I have enjoyed working 
with you in the past and look forward to continuing. Next is 
Congressman Gomez.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JIMMY GOMEZ

    Mr. Gomez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have a historic 
opportunity to level the playing field against unfair trade 
practices and uplift working families in Los Angeles and across 
the country. I am proud of the trade provisions in the COMPETES 
Act put forth by the House Ways and Means committee under the 
leadership of Chairman Neal.
    In particular, modernizing and reauthorizing the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Program to better support workers and 
communities who are adversely affected by trade. The House 
COMPETES Act makes key improvements to TAA by establishing a 
childcare allowance for parents, increasing benefits for 
workers using the health care tax credit, expanding eligibility 
to all workers impacted by trade, ensuring TAA serves workers 
who are non-native English Speakers, and requiring outreach to 
historically underserved communities, like many which I 
represent.
    Reauthorizing TAA to meet the needs of today's workforce 
that is still recovering from the pandemic is critical because 
the program expires by June. I urge my colleagues to 
reauthorize and strengthen the GSP program, which includes 
improved labor and environmental criteria that will promote a 
more equitable, sustainable, and accessible economy.
    Our trade policy must reflect our Nation's values and align 
with the standards of recent preference programs. I also urge 
my fellow conferees in the House and the Senate to continue to 
put forth a worker centric trade paradigm that we started under 
USMCA and support provisions that empower American workers and 
promote better wages at home. With that, I yield back. Thank 
you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Congressman. Next is Adrian 
Smith.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN ADRIAN SMITH

    Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and appreciate this 
opportunity. I think it is certainly timely that we are 
discussing these issues. We know we need to be more 
competitive. I appreciate the point made that we want to show 
leadership in the world. And I think we have the opportunity to 
do so.
    I am concerned about the House version and that it was not 
bipartisan in nature, so I am glad we can use this process to 
course correct. I do believe that we need to prioritize things 
like GSP and MTB. And I think it is a mistake to actually 
narrow the eligibility and add more red tape, especially in the 
middle of this supply chain crisis that we know we are feeling. 
I appreciate the concerns about de minimis. I appreciate them 
enough that I would hope we could work on vetting that.
    And as I hear from the front lines of our economy, we need 
to be very cautious as we move forward. I don't want unintended 
consequences to be the result. So, trade adjustment assistance, 
I realize the role of TAA.
    Again, and in the midst of a worker shortage, I don't think 
we should delink a TAA from what has traditionally been an 
opportunity to move that forward with trade agreements, and I 
hope that we can work together on that. If there is some 
interest in airdropping a tax title into the package, I hope 
that we work together ensure that we can resolve the existing 
disagreements before we would consider that.
    And above all, I hope that we can focus on a broad based 
approach to our supply chains. Yes, chips are--we are short on 
those. We see that in a lot of places. But manufacturing plants 
in my district with half a million dollar combines parked on 
the parking lot, you mentioned autos, I am sensitive to that, 
it is more than just chips where those parts are short.
    So I hope that we can come together to finalize a product. 
Yes, we want to hold China accountable, but we want to show 
leadership on this and broad based opportunities for our supply 
chains to recover. Thank you. I yield back.
    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Congressman. The next three will 
be LaHood, Miller, and Senator Brown.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DARIN LaHOOD

    Mr. LaHood. Thank you, Senator Wyden. And I want to 
acknowledge Senator Cantwell for her leadership and my fellow 
conferees. Also want to thank Ranking Member Brady and Leader 
McCarthy for selecting me to be part of the Conference 
committee. As we embark on this important effort to counter the 
threat of China, we must work to ensure policies that protect 
our National Security, secure our supply chains, and ensure a 
robust and ambitious trade agenda.
    Our constituents are relying on us to craft policies that 
support U.S. jobs and economic opportunities here at home. And 
a key part of doing this is opening markets for our companies 
and workers around the world. The Ways and Means committee, 
under the leadership of Ranking Member Brady--and I hope that 
conversations around the trade title reflect the ongoing need 
for U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China 
and protect market access to U.S. products.
    The United States must lead and set high standards through 
free trade agreements. We must also create binding norms in the 
region to promote high standard digital trade. It is my hope 
that we will not be bogged down in this Conference committee by 
political agendas. Unfortunately, the partisan set of policies 
that were part of the House bill, as it related to the trade 
title of the COMPETES Act, really do nothing to advance our 
goal, which is sending a strong message to China.
    We must hold China accountable to the trade commitments it 
has made, both at the WTO and in bilateral negotiations with 
the United States. And we must continue to enforce agreed upon 
norms and standards required to interact in a free and fair 
global marketplace. It is incumbent upon us to show China and 
other adversaries around the world that we will continue to 
invest in our National Security, economic security, and trade 
commitments.
    Moving forward in this Conference committee, I hope we have 
a transparent, productive, bipartisan process that represents 
the best interests of America and the American people. Thank 
you, and I yield back.
    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Congressman. Next will be 
Congresswoman Miller.
    [Technical problems.]

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN MARY MILLER

    Ms. Miller. Now can you hear it? Thank you, Senator Wyden, 
Chairman Neal, and Ranking Member Brady. It is such an honor to 
serve as a conferee as we work to resolve the differences 
between these two pieces of legislation. For our constituents, 
we must set our sights on ambitious and constructive policy.
    We must work in a bipartisan manner to craft a final bill 
that holds China accountable for its predatory trade practices, 
strengthens American competitiveness, and opens new markets for 
American companies and their workers. The partisan America 
COMPETES Act falls short of this goal in every way.
    Rather than leveling the playing field for American goods 
and services, and strengthening our small businesses, this 
legislation hamstrings hardworking Americans with more red 
tape. COMPETES is a concession and capitulation to China. It 
will burden innovative American companies with more Government 
bureaucracy, making it harder to compete against these Chinese 
counterparts.
    The trade title contained in USICA was negotiated in a 
bipartisan manner, helps reauthorize key trade programs, GSP, 
MTB, and holds China accountable for its use of forced labor 
and censorship. Our constituents and markets need strong trade 
policy. I hope that we start our discussions with the Senate 
trade title as our baseline. We are at a critical juncture in 
our relationship with China.
    While holding China accountable to its phase one 
commitments, we must also chart a path forward for our long 
term engagement with this critical trading partner. As I will--
again, I am honored to be part of this Conference committee, 
and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congresswoman Miller. That concludes 
the Senate Finance and Ways and Means participation in the 
Conference. We will now turn to our colleagues from the 
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and the House 
committee on Financial Services. And I would like to call on 
the Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Sherrod Brown.

               STATEMENT OF HON. SHERROD BROWN, 
                     U.S. SENATOR FROM OHIO

    Senator Brown. Thank you, Chair Cantwell and Chair Neal. On 
Banking and Housing, we have heard from economic experts about 
our supply chains and other issues we need this legislation to 
address. I want to thank Ranking Member Toomey and Chair Waters 
for their work to negotiate a strong, final bill that brings 
more of these supply chains back home. Pretty simple, we need 
to make more in America.
    For generations, Ohio was a global leader in manufacturing 
and innovation, the lifeblood of our communities. Beginning in 
the 70s and 80s, we stopped making things in America. Corporate 
America wanted cheap labor wherever they could find it. They 
lobbied Congress all too successfully for tax breaks and bad 
trade deals as they hopscotched the globe to search for lower 
and lower wages.
    Ohio paid the price for years in the form of lost jobs and 
lost opportunity. Now the whole country pays the price higher, 
higher prices, supply chain delays, losing entire high tech 
industries to China. Look where we have ended up. Ohio invented 
the light bulb, yet today, 99 percent of LED bulbs are made in 
China. America invented the semiconductors, 75 percent of them 
are made in East Asia. It is why our work is so important on 
this committee.
    We need bipartisan legislation that puts American workers 
and American innovation first. We know competitors like China 
spend billions propping up State owned enterprises, investing 
in R&D.
    China has gotten pretty good at taking our ideas, 
monetizing them, and using them to compete against American 
workers. They pay workers less, giving them fewer rights. It is 
why we included new sanctions on those who steal our trade 
secrets. It is why we need Brown, Portman Level the Playing 
Field Act to crack down on China's cheating.
    This bill is our opportunity to fight back, to finally 
begin to fix decades of mistakes, and only it is our 
opportunity to bury the term Rust Belt, that we are burying it 
in Columbus, Ms. Miller's hometown with Battelle and Intel's 
10,000 semiconductor jobs. We are burying it in Dayton with 
aerospace. We are burying it in Toledo with the largest solar 
manufacturer in the country.
    We are burying it in Cincinnati, with advancing 
manufacturing partners, chips that President Biden announced on 
Friday. And we are burying it in Cleveland with NASA. It is 
time for our whole country to bury the term Rust Belt. It is 
past time to send a final make it in America bill to the 
President's desk. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you, Senator Brown. Thank you for your 
leadership on Banking. We will now turn to the House committee 
on Financial Services, Chairwoman Maxine Waters.

             STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN MAXINE WATERS

    Ms. Waters. Thank you very much, Chair Cantwell. And of 
course, my friend, Chairman Sherrod Brown. I am honored to 
serve as a Conference committee member of the America COMPETES 
Act of 2022. With this legislation, we will strengthen the 
competitiveness, safety, and security of American businesses, 
combat illicit finance, and counter the anti-competitive 
actions taken by China.
    My colleagues on the Financial Services committee and I 
have authored several provisions within the America COMPETES 
Act that are essential to achieving these goals. These include 
provisions to empower U.S. interest in multilateral development 
banks, to respond to China's predatory loan arrangements, and 
to provide debt relief to developing countries, in part as a 
counter to Chinese influence.
    Our House passed proposals also strengthen anti-money 
laundering authorities at the Treasury Department and improve 
the United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, 
the bipartisan House support for the Safe Banking Act is 
evident in its inclusion in America COMPETES, and I urge my 
fellow conferees to support its inclusion in the final 
Conference report.
    I recently led a Co-Del to the Caribbean and saw firsthand 
the aggressive tactics that China is pursuing to spread its 
influence in this region. America must do more to counter these 
efforts, and we must actively engage with allies and neighbors 
to do so.
    America COMPETES and its wide range of proposals move our 
Nation in the right direction, improving our competitiveness 
and fortifying our goal and our response at home and abroad. 
Thank you very much. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Chairwoman. And thank you to both you 
and to Senator Brown for your leadership, and to mentioning--
several members have mentioned the Safe Banking Act as part of 
their testimony today, so we appreciate that very much. I know 
we have a few colleagues from this segment that aren't here at 
this moment. We will entertain comments from them if they 
arrive.
    But we will take a short recess to reconvene in 10 minutes 
to start on the next section of the Conference, and that will 
be to hear from members of the Education, Homeland Security and 
Veterans Issues. So we will recess for a short 10 minutes.
    [Recess.]
    The Chair. OK. Yes, we will hear from Congresswoman Garcia. 
Thank you. Welcome, Congresswoman Garcia. Thank you for making 
it over here to the Senate. We appreciate you coming over here 
and being part of this session. You know, we have had a few 
people that have their own schedules for today, so we very much 
welcome you and welcome your participation.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SYLVIA GARCIA

    Ms. Garcia. Thank you so much. And I do apologize. I have 
had multiple hearings to kind of bounce around and I feel like 
a ping pong today. But it is so good to be here and to be a 
part of this Conference committee. It is the first time I have 
done this, so I am eager to learn. And obviously you have 
already heard from our Financial Services Chair, Maxine Waters.
    And not having heard her remarks, I am sure they were 
great, and I associate myself with all of them. I look forward 
to working on the issues related to the COMPETES Act that are 
particular to Financial Services. I know that we have been 
working really hard to stay on those priorities and to make 
sure that we have a good package as an ultimate result.
    I also would like to mention that I do have a bill that was 
included, H.R. 987 about funding maritime career and education 
programs that is a part of the T&I portion, but it is something 
that I worked on this session and last session. As you know, we 
are having a supply chain issue and certainly making sure that 
we prepare for the next generation of maritime workers to 
continue working in and around our maritime areas, the docks, 
to ships to make sure that supply chains can be maintained and 
grow.
    So that would be the focus of anything that I do here 
together with Chairwoman Waters. And I certainly look forward 
to all our sessions.
    The Chair. Well, thank you, Congresswoman. Thank you for 
that important mission of the supply chain as it relates to the 
maritime sector and workforce issues. So, something that I care 
greatly about and my State cares greatly about. And obviously 
we can see from where we are on the supply chain and the need 
to have a skilled workforce is critically important, so thank 
you very much for your comments this morning.
    OK, so now we will take just a 5-minute recess and reset 
the room for our next colleagues, some of them who have already 
made it into the room, but we will reconvene in 5 minutes for 
Education, Homeland and Veterans. Thank you.
    [Recess.]
    The Chair. The Conference committee on bipartisan 
legislation on Innovation and Competition will reconvene. We 
are going to hear from our colleagues now who are from the 
Senate Health, Education and Labor and Pensions committee, and 
House Education and Labor committees. So I would like to turn 
to my colleague, the distinguished chair, and my dear friend of 
the Senate committee, the HELP Chair, Senator Patty Murray.

                STATEMENT OF HON. PATTY MURRAY, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

    Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Senator Cantwell. I am 
really delighted to be working with you on this committee, as 
well as Senator Wicker and Senator Burr, Representative Scott, 
Representative Fox, and really so, so many others to get this 
really important legislation across the finish line for people 
across our country.
    Washington State families can't rely on foreign competitors 
to bring down prices or strengthen our supply chains or provide 
U.S. workers with good paying jobs and build a brighter future 
for our country. We have to do this ourselves.
    Which is why I am going to be pushing to make sure we draw 
on the best ideas from both the House and Senate bills and pass 
the strongest package we can to keep our country competitive on 
the world stage. And it is clear to me that the bills we have 
passed already give us a very strong bipartisan foundation to 
start with when it comes to supporting students.
    Both of these bills include important provisions to give K-
12 students, especially historically marginalized students, 
better opportunities to pursue an interest in computer science 
and other STEM fields.
    And the House bill includes valuable steps to support those 
pursuing an higher education, like letting students use Pell 
Grants for high quality, shorter term education and training 
programs, particularly for high skilled, high wage, and in-
demand fields. And providing better post-secondary outcome data 
and improving transparency so students can get clear 
information about things like completion rates, post-college 
earnings.
    And when it comes to supporting workers who are the 
backbone of our economy, I want to make sure we pass a bill 
that not only connects workers with high quality workforce 
development opportunities that prepare them to compete in the 
economy of the future, but creates good paying jobs in those 
fields right here in the U.S. and of course, particularly in 
the Pacific Northwest.
    I am going to be fighting to make sure we keep stronger 
worker protections in this package, as well as to take action 
on many other ideas in these bills that can help spur economic 
growth, like steps to strengthen our medical supply chain and 
prevent undue foreign influence in biomedical research, two 
issues that Senator Burr and I have also been working on to 
address in our bipartisan Prevent Pandemics Act.
    And I do want to take a second to be really clear on one 
other item. I hope we can all come to an agreement to keep safe 
banking in our final bill so that cannabis stores in States 
like mine do not have to operate entirely in cash. This is 
really a straightforward, bipartisan solution to a real public 
safety threat that I strongly believe that we should all be 
able to agree on.
    Now, as Senator Cantwell knows well, Washington State is 
already the home of premier research institutions, technology 
and aerospace leaders, and growers and producers that are 
constantly competing on the world stage.
    And my focus on this committee is to make sure we maintain 
our competitive edge, because a more competitive U.S. economy 
means more good paying jobs for workers from Seattle to 
Spokane, new markets for our producers and small businesses in 
the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington, better opportunities 
for students and workers who are interested in careers in STEM, 
manufacturing, and other fields of the future, reliable supply 
chains for semiconductors, medical products, and more, and will 
lower costs for families in this country. So thank you, Madam 
Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will now hear from the Ranking 
Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions 
committee, Senator Richard Burr.

                STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BURR, 
                U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH CARLINA

    Senator Burr. Senator Cantwell, thank you for the 
recognition. More importantly, thank you for sharing this 
Conference. I would ask unanimous consent to enter my remarks 
into the record.
    The Chair. Without objection.
    [The information referred to was unavailable at time of 
printing.]
    The Chair. Wow. That means extra attention to HELP 
committee recommendations. Thank you. We will now turn. I don't 
see our colleague here from the Chair of the House committee, 
so I will turn to our Ranking Member, Congresswoman Virginia 
Foxx.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN VIRGINIA FOXX

    Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Senator Cantwell, very much. In its 
current form, the House passed COMPETES Act does more to 
hamstring our economy than to help America compete with China. 
For example, this legislation is littered with language that 
empowers big labor at the expense of workers and job creators.
    These provisions strip America's economic engines of the 
right to manage their own businesses. Further, mandating card 
check opens workers up to harassment by union bosses. Secret 
ballots allow workers to vote as they see fit without fear of 
reprisal or harassment. COMPETES would also expand prevailing 
wage requirements, which artificially inflate labor costs by 
more than 20 percent.
    This puts an even greater financial burden on taxpayers and 
could hinder America's economic growth. In the education space, 
this bill infringes on the privacy of every American college 
student by creating a Federal database to track students 
throughout their lives without their consent. This sounds like 
an idea from the National
    People's Congress, not the U.S. Congress.
    It is hard to believe we are talking about this, given 
reports this month about the Education Department providing 
Facebook with the private personal information of students and 
families without their knowledge. Sadly, this bill fails to 
strengthen our workforce development system, it blocks pathways 
to successful careers, and increases the control of Washington 
bureaucrats over the work force.
    These outdated swamp first ideas won't ensure our workforce 
is ready to compete successfully in the 21st century. Moreover, 
this legislation discriminates against career focused and 
innovative online programs.
    How does excluding an entire sector of post-secondary 
education, the same sector that produces a majority of the 
short term program graduates help America. Unless these 
troubling provisions are addressed, America will be conceding 
to not competing with China. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congresswoman. We will now turn to 
Congressman Joe Morelle. Welcome.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE

    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am grateful for the 
opportunity to be part of this historic effort. The legislation 
being discussed will address two goals critical to America's 
need to compete effectively with China, bolstering our National 
Security and fostering our economic prosperity. I am honored to 
join my colleagues in this effort that will reaffirm the United 
States' leadership in research, innovation, and manufacturing 
for decades to come.
    I am excited for the work ahead and look forward to 
securing these investments that will deliver economic 
opportunities for my constituents back home in Rochester, New 
York. I would like to express my gratitude to Chairman Scott 
for his leadership on the Education and Labor committee, and 
for the opportunity to join him in representing the Committee 
during these negotiations.
    If we are serious about ensuring American competitiveness 
around the world, we need to strengthen our Nation's workforce 
and provide a strong educational foundation to prepare 
individuals for jobs in an ever changing, fast paced economy, 
while also investing in research and critical manufacturing 
infrastructure.
    In addition to Chairman Scott, I want to extend a heartfelt 
thank you to Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of the Science, 
Space and Technology committee for her leadership and 
partnership over the past several years as we have worked to 
secure critical R&D investments. In early 2020, I introduced 
the Innovations Centers Acceleration Act, legislation that will 
make considerable investments in our Nation's innovation 
efforts.
    I am grateful that priorities embodied in the bill are 
reflected in the America COMPETES Act. Regional technology and 
innovation hubs will forge collaborative partnerships between 
local Governments, colleges and universities, private 
industries, and community based organizations to promote and 
support regional innovation.
    This means economic opportunities currently consolidated in 
just a handful of metro areas will now be available to 
communities across America, like my hometown of Rochester, that 
hold significant, untapped potential. Not only will this 
enhance our ability to be competitive globally, but also 
strengthen our economy and create jobs at a pivotal moment in 
our Nation's history.
    Again, I am grateful to be a part of this process. When we 
invest in our communities and in our people, we invest in the 
future of our Nation. Thank you so much. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congressman Morelle. We will now hear 
from members from the Senate Homeland Security, Government 
Affairs Committee, the House Homeland Security committee, and 
the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. First, I would 
like to turn to the Chair of the Senate Committee, Senator Gary 
Peters.

                STATEMENT OF HON. GARY PETERS, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN

    Senator Peters. Well, thank you, Chair Cantwell, and thank 
you for your leadership on this bill and your leadership of 
this Conference committee. You know, I believe that you can't 
be a great country if you don't actually make things. And a 
strong economic competitiveness bill is really the key for us 
to create good paying jobs, outcompete anyone on the global 
stage, including the Chinese government, and continue to lead 
in manufacturing, both in my home state in Michigan, as well as 
all across the country.
    The auto industry is a prime example, where we have seen 
how our dependance on foreign manufacturers for semiconductor 
chips has significantly hindered American auto production. 
Workers have been temporarily laid off, families have struggled 
to get by, and small manufacturers up and down the supply chain 
have been dealing with great uncertainty. We must boost 
domestic chip production to support our national needs by 
funding the CHIPS Act with $52 billion.
    We must also maintain the $2 billion investment in funding, 
which Senator Stabenow and I fought for, that would be 
dedicated to so-called mature chips that are essential for a 
wide range of manufacturers, including in the defense industry, 
as well as the auto industry. We also need to make our 
semiconductor supply chains more resilient. I have proposed 
bipartisan legislation, which was included in the House bill, 
to clarify the CHIPS Act.
    Incentives can be used to bolster domestic production of 
the materials and manufacturing equipment actually necessary to 
make those chips. Without these essential inputs, we can't grow 
domestic chip manufacturing.
    And finally, this bill is an important opportunity to 
secure our position as the world leader in advanced research 
and development, cutting edge technologies like artificial 
intelligence and other innovations that strengthen our economic 
competitiveness and create good jobs. I am certainly honored to 
serve on this Conference committee, and I look forward to 
working with everyone to get this bill signed into law as 
quickly as possible.
    The Chair. Thank you, Chairman Peters. Now we will hear 
from the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and 
Government Affairs Committee in the Senate, Senator Rob 
Portman.

                STATEMENT OF HON. ROB PORTMAN, 
                     U.S. SENATOR FROM OHIO

    Senator Portman. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. And thanks to 
you and Ranking Member Wicker for your leadership on the 
Conference. I hope we can get this done. I agree with Chairman 
Peters on the importance, as an example, of the semiconductor 
provisions here. If we don't do this, these companies are going 
to go somewhere else. And that is what they are telling us, and 
unfortunately it has been true over the years.
    We are down to just 12 percent of the world's manufacturing 
of semiconductors and virtually none of the high end ones. I am 
also here to discuss some specific HSGAC provisions in USICA, 
specifically the Safeguarding American Innovation Act, which 
passed the Committee unanimously with the help of Chairman 
Peters and others and was part of USICA--it was voted on as 
part of the 68 votes we got for USICA.
    It is a bipartisan compromise already with Senate Democrats 
and Republicans and the White House. We have got to remember 
that the goal of this overall effort, of course, is to improve 
our country's competitiveness, especially with regard to China. 
To do that, we must not only invest in research and innovation, 
which I support, but we have got to protect that taxpayer 
funded research and intellectual property from being stolen by 
our competitors and used against us.
    Given the current realities, without such protections, I 
believe many on this report with significantly increased levels 
of Federal funding for research would be a huge giveaway to 
Beijing. Recently, FBI Director Wray said, and I quote, ``the 
biggest threat we face as a country from a counterintelligence 
perspective is from the People's Republic of China and 
especially the Chinese Communist Party. They are targeting our 
innovation, our trade secrets, our intellectual property on a 
scale that is unprecedented in history.''
    Senator Carper and I introduced the Safeguarding American 
Innovation Act and insisted it be included in the HSGAC title 
of USICA, after a yearlong PSI investigation that found how 
China has used so-called ``talent programs'' to target 
promising taxpayer funded research and researchers and obtain 
valuable U.S. intellectual property.
    We found American taxpayers have been unwittingly funding 
the rise of China's military and economy over the past two 
decades, while the Federal Government has done very little or 
nothing to stop it. The legislation goes directly to the root 
of the problem and makes punishable by law to knowingly fail to 
disclose foreign funding on Federal grant applications.
    It requires the Executive Branch to streamline and 
coordinate grant making between the Federal agencies so there 
is continuity, accountability, and coordination, it allows 
State Department to deny visas to foreign researchers coming to 
the United States to exploit the openness of our research 
enterprise, and requires research institutions and universities 
to do more, including telling State whether a foreign 
researcher will have access to export controlled technologies.
    Again, a vital component of any competitiveness bill is 
this common sense extensively negotiated bipartisan bill, which 
is already included in the Homeland Security title of USICA. I 
urge this Conference to stand by that Senate approved language.
    The Chair. Thank you. I think our Senate colleagues will 
now hear from our House colleagues, a mix of two committees, on 
these same policies, the House Homeland Security committee and 
the House committee on Oversight and Reform. I will turn to my 
colleague, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Welcome.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLYN MALONEY

    Senator Maloney. It is very good to see my former classmate 
in Congress, Chairwoman Cantwell and Chairman Chairwoman 
Johnson, thank you for calling us here together. And it is my 
honor to serve as a conferee on this, representing the 
Oversight committee. We are in a fierce competition globally, 
and we simply cannot afford to lose this competition.
    Across our country, Americans are hurting from rising 
prices caused by global supply chain disruptions and the 
unprovoked war of Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine, and they 
are counting on us to help. And to do that, we need to bring 
key parts of our supply chain home by manufacturing things 
domestically.
    Certainly, we learned in the COVID crisis that we need to 
buy America, develop America. We need to bring this 
semiconductor business home. We have a historic opportunity by 
passing the USICA, the America COMPETES, the bipartisan 
Innovation Act. We have already seen progress under President 
Biden. When he took office, the economy was down 2.9 million 
jobs, the trade deficit had increased by 40 percent, and the 
national debt was more than $1 trillion.
    Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan 
infrastructure bill, we have created 8.4 million jobs so far. 
And he is on track, our country is on track to cut the deficit 
by $1.5 trillion. The Innovation Act builds on these two 
advances along with the infrastructure bill. This step would 
strengthen our competitiveness. It will strengthen our supply 
chains, address inflation. This bill has key provisions to help 
American workers compete and win in the global economy.
    This means rebuilding American manufacturing, defending 
American intellectual property from our adversaries, opening up 
more pathways to good paying, innovative jobs. The America 
COMPETES Act promotes scientific research and development, 
advances the U.S. semiconductor industry, expands Buy America 
requirements supporting U.S. supply chains, helps regulating 
the Federal procurement and use of artificial intelligence, and 
reauthorizing programs at NASA, National Science Foundation, 
and supporting domestic manufacturing, strengthening our 
overall economy.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues toward these 
goals. Some of this legislation went through our committee. We 
have handed in a memo on specifics of that legislation, and I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Now we will turn to Congressman Comer. Welcome.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN JAMES COMER

    Mr. Comer. Thank you.
    The Chair. And you are the Ranking Member of the Committee. 
Thank you very much.
    Mr. Comer. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you, Senator Cantwell. I 
appreciate being a part of this important Conference and look 
forward to participating in a process that I hope will result 
in a strong product for our Nation and our citizens. Let's be 
clear, China is our enemy. The threat China poses to the United 
States should not be taken lightly.
    It is real, and it is critical that we be prepared to meet 
everything that comes our way with a full arsenal of resources. 
That is why I voted against the House version earlier this 
year. Democrats said it would counter the influence of 
communist China. It did not. It even failed to hold China 
accountable for creating and then lying about COVID-19. The 
Democrats bill also included provisions unrelated to 
strengthening our hand against China.
    In reality, the 2,900 page $325 billion House spending bill 
put China first and America last. I do not understand how 
Members of Congress could, in good conscience, who voted yes on 
the House bill. That is why I am pleased we have this 
opportunity today to work toward a better product that puts 
America first.
    Last, I also want to acknowledge the hard work by Senate 
Republicans. The Senate bill includes a few provisions that 
fall under the Oversight committee's jurisdiction, and my staff 
has had productive conversations with Senate Republican staff 
on how we could improve upon their very good work.
    Hopefully, we can continue these productive conversations 
during this Conference process. I look forward to working with 
all of you. Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Ranking Member. I now want to turn to 
Congresswoman Val Demings. Welcome.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN VAL DEMINGS

    Ms. Demings. Good afternoon, and thank you, Senator 
Cantwell. I am honored to be here today on behalf of the 
Committee on Homeland Security under the leadership of Chairman 
Bennie Thompson. We are blessed to live in the greatest Nation 
on earth, and America's workers can compete, excel, and win in 
any fair competition, but we know that competition is not 
always fair.
    And that is why we must step up, come together, to move our 
Nation forward in a powerful and bold way. We already know we 
will not always agree on everything, but I do believe we can 
agree on how to give America the best opportunity to excel 
through innovation and support of America's workers. We must 
invest in our economy, solidify our leadership on a global 
stage, and stand up to China.
    I have full faith that together we can lower costs for 
American families, secure our supply chains, and ensure good 
pay and safe workplaces for American workers. As a member of 
the Homeland Security committee, this effort must continue to 
prioritize our National Security, cybersecurity and supply 
chain security. I am proud that my domestic solar manufacturing 
legislation is part of this critical economic initiative.
    The solar industry is growing at the speed of light, but it 
is the China Communist Party--the Chinese Communist Party, 
reaping the rewards when it should be American families. The 
solar initiative will take on the Chinese Communist Party and 
their forced labor industry and will instead empower American 
workers like those in my home state of Florida, the Sunshine 
State.
    There is a lot of good in both pieces of legislation and I 
look forward to coming together to get the good work that is 
possible done. Thank you, Chair Cantwell.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you. We have been joined by 
Congresswoman Dina Titus. Are you ready to make your opening 
statement? Thank you.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN DINA TITUS

    Ms. Titus. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I want to thank 
Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Thompson for selecting me along 
with my colleagues, Congresswoman Demings and Congressman 
Guest, as conferees to offer input as representatives of the 
Homeland Security committee. I want to highlight several 
critical pieces that should be included in any final agreement 
reached with our Senate counterparts.
    First, it is essential that we provide robust funding for 
our domestic semiconductor industry to ensure we become a 
competitive global leader in the chip production and 
technological advancements. While leaders at the Commerce 
Department are working hard on this issue, including through a 
cooperative agreement signed with our Malaysian allies just 
yesterday morning, we must do more to ensure we are not 
beholden to other countries for production of these essential 
products.
    Chips touch every aspect of our daily lives, including 
automobiles, medical devices, cell phones, and they are 
critically important for my district in various aspects of 
gaming. We wouldn't have slot machines without chips, and those 
attract a lot of visitors to my district every year and a big 
part of the economy. I am optimistic we will be able to come to 
an agreement on the $50.2 billion in the Chips for America Fund 
that is included in both pieces of the legislation.
    Second, any final agreement must also include strong cyber 
protections for our supply chains. A major piece of the puzzle 
is ensuring that we have safeguards in place to procure 
equipment from trusted suppliers and hold our Government 
contractors to the highest cybersecurity standards.
    In these efforts, we should do everything we can to engage 
with our educational and research institutions to bolster the 
cyber work force's incentives and training. This is the surest 
way we can make certain that we are ready for the threats of 
tomorrow. I look forward to working with you all to advance 
these priorities and develop a final bill that reasserts our 
position as a global leader in manufacturing, technology, 
research, and innovation. Thank you very much.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congresswoman. We will turn now to 
Congressman Ro Khanna.

               STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RO KHANNA

    Mr. Khanna. Thank you, Senator Cantwell. I want to start by 
thanking Senator Schumer for his relentless leadership on this, 
as well as Senator Young and Senator Portman and others who 
made this truly bipartisan. For decades, we have made a mistake 
in this country of shipping our production offshore to China, 
to Mexico, millions of jobs lost.
    We invented the semiconductor chip, and yet all of the 
semiconductor production went offshore. We never invented the 
automobile or jet engine, but we figured out how to do mass 
production and that is what made us a superpower. So we need 
to, as a bipartisan--on a bipartisan basis, get this bill to 
the President's desk so America produces again, so we can 
create jobs again in manufacturing.
    And we need to, in this Conference, have the Level Playing 
Field Act as part of it. I mean, why would we want to have 
China dump goods when the whole point is to have manufacturing 
in America? We need to make sure that the Supply Chain 
Resiliency Act is part of it. We need to make sure that we are 
making the steel here, not China.
    And we need to make sure that the trade adjustment 
assistance is part of it so that workers who have suffered 
because of the policy mistakes of the last 40 years that 
shipped their jobs offshore, get a fair chance and get the 
opportunities that they deserve.
    I am glad that finally there is a bipartisan consensus that 
manufacturing matters, that production matters, and I am really 
hopeful we can get this to the President's desk before Memorial 
Day.
    The Chair. Thank you. I want to thank all our security 
colleagues from the House and Senate for participating. And I 
just want to assure you, starting at 10 a.m., until whatever 
time it is now, we have heard about chips all day, but it was 
good to hear from the security experts about their view of 
this, and appreciate all of you participating.
    We will now turn to the Senate committee on Veterans 
Affairs and the House committee on Veterans Affairs. And I 
would first like to call on the Chairman of the Senate Veterans 
Affairs committee, Chairman Jon Tester.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA

    Senator Tester. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. We 
have an incredible opportunity in this Conference committee not 
to score Republican points or score Democratic points, but 
score points for America. We have an opportunity to create 
jobs, grow our economy, strengthen our supply chain, jumpstart 
the domestic semiconductor industry, and secure our Nation's 
future for our kids and our grandkids.
    And we can do this if we work for America, not for the 
parties, and we don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 
We have competitors around the world that are trying to push us 
out of the way, namely China. China wants to replace us as the 
world's economic superpower, and they have worked to create 
unfair advantages in manufacturing, innovation, and in the 
marketplace. It is time to put that to an end. We need to fix 
our broken supply chain.
    We need to make the crucial R&D investments necessary to 
bring back good paying jobs, and the next generation of jobs 
back to America. And this isn't just to urban America, is to 
rural America too. There is incredible potential in rural 
America--rural areas all across our country, and if we don't 
harvest that potential, we are going to make a huge mistake.
    In the past year, both the House and Senate have each 
passed bipartisan legislation to do just that, protect 
America's vital economic interests in the face of growing 
threats, good paying--create good paying jobs, ensure our 
National Security, and promote fair competition on the world 
stage.
    They will bolster our domestic semiconductor industry, 
invest in research, design, and manufacturing so that we can 
grow American businesses, develop new technology, and safeguard 
our National Security. Our job on this committee is to work 
together, work out our differences, keep an eye on the main 
goal, and that is making sure we keep pace as the main economic 
power in the world.
    If we don't, we are simply handling the keys over to China. 
I look forward to working with my Democratic friends and my 
Republican friends on this Conference committee to negotiate a 
bill that gets that job done.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Tester. Now we 
will turn to the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs 
committee, my colleague, Senator Jerry Moran.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MORAN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS

    Senator Moran. Senator Cantwell--Chairman Cantwell, thank 
you very much. I am pleased to be here for this participation 
in this Conference committee. It has been a long time since we 
have had a Conference committee, and I am glad to be a part of 
one. And while I am the lead Republican on the Senate committee 
on Veterans Affairs, I also serve as a senior member of the 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee, the Committee 
you chair.
    But perhaps importantly for this Conference, I am the lead 
Republican on the Senate Justice Science Appropriations 
subcommittee, which of the implementing agencies for the 
programs contained in this prospective legislation, including 
the Department of Commerce, NASA, and the National Science 
Foundation.
    I am pleased we are starting the Conference process on our 
chamber's respective competition innovation bills. This 
committee is tasked with making certain our country is 
outcompeting adversarial nations, including China, which we can 
do by: authorizing necessary investments to remain at the 
forefront of technological research and development, 
appropriating funds to bring semiconductor manufacturing and 
the downstream semiconductor ecosystem back to the U.S., 
increasing the transparency and resiliency of our supply 
chains, and enlisting the intelligence and productivity of all 
Americans, including those of us in Middle America, via the 
EPSCoR program.
    It is also important that we work to boost the 
entrepreneurs and STEM work force, as well as pass the NASA 
Authorization Act, which was included within the Senate 
legislation. Over the past several years, I have worked to 
ensure that NASA's missions have continued to progress forward 
without NASA authorization.
    However, we--when you can present a bipartisan 
authorization, followed up with funding programs, it sends a 
strong signal to the agency, to the industry, and to our global 
partners that we remain committed in accomplishing our stated 
missions. This is especially critical as our adversaries 
continue to advance within the space domain.
    Additionally, while the bills provide--the bills provide 
for immediate funding for the CHIPS Act and wireless 
development, the vast majority of programs include 
authorizations of discretionary appropriations. For these 
programs to have any effect, funding must be secured in a 
future appropriation bill. One of the most critical aspects of 
the Senate Competition bill was the bipartisan--and bipartisan 
nature in which this legislation came together.
    In that spirit, I am pleased to work with all of you, my 
colleagues, and especially my colleague from Kansas, 
Representative Sharice Davids, as part of this Conference 
committee, and I look forward to working with all of you to see 
that we accomplish the goals that we have set forth outlined by 
many of the statements I have heard today. Thank you, Madam 
Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Next up, we have House Veterans Affairs 
committee member Congressman Bost. Congressman Bost.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN MICHAEL BOST

    Mr. Bost. Thank you, Chairman Tester. And I appreciate the 
opportunity to speak about the Department of Veterans Affairs' 
role with this legislation today. VA spends about $36 billion 
every year in contracts, much of which was for medical 
supplies, including personal protective equipment. Early in the 
pandemic, when the worldwide shortages hit, VA was unprepared, 
to say the least. The medical supply chain dried up. There were 
shortages and rationing of material.
    First, China cutoff exports, and later VA and many private 
hospitals were completely reliant on China masks, gowns, 
gloves, and other critical items. China is our greatest 
geopolitical threat. That kind of reliance on Chinese supply 
chain undermines our Nation's security and our economy--
economic security.
    We should be caring for our veterans with materials that 
are made by domestic manufacturers. They employ hundreds of 
thousands of Americans, and they could employ even more. They 
are the leading--they are leading the way in American 
ingenuity. And I am glad to see that the VA included in some of 
this legislation's provision. For instance, it includes 
veterans in more STEM education programs. It also provides VA 
on the new Manufacturing and Individual Innovation Council.
    I still have some concerns with other aspects of this bill, 
but these are the two good ideas, and I look forward to working 
with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to improve this 
legislation. And with that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Senator Tester. Next up, we have from the House Veterans 
Affairs committee, Congressman Pappas. Congressman Pappas.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN CHRIS PAPPAS

    Mr. Pappas. Thank you very much, Chairman Tester. I am 
really glad to be able to join this Conference committee and to 
get to work in a bipartisan fashion on crucial legislation that 
is going to ensure that we make more of our goods here at home, 
that we lower costs for families, and that we outcompete any 
nation, including China. This work is of utmost importance to 
my constituents and my small businesses in New Hampshire. And 
during the development of the House bill, I submitted four 
amendments that were included, and I hope to have retained.
    Among them is the Homeland Procurement Reform Act, which 
will support domestic manufacturing and our National Security 
by ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security procures 
as much protective gear as possible from U.S. manufacturers and 
small businesses.
    In addition to this key provision, I hope to work across 
the aisle to retain the measures that would support rural 
businesses and help them access export markets, improve access 
and resiliency grants for our coastal communities, and expand 
the STEM work force.
    And to help address our supply chain crisis, we must ensure 
that this final package makes significant investments in the 
domestic production of semiconductor chips. Finally, as we 
consider the portions of this bill that will impact our 
veterans, I will work to ensure that this package addresses the 
supply chain issues that VA faced in recent years, particularly 
with regard to access to personal protective equipment and 
other crucial medical supplies.
    Our VA facilities must never again be unprepared for a 
crisis like they were over the last 2 years, and this 
legislation must ensure they have the resources to care for our 
heroes. I am ready to work together, taking the best ideas from 
Republicans and Democrats, to make sure that we build consensus 
to get this done for the American people, because it is vital 
that we get this bill negotiated, we get it passed and signed 
into law, and secure America's global competitiveness in a way 
that bolsters domestic manufacturing, strengthens our work 
force, and supply chains.
    So the future of our economy is at stake? Let's make this 
century another American century. Let's get to work, work 
through the differences, and get this done. I yield back.
    Senator Tester. Next, we have the Ranking Member from the 
Senate Judiciary committee, my good friend, Chuck Grassley. 
Senator Grassley.

               STATEMENT OF HON. CHUCK GRASSLEY, 
                     U.S. SENATOR FROM IOWA

    Senator Grassley. Thank you, Senator Tester. I am glad to 
be here to discuss this important legislative effort to counter 
China's threat to our economy and also to our National 
Security. First, I would like to emphasize that this is a China 
centered bill. It is not an immigration or climate bill.
    Almost a year ago, USICA got 68 votes in the Senate because 
we recognized that simple fact of China's competition and 
threat. To pass, it has to stay that way. I note that the House 
bill authored uses the word coral more than China. It waters 
down language of genocide in the Xinjiang part of China. The 
final bill must be laser focused on countering the Chinese 
Communist Party. That doesn't mean adopting heavy handed 
industrial policies to rival those industrial policies of 
China.
    We need to--very rigorous analysis to ensure objectives are 
met and taxpayer funds aren't wasted. In particular, the House 
bill includes a whole host of immigration provisions, many of 
which are partisan and, or completely unrelated to countering 
China. A number of the immigration provisions were amendments 
put forward by Democrat House members. These were then added to 
the House bill as part of a large amendment package. Then the 
bill passed on an almost entirely party line vote.
    I share the concerns of many of my colleagues with the 
House bill's immigration provisions that were not in the Senate 
bill. As a result, I will oppose the inclusion of any of the 
House immigration provisions in the final bill produced by this 
Congress. We need--in order to pass, we need a bill focused 
squarely on China and not unrelated provisions. I yield.
    Senator Tester. Next, we have from House Judiciary, 
Congresswoman Scanlon. Congresswoman Scanlon

          STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN MARY GAY SCANLON

    Ms. Scanlon. Thank you, Senator Tester, for hosting this 
meeting of the COMPETES Act and USICA Conference committee. I 
am honored to be here among colleagues to do the important work 
of negotiating the final version of a bill which will make 
critical new investments in research, innovation, and American 
manufacturing. I am hopeful that the final product of our 
negotiations will ensure America's ability to outcompete any 
nation in the world now and for decades to come. I represent 
Pennsylvania's fifth District in the Southeastern corner of our 
Commonwealth.
    Our district proudly hosts over 20 institutions of higher 
education, the Philadelphia Port and airport, as well as rail 
and interstate networks, and is a global hub for cutting edge 
biotech and medical research and development. Our region knows 
that America's economic dominance is dependent on our research 
institutions being at the forefront of their respective fields, 
our supply chains being strengthened to make more goods in 
America, and American manufacturing being accelerated to 
advance our global competitiveness while supporting strong 
labor standards.
    I am proud to have two amendments included in the COMPETES 
Act. One would increase research capacity for STEM students. 
The other would expand eligibility for regional innovation hub 
programs, spurring research and workforce development 
initiatives across the country. I would also like to echo the 
comments of the Senator from Washington about the importance of 
keeping the provisions of the Safe Banking Act in the final 
version of this bill. As like Washington, the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania has also legalized the sale of marijuana for some 
purposes.
    Additionally, I was glad to see important priorities from 
the Judiciary committee included in the final text of the 
COMPETES Act. These provisions include the Shop Safe Act, which 
would reduce the availability of harmful counterfeit products 
sold through online platforms. It includes visa protections to 
ensure that our country continues to attract talented doctoral 
STEM graduates and entrepreneurs from around the world. And it 
includes additional provisions to collect demographic 
information at the USPTO and modernize the filing fee structure 
for merger review at the Department of Justice.
    Taken together, these priorities make critical improvements 
and investments to our economy, and I look forward to working 
with all of my colleagues to finalize the language that will be 
sent to the President's desk. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you very much for your participation. We 
will now take a 10-minute break to reset for one of our last 
segments. Obviously, we will accommodate any of our colleagues 
who did not make it to this particular section on judiciary 
issues, and anybody else, a few people who may still come later 
today. But we will end with an Energy, Environment, 
Infrastructure, Agriculture, Armed Services, and Business. And 
that--we will reconvene at 1:25 p.m.
    [Recess.]
    The Chair. The Conference committee on Competition and 
Innovation legislation will come back into order. Our final 
speaking session, we will hear from members of the Senate 
Energy and Natural Resources committee and the House Natural 
Resources committee, the Science committee on Environment and 
Public Works, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure 
committee.
    I welcome all our colleagues. We will also hear from House 
Agriculture committee, House Armed Services committee, and the 
House Small Business committee, and Senate Small Business 
committee. So we will try to do these in specific segments. 
First, I would like to call on the Ranking Member of the Senate 
Energy and Natural Resources committee, my colleague, Senator 
John Barrasso.

               STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING

    Senator Barrasso. Well, thanks so much, Madam Chair. You 
know, this is--the gulf between the Senate and the House 
versions of this is really as wide as the Grand Canyon. The 
Senate's version is bipartisan. The House version is partisan 
to the bone. The Senate authorizes $210 billion in spending.
    The House authorizes close to $400 billion, almost twice as 
much. The House purports to improve competition with China. 
They claim that it reins in China's theft of our national--of 
our Nation's intellectual property and research. But the vast 
majority of the House's version has nothing to do with these 
priorities. One provision provides cannabis businesses that 
legally operate in a State access to the banking system. How on 
earth does that have to do or what does it have to do with 
China?
    The House even provides China with a competitive advantage 
over the United States. Unlike the Senate, the House does not 
ban Federal funding for colleges and universities that host 
Beijing's Confucius Institutes. The House supports the United 
States implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. It 
prioritizes climate change throughout our Nation's diplomatic 
and military missions.
    The House also spends billions of hard earned taxpayer 
dollars on climate change programs around the world, none of 
which will help us counter China. With inflation at 40 year 
highs, energy prices at an all-time high, and a war in Ukraine, 
Americans simply cannot afford another barrage of Democrat 
policies.
    People, they have already weakened our economy and 
undermined our standing in the world. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. I will now turn to the Chairman of 
the House Natural Resources committee, Congressman Raul 
Grijalva. Thank you so much for being here.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RAUL GRIJALVA

    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Madam Chair, and for holding this 
meeting today. I would like to highlight the importance----
    The Chair. Congressman, push your red button. There, thank 
you.
    Mr. Grijalva. Well, thank you again, Madam Chair. I would 
like to highlight the importance of the Natural Resources 
committee division of the COMPETES Act and urge my colleagues 
to keep it intact through this whole Conference process. These 
divisions contain important bipartisan provisions to improve 
U.S. leadership and competitiveness globally, help us hold bad 
actors accountable, secure America's long term economic 
security, and protect ocean and marine life.
    The House passed COMPETES Act includes parts of 
subcommittee Chair Huffman and Congressman Graves Illegal 
Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed our 
committee by voice vote last year. As a top importer of seafood 
globally, we have a moral responsibility to ensure that the 
seafood we bring into this country does not come from slave 
labor or illegal practices.
    The COMPETES Act bill addresses these issues and should 
remain. In addition, our provisions make critical investments 
in the expansion of clean energy development on public lands 
and waters and ends the ban on offshore wind leasing in the 
South Atlantic. Also, the bill creates the Office of Education 
Technology and the Bureau of Indian Education to make sure 
tribal students have high speed Internet access and technology 
to succeed in this day and age and compete in the competitive 
global market.
    Our section contains provisions to address wildlife 
trafficking and disease threats from wildlife. We know the 
COVID-19 pandemic originated from wildlife trade. Therefore, we 
must make meaningful steps at home and abroad to ensure that 
another disease from the wildlife trade does not wreck the type 
of havoc that has wreaked upon this country through the COVID-
19 pandemic.
    The Natural Resources Division is essential to achieving 
the goal of better outcomes for workers, consumers, and the 
U.S. on a global scale. I urge my colleagues to support these 
provisions. I thank the Chair and yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congressman Grijalva. I think people 
probably think, well, wait a minute, what does food have to do 
with it? I guarantee you the seafood provisions of this bill 
had lively debate a year ago in the Senate Commerce committee, 
and so thank you for mentioning those provisions. I think 
Congresswoman Harrell is on her way. So for the time being, I 
will turn to my colleague, Senator Martin Heinrich.

              STATEMENT OF HON. MARTIN HEINRICH, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

    Mr. Heinrich. Thank you, Madam Chair. Our Nation's 
scientific researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and 
manufacturing workers remain the most innovative on the planet, 
and that certainly won't be the case if we rest on our laurels. 
In my home state of New Mexico, our national labs, research 
universities, military installations, and private sector 
companies are poised to develop and commercialize a number of 
next generation technologies.
    New Mexicans stand ready to lead the way in manufacturing 
more semiconductors and other advanced technologies developed 
in our national labs like quantum computing systems. I worked 
with my colleagues in the Senate to secure a $17 billion 
investment in research and development at our national labs, to 
maintain our ability to develop and deploy these emerging 
technologies. And I was also proud to partner with my 
colleague, Senator Ben Ray Lujan, to secure a $30 billion 
investment to modernize the infrastructure at our national 
labs.
    In that spirit, I think it is critical that we are also 
investing in the infrastructure at our research universities, 
including minority serving institutions, where we are training 
the next generation of American innovators. The bill that we 
advanced out of the Senate also included a $52 billion 
investment to supercharge our domestic superconductor and 
microelectronic manufacturing capabilities.
    By ramping up the production of the chips that have become 
key components in so many products, we will substantially lower 
costs for the American families on purchases from smartphones 
to cars and home appliances. Finally, I hope that we will 
include the language from the First Three Act, which would help 
to finance the development of new industrial technologies that 
dramatically reduce our energy use. I look forward to getting 
to work alongside all of you to advance American innovation and 
economic competitiveness. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. Next, we will hear from 
Senator Mark Kelly. Welcome.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. MARK KELLY, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA

    Senator Kelly. Thank you, Madam Chair. So for more than a 
year now, my focus has been on securing critical funding to 
support our Nation's semiconductor manufacturing, research, and 
development capabilities, because these tiny microchips are in 
everything, and right now there is a global shortage. This 
means that consumer goods like cars, washing machines, your 
cell phone are just more expensive.
    And it threatens our National Security, with production 
lines for advanced fighter jets and other weapon systems 
delayed or reliant now on microchips that are made overseas. 
That is why I began working more than a year ago with Senator 
Cornyn and Senator Warner to negotiate a $52 billion deal to 
fund the CHIPS Act programs. This will help build new microchip 
production facilities here in the U.S., and many of those will 
be in Arizona. And it will help us ensure that the next 
generation of microchips are developed here in the United 
States.
    Our deal was included in both the Senate and House bill, 
and it has received strong support from Republicans and 
Democrats and is supported by business groups, including the 
Chamber of Commerce and organized labor. And I am committed to 
ensuring that we get this over the finish line. But while we 
have been working to get this done, the chip shortage has 
gotten worse.
    So I also hope that this Conference committee can go 
further to support microchip production. And I hope this 
package includes a 25 percent permanent investment tax credit 
to support semiconductor manufacturers and their suppliers who 
choose to invest in the United States. And I hope that it can 
include bipartisan legislation that I introduced with Senator 
Blackburn to authorize a new microchip R&D program at the 
Department of Energy.
    And I hope it takes meaningful steps to ensure that we have 
a strong workforce which can support our growing domestic 
microchip industry now and into the future. Madam Chair, I 
believe we have no time to waste, and I look forward to working 
with my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, in both the 
House and Senate to get this done. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you, Senator Kelly. Now, Congressman 
McEachin.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DONALD McEACHIN

    Mr. McEachin. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for 
allowing me to come before you today. I recognize my time today 
here is brief, but I would like to emphasize the importance of 
the Natural Resources Community's division of the COMPETES Act. 
I strongly urge my colleagues to keep it intact as we move 
through the Conference process.
    The Natural Resources committee division of the COMPETES 
Act includes a suite of significant and bipartisan provisions 
that improve our Nation's global competitiveness, ensure a 
leadership role for the United States, put in place 
accountability measures for bad actors, protect ocean life, and 
strengthen the economic security of America. I would like to 
specifically highlight a few provisions.
    The House passed COMPETES Act includes large parts of H.R. 
3075, the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act, 
introduced by subcommittee chair Jared Huffman and Congressman 
Garret Graves. This bill was favorably reported by the House 
Natural Resources committee on a voice vote in this Congress. 
The United States is the largest importer of seafood, and up to 
one-third of the annual global seafood catch is estimated to be 
the product of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
    Our Nation has a responsibility to ensure that seafood we 
import is not the result of illegal practices or the product of 
slave labor. The House passed COMPETES Act addresses these 
issues, and they should remain. The National Resources 
committee division also includes provisions related to clean 
energy--on the development of clean energy on public lands and 
the leasing of offshore wind areas, and we look to decrease our 
reliance on foreign energy and to build domestic supply chains 
for clean energy.
    These provisions must remain in place. Deep sea mining for 
rare earth elements is the next frontier, and we must take 
proactive steps to address and understand the uncertainties and 
environmental impacts, given the likelihood that other nations 
will engage in this space. There is a provision that directs 
studies on deep sea mining and carbon storage in the deep sea 
environment.
    I will reiterate what Chairman Grijalva said, that the 
Natural Resources division of the House passed COMPETES Act is 
essential. These provisions will help us reach better outcomes 
for the American worker, the American consumer, and will 
increase American competitiveness.
    I urge my colleagues to support these provisions. I see my 
time has lapsed, so thank you for allowing me to trespass on 
yours.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will next hear from the Ranking 
Member of the Environment and Public Works committee, Senator 
Shelley Capito.

            STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, 
                U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Capito. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I am 
glad that we are holding today's initial meeting of conferees 
as we work to finalize legislation that will improve America's 
competitiveness in the face of growing challenges from China 
and other adversaries. In order to maintain America's position 
as the global economic and innovation leader, we must make the 
necessary investments to keep up with our competition and win 
the future.
    That includes investing in research and development, 
science and technology, manufacturing, education, and preparing 
our workforce to meet the needs of tomorrow's economy. The 
Senate bill does just that by helping to bring chip 
manufacturing back to our country, which is critical, as most 
have mentioned in their statements.
    Also, includes support for our Department of Energy labs, 
like the National Energy Technology Lab in Morgantown, West 
Virginia. And it makes sure that all parts of our country, 
including rural areas which receive research and education 
funding, like Marshall and West Virginia University, that is 
very impactful. I am one of 18 Republicans who voted to pass 
the Senate legislation last year.
    Like any bipartisan legislation, the Senate bill is not 
perfect. But it was the result of compromise to reach our 
shared goal of legislating to improve America's 
competitiveness. The House bill is stocked full of left wing 
priorities and spending. For example, the House bill authorizes 
$8 billion to the green climate fund, a fund that Congress has 
declined to provide funding for since Fiscal Year 2016.
    The bill also authorizes $2 billion per year indefinitely 
to address climate change internationally by paying other 
countries to transition to cleaner energy, explicitly requiring 
funds to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuel power 
and improve the availability of electric vehicles. It allows 
for these funds to be provided to international multilateral 
funds, such as the green climate fund, the world's largest 
multinational fund devoted to climate change.
    This is not what this opportunity is all about. I want to 
see us reach an agreement on legislation to advance American 
technology and innovation. I will do everything to help see 
that we can get to a final Conference report that reflects the 
Senate's bipartisan balance if we are to have success here. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues. And thank you, 
Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Capito. Next is 
Congressman Rick Crawford.

             STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RICK CRAWFORD

    Mr. Crawford. Thank you, Chair Cantwell. I appreciate that. 
Like my colleagues here today, I am eager to get to work on 
this pivotal legislation. The United States is at a crossroads, 
facing true great power competition for the first time since 
the cold war, with an adversary willing to push all limits to 
gain the upper hand. It is imperative that we equip American 
industry to compete with China, and both chambers have 
presented ideas that work toward this goal.
    However, in many ways, the legislation before the 
Conference has turned into a partisan catchall, littered with 
policies that are redundant, unproductive, and not germane. My 
colleagues and I on the House Transportation and Infrastructure 
committee are concerned about the $4 billion authorization in 
the COMPETES Act for a new EDA pilot program. Not only is this 
ten times the EDA's standard appropriations, it waives the cost 
share typically required, eliminating the skin in the game for 
recipients.
    The authorized activities may be reasonable, but they are 
largely duplicative, and additional application requirements 
could add unnecessary burdens on recipients. Also being 
considered is the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. I am a co-sponsor 
of H.R. 4996, and I have supported the legislation three times 
in the House. I agree Congress must address the ongoing cargo 
backups and delays that are crippling the supply chain and the 
Federal Maritime Commission's Enforcement Authority.
    However, adding policies that the House and Senate have 
addressed multiple times already slows down our ability to 
address China's rapidly growing influence around the world. 
Sooner or later Congress must address the U.S. businesses 
investing billions into China's technical sector--technology 
sector, the dependance of the pharmaceutical industry on 
China's precursor ingredients, and our subsidizing of chip 
production when much of the supply chain remains in China.
    The United States remains the global leader across 
industries and continues to have an unmatched economy, 
military, and democracy, while China has proven time and time 
again that they are not a trustworthy partner. It is imperative 
that Congress take action today to bolster U.S. growth and 
competition and ensure China is not permitted to steal and 
cheat its way to the top. With that, I yield back. Thank you, 
Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will next hear from Congressman 
Malinowski.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN TOM MALINOWSKI

    Mr. Malinowski. Thank you, Madam Chair. Our Nation's 
competition with China will have significant and lasting 
implications for our economy, our National Security, and our 
standing in the world. And we have before us a bill that is 
going to put us in a very good position to win that 
competition. One thing we all agree on is that we need a bill 
that invests in microchip manufacturing.
    And we agree because there is bipartisan agreement around a 
principle, that if there is a technology that is vital to our 
economic and National Security, then that technology should be 
made in America. But if we agree on that principle, then surely 
we would understand that the principle doesn't apply to solely 
one technology. We should be concerned, for example, that 
roughly 80 percent of our battery cell manufacturing capacity 
today is in China. It should concern us that 90 percent of the 
facilities making active pharmaceutical ingredients in our 
generic drugs are located overseas.
    And certainly none of us want our front line nurses wearing 
trash bags again because we are waiting on PPE imports from 
other countries. The bipartisan supply chain provisions in the 
COMPETES Act will allow us to address these challenges. That is 
why more than 130 major American companies and industry 
associations, including the National Association of 
Manufacturing, are calling on us to move them forward, and I 
hope that we will.
    I will say in my remaining time that I hope we will also 
address and include in the final bill some of the foreign 
policy provisions in the House bill, in particular, a 
bipartisan provision that will enable people with high skills 
from Hong Kong, a territory that is being severely repressed 
right now by the Chinese Communist Party, to come to the United 
States.
    Let us make China's loss, America's gain, and show the 
world and image that China's dictatorship does not want to see, 
the image of Hong Kongers who value freedom, putting--
dedicating their lives and their resources and their talents to 
helping the United States of America. Thank you, and I yield 
back.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. Before we close out the 
section, I would like to recognize Congresswoman Yvette 
Herrell. Ranking Member from--no, sorry. House--yes--House 
National Resources committee, member.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN YVETTE HERRELL

    Ms. Herrell. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman. First of 
all, let me express my gratitude to my Republican colleagues on 
the House Natural Resources committee for choosing me to be 
their representative on this Conference committee. I hope to be 
a strong voice on this Conference committee for unleashing 
American resources and American ingenuity in the face of the 
ever growing threat we face from China.
    The House's COMPETES is nothing short of a disaster. It is 
the opposite of competition. It punishes American industries 
while further empowering and emboldening China. From a Natural 
Resources' perspective, the bill does nothing to address 
China's stranglehold over the critical minerals supply chain, 
even when America has the ability and expertise to, not just 
compete, but to win.
    If we refuse to take bold action to secure our mineral 
needs, we put our National Security at risk given their 
importance to our military capabilities and energy grid. The 
bill also does nothing to reduce our dependency on our 
adversaries for oil and gas. Gasoline prices hit an all-time 
high this week, and the Biden Administration announced just 
last night that they would cancel all offshore lease sales, 
cutting off access to American energy sources, sending damaging 
signals to the energy market, and threatening our future energy 
security.
    Unfortunately, this policy choice comes as no surprise 
given the Biden Administration's constant assaults on American 
energy and mineral development. In a bill dealing with a 
foreign adversary, the House bill mentions climate change twice 
as often as the National Security. It mentions coal more often 
than it mentions--or coral more often than it mentions China. 
It includes much of the Democrats radical blue New Deal, heavy 
handed Federal Government knows best legislation that will make 
us more dependent on imported products rather than utilizing 
and conserving America's abundance of natural resources.
    Also snuck into the bill are several amendments to the 
Lacey Act, which the Natural Resources committee never 
considered that threaten American jobs. These provisions give 
blanket authority to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to 
determine the so-called ``injurious species'' without any 
requirement for public input, advance notice, or comment, 
dramatically expanding the Fish and Wildlife Services' 
authority to regulate movement of injurious wildlife within the 
United States and makes wildlife importers guilty until proven 
innocent.
    These provisions will be detrimental to the American 
industries, such as aquaculture, which are already highly 
regulated businesses. As a final gift to China's despotic 
regime, the bill also gives $8 billion to the U.N. green 
climate fund, which has previously awarded $100 million to 
China. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you so much. I am going to turn to the 
Ranking Member of the House Armed Services committee, 
Congressman Norcross.

            STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DONALD NORCROSS

    Mr. Norcross. Thank you. Title says it all, America 
COMPETES Act. As a member of the House Armed Services 
committee, so many reasons to focus on our competition well 
into next century, the pandemic, the supply chains. We need a 
secure industrial base to take care of our defense industry. 
$52 billion for chips, semiconductors, ensuring we can create 
arms like the ones that are supplying Ukraine this very day.
    Ensuring that is incredibly important. It is the basis for 
National Security, for our allies, and for our partners. We 
need to remain competitive, so America's values of freedom and 
democracy endure. Competition may be global, but 
competitiveness starts right here at home. We need a trained, 
skilled work force. Lead, not just an education, but job 
training, making sure that labor protections are included.
    Competition is about values. We need to make workers a 
value. Don't treat them like cogs in a machine. That is what 
China does. Our National Apprenticeship Act supports domestic 
work force, creates job opportunities to ensure our supply 
chain, industrial base has a strong labor pool. America is 
competitive because of our people. The technology, the 
manufacturing capacity, the defense industries, these things 
are built by workers.
    My focus in this Conference is keeping the focus on the 
supply chain and its competitiveness. That means looking out 
for the workers who make that supply chain work. I thank you 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chair. Thank you. I would like to ask Congressman 
Moore's discretion if our colleague, Senator Young, who has 
been here, but he is the author of this legislation in the 
Senate and has been carrying the load, if it would be OK if he 
preceded you.
    Mr. Moore. Only for Senator Young.
    The Chair. OK, great.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. TODD YOUNG, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM INDIANA

    Senator Young. Well, I thank the Congressman, and I thank 
you, Chair Cantwell, for your leadership. When I first 
introduced the Endless Frontier Act in the spring of 2020, I 
didn't imagine it would take 2 years to be sitting here today, 
but I am pleased that this bill moved through regular order in 
the Senate with the Chair's hard work and my colleagues, having 
so many opportunities to express their views. They contributed 
ideas and we sanded and polished this important piece of 
legislation, and that brings us to here.
    As we begin the formal Conference process, let's remember 
this, throughout our Nation's recent history, Republicans and 
Democrats have worked together on critical National Security 
issues, issues that are bigger than whatever our domestic 
political divisions may be. And I believe this legislation is 
yet another moment where we must come together in a bipartisan 
fashion for the future of our country.
    We have a National Security imperative to ensure that we 
don't fall behind the Chinese Communist Party in our 
technological innovation, which is historically a key driver of 
our Nation's economic growth and rise to power. American 
leadership in science and technology, especially the emerging 
technologies that will dominate the 21st century, is vital to 
both the future of the American economy and to our 
competitiveness with China.
    This legislation will help us lay the foundation for the 
private sector to harness the innovation occurring around our 
country and will contribute toward the construction of fabs 
that will create the resilience necessary to compete globally, 
both economically and militarily. In the days ahead there no 
doubt will be disagreements, but we need to get this bill 
across the finish line, with a strong bipartisan vote and help 
ensure the United States is leading the world into the future.
    As Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster said at an event on 
this bill yesterday, ``we need to work together and get this 
darn thing done.'' H.R. McMaster is right, and I think the 
American people understand the importance of this moment as 
well. So I look forward to working with the members of this 
Conference committee to see this bill across the finish line. 
Thank you, Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you so much. And again, thank you to you 
and Senator Schumer for your leadership on this issue. As you 
said, long time coming. Thank you, Congressman Moore, for your 
indulgence there. Appreciate it. Welcome. Look forward to your 
remarks.

              STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BLAKE MOORE

    Mr. Moore. Thanks, Madam Chair. I am honored to speak today 
on behalf of House Armed Services committee Republicans. The 
Chinese Communist Party is on a clear path to threaten our way 
of life, and whatever legislation we adopt must reflect that 
reality.
    As drafted, these bills do not adequately address the 
military threat posed by the People's Republic of China. Nor do 
they clearly focus on building a competitive, whole of 
Government approach to counter the Chinese Communist Party. The 
House bill completely bypassed the House Armed Services 
committee despite containing a number of provisions in our 
jurisdiction.
    Both bills make welcome investments in American research 
and manufacturing capacities, but those improvements must be 
bolstered by National Security safeguards and commitments to 
build capacity quickly. Some provisions, as was mentioned and 
discussed widely with regards to chips, these have noble goals, 
but others put climate change fluff and sense of Congress ahead 
of real action to isolate the CCP and build resilience in our 
allies and partners. The previous Commander of U.S. Indo-
Pacific Command, Admiral Davidson, put the Chinese threat 
plainly. He said, ``I think the threat of China invading Taiwan 
is manifest during this decade, in fact, within the next six 
years.'' Admiral Davidson gave that warning in March 2021.
    My goal on behalf of Armed Services Republicans is to press 
hard on real action to protect American security and the 
American economy from the massive global shock that an 
attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan could cause, and the long 
term impacts of China's global market manipulation. Many of the 
world's largest and most advanced semiconductor facilities 
could be under Chinese control in the next 5 years, and that 
point cannot be under stressed. This threat is not 
hypothetical.
    Whatever provisions this Conference ultimately adopts 
should reflect the dire urgency shared by our military leaders, 
making lasting investments to protect American safety and 
prosperity. I will finish with my team is completely committed 
to making this the best possible bill, one that we can find 
bipartisan solutions and come with the real type of outcomes 
that are needed. Thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you so much for that statement. 
Congresswoman Escobar, welcome.

          STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN VERONICA ESCOBAR

    Ms. Escobar. Thank you, Chairwoman Cantwell. I am honored 
to be here on behalf of the House Armed Services committee and 
my community of El Paso, Texas, as a conferee for this historic 
piece of legislation. I would like to thank Chairman Smith and 
the subcommittee chairs for their leadership in helping craft 
many critical components of this bill.
    As a conferee, I am committed to working with my Senate 
colleagues on delivering to the President's desk a robust, 
bipartisan, and bicameral package that invests in research, 
strengthens supply chains, bolsters innovation and 
competitiveness, and most importantly, delivers for Americans 
by lowering costs and promoting our values at home and abroad. 
I want to stress to this Conference the urgent national and 
economic security implications attached to tackling 
semiconductor supply chain concerns through the CHIPS Act.
    Earlier today, in an Armed Services posture hearing, U.S. 
Army Secretary Wormuth stressed this critical vulnerability in 
our supply chain, saying it is problematic and that we cannot 
allow ourselves to continue being dependent on our adversaries 
for equipment in our weapons systems. It is our job to urgently 
mitigate this risk and not only incentivize production, but the 
stockpile of chips.
    Second, I am proud to have worked tirelessly to include 
several provisions critical to El Paso, one of our Nation's 
most important trade corridors. I will work with the Committee 
to ensure it sees the significance of these provisions. 
Additionally, I urge my colleagues to retain other key House 
provisions that increase corporate accountability, promote 
diversity in the technology sector, ensure human rights 
protections for U.S. security cooperation abroad, and address 
the climate crisis, which is a real National Security threat.
    As U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers continue to 
wrestle with the impact of global inflation, our work today is 
more important than ever. Global inflation will persist for 
some time, making life more challenging for Americans. Through 
this Conference, we can address real issues that Americans are 
grappling with every day while out competing our adversaries.
    I look forward to working with all of you to finalize a 
package that will benefit our country for decades to come. 
Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you, Congresswoman. We will now hear from 
Congressman Fitzgerald. Welcome.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN SCOTT FITZGERALD

    Mr. Fitzgerald. Good afternoon, Senator Cantwell, 
Congresswoman Johnson, and thank you for holding this meeting. 
I am pleased to represent the House Small Business committee on 
this Conference committee. Within our jurisdiction, the key 
provisions and programs under discussion of the Small Business 
Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, or 
SBIR and STTR programs.
    These programs are set to expire at the end of this Fiscal 
Year. The mission of these programs is to support scientific 
excellence and technological innovation for small business. 
These programs are vital to the success of many small entities 
and have helped create thousands of new jobs by fostering 
innovation and stimulating the economy through new cutting edge 
research.
    For the last 40 years, these programs have helped firms 
develop new technologies that have benefited the warfighter and 
helped Federal agencies meet their R&D needs. However, there 
are issues we must address before extending these programs long 
term. Most notably, the foreign influence, and much to our 
concern, the malign foreign intelligence. Recent DOD study 
revealed that China, not the United States, is the primary 
beneficiary of DOD and the U.S. Government research 
investments. It is shocking.
    This is not only extremely troubling, but something we must 
address. China is exploiting our small business through shell 
companies, planted Government researchers, and State sponsored 
talent programs. Prior to reauthorizing this program, we must 
ensure the necessity and safeguards are in place to protect 
American small business and intellectual property. Our goal, I 
think, should be that this legislation would make us less 
dependent on China and not support them.
    On the topic, I was pleased that my bill, a bill that we 
had been working on, the Foreign Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act, 
passed as an amendment to the America COMPETES Act. The Foreign 
Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act would require the FTC and DOJ 
antitrust division to take foreign government subsidies into 
account in pre-merger notification processes.
    This modest additional disclosure fills a gap in 
acquisitions from companies that may not rise National Security 
concerns that would trigger a review for the Committee on 
foreign investment in the United States. I look forward to 
working with my colleagues to combat foreign influence, protect 
small business, and reform these programs. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. Congressman Fitzgerald. We will now 
hear from Congresswoman Sharice Davids.

           STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SHARICE DAVIDS

    Ms. Davids. Thank you, Madam Chair. Over the past several 
months, I have spoken with dozens of Kansas business owners, 
workers, students and entrepreneurs about the impact of this 
legislation that we are talking about today. I have been on the 
factory floor with welders who make the railroads. They get 
goods from ship to shelf across our country.
    I have seen firsthand how a Kansas battery manufacturer 
recycles their materials through the production process to 
reduce wastes and improve efficiency. I have met with union 
autoworkers who were off the line for several months last year 
because of the chip shortage that idled a GM plant in my 
district. I have been out in the community because I want to 
make sure that during this negotiation I am fighting for what 
our businesses and workers really need.
    And from engineers to mechanics to microbreweries, I am 
hearing a lot of the same things, supply chain snags are 
squeezing businesses big and small. The pandemic caused a 
global disruption that is impacting prices for businesses and 
consumers. But I have to tell you, this is not new. The reality 
is we have been reliant on goods made in other countries for 
far too long. And Kansans are definitely paying the price for 
that.
    When we focus on domestic manufacturing, it will not only 
bring back jobs and boost our economy, it is going to help 
lower costs across the board and reduce inflation. My 
priorities for this negotiation are to ensure that we are 
including small businesses when we upgrade our supply chains, 
that we are supporting innovative entrepreneurship and 
manufacturing, and that we are preparing a workforce to power 
us into the future.
    Another thing I have learned from my conversations, we have 
the innovation, the grit, and the talent to compete with 
countries like China. I am ready to start betting on our team. 
I am looking forward to working with my colleagues to find some 
common ground here and get this thing done. Thank you, and I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you so much, Congresswoman. Now we will 
turn to Senator Raphael Warnock.

              STATEMENT OF HON. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM GEORGIA

    Senator Warnock. Thank you so very much, Madam Chair. And I 
am very grateful that we are at this point. This historic----
    The Chair. Senator, if you could yield. I am very glad we 
are at this point because you are the last Speaker.
    Senator Warnock. I understand.
    The Chair. Sorry for the interruption.
    Senator Warnock. This historic bipartisan legislation will 
help lower costs for hardworking families, create jobs, and 
help us compete in the global economy. And we must get it done 
and over the finish line as soon as possible. This bill will 
start helping families right away by making new investments in 
supply chain resiliency so that we can better monitor and 
prevent shortages and critical products.
    Whether they are the chips that you find in almost every 
electronic product, or the materials we need to build homes, or 
the chips we need, quite frankly, for the KIA plant that is 
down in West Point, Georgia, that had to close a couple of 
times for lack of microchips. That is the reason I am laser 
focused on lowering costs and these programs are an important 
first step.
    At the same time, this bill also invests in our future by 
increasing funding for STEM research and education, just as 
important as strengthening our ability to turn scientific 
breakthroughs into new businesses, businesses that are based in 
Georgia, creating new, good paying jobs.
    And so I am working to ensure this bill uplifts families 
and communities across Georgia, from researchers at Savannah 
State University to startup founders in Atlanta, to young 
students in our rural communities all across our state who will 
make scientific discoveries that we cannot yet imagine.
    And so I, too, am glad we are at this point, Madam Chair, 
and I am looking forward to working with everybody to craft 
strong bipartisan legislation that strengthens innovation, 
lowers costs, and supports families in every corner of our 
Nation.
    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Warnock. And I 
think it is very fitting--you know, we had to work very hard 
with the Administration on the SKLG issue in your state a year 
ago so that we could keep manufacturing moving, and now we want 
this bill to do the same on a grander scale. So very fitting 
that you are last Speaker.
    I am going to enter into the record statements by Senator 
Toomey, Congressman Guest, Congressman Nadler, Congressman 
Tiffany, Congressman DeFazio, and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez 
for the record.
    [The statements referred to can be found in the Appendix.]
    The Chair. We have had 94 people speak today. That 
concludes our Conference committee. I am very encouraged not 
only by the participation, but the amount of bipartisan overlap 
on issues that were brought up here today.
    I think it is a very rare privilege to get to sit and 
listen to our colleagues on a variety of committees come 
together and have a common view about America's 
competitiveness.
    So we think today is a good start for the Innovation and 
Competition Conference committee. We look forward to working 
with all of our colleagues. We are adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 2:06 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                            A P P E N D I X

       Prepared Statement from Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
    China is the greatest challenge to the United States and a rules-
based order since the demise of the Soviet Union. The sheer size of the 
country and the depths of poverty from which they emerged means that 
even catching up to one-sixth of U.S. GDP per capita, where China 
stands today, has had an outsized impact on the world economy. But this 
growth has been in spite of their totalitarian regime and centrally 
planned system--not because of it.
    American economic competitiveness has rarely, if ever, depended on 
government-directed industrial policy. In fact, the best approach for 
achieving economic growth, and a higher standard of living, has always 
been to unleash market competition.
    The House bill is chock-full of bad ideas that put government at 
the center of a managed economy: $8 billion for the United Nations' 
Green Climate Agreement, another $10 billion for climate change efforts 
at the State Department, and $45 billion for the Commerce Department to 
make loans to support manufacturing of any product Commerce deems 
important. This is compounded by onerous, outdated, and partisan labor 
provisions. What could possibly go wrong?
    There are the concerning trade provisions in the House bill. The 
House bill unwisely toughens antidumping and countervailing duties law, 
which will increase red tape for importers and impose more and higher 
tariffs against U.S. businesses and consumers. These changes would 
impact trade with all countries--not just China. Let me remind my House 
colleagues: The goal of this legislation is to increase the 
competitiveness of American businesses--not to increase their costs.
    This provision also eliminates longstanding duty-free treatment of 
certain small consumer shipments, which will only increase prices for 
American consumers who are already being plagued by nearly 40-year high 
inflation.
    The House bill also creates a new interagency committee--``outbound 
CFIUS''--to screen outbound ``covered transactions'' from U.S. 
companies going to ``countries of concern,'' most notably China. While 
I understand my colleagues have been working to narrow this provision, 
even revised language will grant the Federal government sweeping new 
authorities to dramatically disrupt and halt the free flow of 
investment, intellectual property, and trade in goods and services. 
Such a dramatic escalation in protectionism and expansion of the 
administrative state shouldn't be thrown into a package such as this. 
It should be carefully considered through regular order, by the 
committees of jurisdiction in both chambers, including the Senate 
Banking Committee, and by the full House and Senate.
    And then there is the 301 tariff exclusion process. Last week, the 
Senate passed my motion to instruct this Committee to create an 
exclusion process for 301 tariffs harming American manufacturers. The 
tariff exclusion process was in place for 30 out of 31 months during 
the Trump administration, and 91 of my Senate colleagues voted for this 
language--originally authored by my colleagues Sens. Crapo and Wyden--
when the Senate considered this legislation last spring. Yet the House 
stripped their bill of this critical provision.
    American manufacturers must be able to effectively compete with 
everyone, including China. With a Section 301 tariff exclusion process, 
American manufacturers will be better positioned to obtain the 
materials they need for production. As this committee convenes in the 
coming weeks, I strongly urge my colleagues to follow the instructions 
passed by the Senate and prioritize the reestablishment of this 
exclusion process. Failure to allow this remedy will harm our own 
manufacturers and small businesses, disadvantaging these companies 
relative to foreign competitors at a time when we should be enabling 
their success.
    Maintaining our technological superiority over China requires 
punishing bad Chinese behavior and emboldening the natural innovative 
entrepreneurship of America's market economy--not imitating Chinese 
central planning. I hope my colleagues will keep this in mind as we 
work to find an agreement.
                                 ______
                                 
               Prepared Statement from Rep. Guest (MS-03)
    Chairman Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the 
Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide input on H.R. 
4521, the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) of 2021, 
or the Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in 
Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022.
    China poses the greatest 50-year threat to our homeland. The 
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to achieve its 
geopolitical goals and gain economic advantage over American businesses 
and institutions. The CCP is launching cyber-attacks against our 
critical infrastructure, testing nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, 
and committing gross human violations against its own citizens.
    It is crucial that the United States produce semiconductors and 
other critical goods to tackle the current supply chain crisis we are 
facing. History has proven that American innovation can lead on a 
global scale, and we must act now to produce more domestic products. 
Therefore, Congress must take a strategic approach to counter the CCP's 
aggression and to bolster the resilience of American supply chains.
    I am proud to represent the Committee on Homeland Security as the 
Conferee for this Conference. Specifically, the Committee on Homeland 
Security is focused on ensuring that unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) 
technology and equipment utilized by the Federal government for its 
critical missions are not manufactured in an adversarial foreign 
country like China.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to stop 
the CCP, defend our homeland from foreign influence, and strengthen the 
American economy.
                                 ______
                                 
         Prepared Statement of Hon. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman, 
                       House Judiciary Committee
    Senator Cantwell, Chairwoman Johnson, and other distinguished 
members of the Conference Committee, thank you for convening this 
important meeting.
    The COMPETES Act, as it passed the House of Representatives, 
represents a tremendous accomplishment on behalf of the American 
people. As a whole, it creates good-paying jobs, stimulates 
manufacturing, promotes innovation, and makes once-in-a-generation 
investments in science, research, and technology.
    Working together in this Conference, I am certain that we can 
achieve the same goals and send a truly transformational bill to the 
President for his signature.
    Within COMPETES, the House Judiciary Committee has advanced a small 
but critical set of proposals for your consideration.
    First, the SHOP SAFE Act would incentivize online platforms to 
remove harmful counterfeit products from their websites--in terms far 
less onerous than those already imposed on brick-and-mortar stores. 
This effort, led by Representatives Johnson and Issa in the House and 
Senators Coons and Tillis in the Senate, is bipartisan, bicameral, and 
vitally important to American innovation. Together with the INFORM Act, 
SHOP SAFE will help us crack down on both intellectual property theft 
and retail theft, and provide significant protections to American 
consumers.
    Second, a new temporary visa for immigrant entrepreneurs would 
create a pathway to citizenship for the founders of successful 
startups. This concept is based on Representative Lofgren's H.R. 4681, 
the Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment Act, and I thank her for her 
vision and leadership on this issue. Similar concepts have received 
bipartisan support in recent years, and I am hopeful that we can reach 
consensus on this proposal as well.
    The House-passed COMPETES Act also includes relief for those with 
graduate degrees in critical industries. This proposal is a matter of 
national security, it is designed to draw the best and brightest to our 
country and to our economy, and it enjoys a broad measure of bipartisan 
support.
    Third, our bill asks the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to 
collect basic demographic information from patent applications if such 
information is volunteered. Our intellectual property laws are at their 
most effective when they are equally accessible to all citizens, and we 
must have the data to ensure that all innovators can take advantage of 
these incentives. This proposal is based on Representative Velazquez's 
H.R. 1723, the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act, or the 
IDEA Act, and I am proud to have seen it pass the House as part of 
COMPETES.
    Fourth, we propose to modernize the filing fee structure for merger 
review at the U.S. Department of Justice. This provision is based on 
Representative Neguse's H.R. 3843, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization 
Act of 2021. This measure is essential to reinvigorating the Antitrust 
Division of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Competition at 
the Federal Trade Commission. I am pleased that identical proposals 
have passed in both the House and Senate versions of COMPETES.
    Finally, I should note an objection to two research-related 
provisions of USICA. Specifically, sections 2527(b) and (c) would 
undermine an existing agreement about the public availability of 
federally funded research. Although I defer to other members of this 
Conference Committee on questions of scientific research, generally, 
these two sections present a serious copyright problem and should be 
stricken from our final text.
    I look forward to advancing each of these important proposals in 
the coming days.
    I thank the Chair, and I yield back.
                                 ______
                                 
              Prepared Statement of Representative Tiffany
    This Congress and the last have been marked by massive legislative 
vehicles marketed to address the pressing issue of the day, but often 
including radical changes to unrelated policy.
    Somehow, the Democrats in this Congress have found a way to make 
this bill even worse. As the Republican Conferee for the House 
Judiciary Committee, I can tell you that very few of the provisions of 
this bill in the jurisdiction of our committee would have any effect at 
all on containing or combatting the malign influence of the Chinese 
Communist Party (CCP) or strengthening our relationship with Taiwan. In 
fact, many of the provisions included in the bill would make things 
worse.
    At a time when our country needs strong security measures and 
protection against foreign theft of intellectual property, this bill 
makes unprecedented and unnecessary changes to immigration law. The 
bill creates expansive new opportunities for legal immigration for 
aliens of any country--including China--as long as they meet such vague 
requirements as having ``the knowledge, skills or experience to 
substantially assist'' a startup or if they have a degree in such 
fields as accounting or conservation.
    The bill also expands the budget of the Federal Trade Commission 
(FTC). Giving more money and power to the Biden FTC will allow it to 
continue and expand its harassment of American businesses at a time of 
out-of-control inflation and hyper-regulation. The end result is that 
our competitors in China will be able to outpace American companies, 
creating more, not less, American reliance on China.
    There are many provisions that have nothing to do with China at 
all. For example, the bill includes a provision to create a Special 
Immigrant Visa (SIV) for Afghan Fulbright Scholars.
    There is another provision that creates a visa category for up to 
15,000 nationals of South Korea. Yet another provision provides 
automatic citizenship for international adoptees, who were adopted 
before 2000--meaning adults who are at least 22 years old and many who 
are much older. That section would include people who have been 
deported or are in removal proceedings based on criminal convictions.
    One section in the bill creates a program to collect demographic 
information from patent applicants. Another section creates a massive 
new regulatory burden on the importation of certain species. The Safe 
Banking Act is included in this massive bill as well. That provision 
would make it easier for marijuana businesses to engage in business 
transactions with legitimate businesses, even though marijuana 
continues to be a schedule I drug.
    What does any of that have to do with China? Nothing. Like every 
other major piece of legislation from the Democrats this Congress, this 
bill purports to solve a serious problem, but is, in reality, a wish 
list of unrelated legislation that would never become law through 
regular order. The way this Congress has been legislating is shameful. 
I urge this Conference Committee to strip out all of these unrelated 
and, in many cases, truly harmful policies.
                                 ______
                                 
              Prepared Statement of Chair Peter A. DeFazio
    Thank you, Chair Cantwell. As Chair of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee I am pleased to be a part of this important 
conference meeting today--a rare thing nowadays.
    It's clear that America now faces more competition than ever in the 
global economy. If we want to give the next generations the opportunity 
to get good-paying jobs we must make the right investments today in 
research, innovation, and manufacturing to ensure America can compete 
for decades to come.
    Earlier this year the House took a step in the right direction by 
passing the America COMPETES Act, which included important initiatives 
from my committee that I would like to see enacted. First it includes 
the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, bipartisan legislation to address unfair 
shipping practices and supply chain disruptions.
    At no other time have we seen such an unprecedented demand for a 
resilient supply chain, and the current dynamic has highlighted the 
inefficiencies in our supply chain both domestically and abroad. 
Despite historic demand and profit levels, we have been made aware of 
instances of large ocean shipping conglomerates taking advantage of 
American exporters and importers. This legislation helps address the 
need for greater antitrust oversight of foreign-flag commercial carrier 
alliances that transport more than ninety eight percent of U.S. foreign 
commerce.
    The House bill also includes a pilot version of Representative 
Kilmer's ``Recompete Act'', which would provide $4 billion over ten 
years in new grants to help communities that have historically been 
left behind get ahead and stay ahead in the 21st century economy. These 
grants will invest in the economic infrastructure our communities 
depend on to help connect and support businesses and workers alike.
    I'd also like to make a few comments on some of the trade-related 
provisions. The House COMPETES Act contains trade provisions that would 
improve U.S. economic resilience and promote a worker-centered trade 
policy.
    But disturbingly, the Senate's bill contains trade provisions--
added to the bill at the last minute--that would undermine U.S. 
manufacturing capacity and supply chain reliability in key sectors and 
weaken our competitiveness, in some cases to the direct benefit of 
China's economic interests.
    For example, the House bill closes a big loophole that allows 
millions of packages bought online to enter the U.S. daily from China 
tariff free and without adequate safety inspection or seizure of banned 
Uyghur forced-labor goods. Meanwhile, the Senate bill contains no de 
minimus fix and instead contains a major giveaway to Big Tech which 
would empower them to undermine worker and consumer privacy protections 
and anti-monopoly initiatives.
    The House bill also reauthorizes, strengthens, and expands Trade 
Adjustment Assistance in order to re-train workers and help communities 
that have been hit by decades of foreign unfair trade practices and 
race-to-the-bottom trade policies.
    The Senate bill would allow this assistance to expire.
    And finally, the House bill promotes greater supply chain 
resilience and less U.S. reliance on Chinese imports by requiring 
review of outbound investment related to offshoring of critical supply 
chains by U.S. firms.
    Meanwhile, the Senate's bill excludes review of U.S. offshore 
investment for critical manufacturing capacity, but allows new duty-
free access into the U.S. for Chinese PPE, medicines, and more.
    I call on this conference committee to maintain the crucial trade 
provisions in the House bill and to reject the Senate's inadequate 
trade provisions, which would undermine workers and U.S. manufacturing, 
and increase U.S. overreliance on China.
    It is long overdue for the United States to place itself on a path 
to compete at a global level in the modern era, and that includes 
creating long-term economic growth and quality jobs for the American 
people. Our constituents deserve nothing less and I will work to ensure 
any final agreement does just that.
    Thank you Madam Chair.
                                 ______
                                 
Prepared Statement of Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Chairwoman, Small Business 
                               Committee
    Thank you to all the Chairs and Ranking Members for convening this 
conference and for all your work on this vital bill.
    I'm looking forward to working with my fellow conferees to advance 
a piece of legislation that allows America to remain the global leader 
in technological advancement.
    We are all aware of the innovative prowess of domestic small 
businesses and I'm proud to be part of this process to work on their 
behalf.
    While many policies in the larger bill will ultimately benefit and 
strengthen our small business community, it's critical that this 
legislation also preserves a role for them in the innovation economy.
    The SBIR and STTR programs are crucial to achieving both of these 
goals.
    Every year, these programs provide billions of dollars to small 
businesses pursuing scientific breakthroughs.
    Over the past 40 years, SBIR and STTR have helped launch successful 
endeavors like iRobot, Sonicare electric toothbrush, 23&Me, Lasik eye 
surgery, and Qualcomm wireless communications. These programs are vital 
to our small business and technological ecosystems. But as it stands, 
the SBIR and STTR programs are set to expire this September.
    A program lapse would hurt American small businesses and stifle 
innovation. Without an extension, agencies will be forced to stop 
taking applications and halt processing contract options or new awards.
    To avoid this outcome, I've proposed an extension of the programs 
and their related pilots, which has broad support from business, 
university, defense, and economic development groups.
    Doing so gives the Science, Space, and Technology and Small 
Business committees the time to thoroughly consider policy changes 
during reauthorization--a process we've already started.
    Most importantly, it gives small firms operating on the cutting 
edge of technology the stability and certainty they need to pursue 
their innovations.
    In sum, as we contemplate America's competitive future and 
leadership in innovation, I believe we have the opportunity to adopt 
meaningful policies to bolster the presence of small businesses in our 
global economy and domestic supply chains. I look forward to our work 
together.
    Thank you and I yield back.
                                 ______
                                 
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                                 ______
                                 
          Prepared Statement of Representative Joaquin Castro
    Chairwoman Cantwell, members of this conference Committee, I am 
looking forward to working with you to negotiate this important bill 
and get it to the President's desk.
    There are a number of provisions in the bill that I believe are 
critical to ensuring American leadership and competitiveness.
    I am proud to have authored a number of provisions in Division D of 
the COMPETES Act that would strengthen our leadership at the United 
Nations, counter the proliferation of nuclear and ballistic missile 
technology in the Middle East, ensure the United States engages with 
the countries of the Indian Ocean region as a part of our Indo-Pacific 
strategy, expand people-to-people ties between the United States and 
the countries of Southeast Asia, and tackle the censorship of Americans 
and American businesses by the People's Republic of China.
    The bill also includes a critical bipartisan provision that would 
ensure that the United States Development Finance Corporation is able 
to make investments into equity in support of our Nation's 
international development objectives.
    The COMPETES Act also includes my Strengthening Youth 
Apprenticeships Act, which along with the entire National 
Apprenticeship Act would create nearly one million new registered 
apprenticeships, ensuring that our workforce is ready for the future. 
Additionally, the bill also includes language I authored to establish 
that apprenticeships extend to the media and entertainment industry to 
help ensure that the industry reflects our diverse nation.
    Lastly, I strongly support the language that provides funding for 
the CHIPS Act to address the-semiconductor shortage by increasing U.S. 
manufacturing and will prioritize that issue on this Committee.
    I want to thank Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Meeks for appointing me 
to this Conference Committee and look forward to getting to work on 
this important bill.
                                 ______
                                 
               Prepared Statement of Congressman Ami Bera
    Thank you to Chair Cantwell and Chairwoman Johnson for convening 
this first public conference committee meeting to reconcile two pieces 
of bipartisan innovation and competition legislation--USICA and America 
COMPETES. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on this 
conference committee. This legislation presents a once in a generation 
opportunity to invest in America to ensure that the United States 
remains a leader on the global stage and that the American worker can 
compete and succeed in the 21st century global economy.
    I come to this bill from my role on two critical committees that 
have come together to forge this important legislation. As a senior 
member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, I believe 
the best way we can compete on a global stage is to invest in American 
workers and American ingenuity. Our greatest assets have long been our 
innovation, our ingenuity, and the American people. We have an 
opportunity with this bill to bet on American workers and invest in our 
Nation's innovation that will lay the foundation for U.S. leadership in 
science and technology for generations to come while supporting the 
growth of our STEM workforce and unleashing our potential to outcompete 
any other nation.
    One critical piece that I strongly support in both bills is the 
robust funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research 
and development (R&D) and supply chain resiliency. Semiconductors are 
part of everything from our phones to our cars and investing in 
domestic manufacturing and R&D of these key components will spur 
innovation and reduce costs for consumers. In addition, we have seen 
during the pandemic how small breakdowns in the global supply chain can 
impact our economy but also how investments in domestic manufacturing 
and R&D can lead to innovative technologies and save lives.
    The pandemic has also shown that in times of need, Congress can 
come together and produce meaningful bipartisan legislation that 
invests in America such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package. While 
that bill focused on physical infrastructure, we have an opportunity 
here to invest in our human infrastructure--our research institutions 
and our workers. I am particularly proud about how the American 
COMPETES Act makes a robust investment in our Nation's research 
institutions and in particular, our public research universities. Our 
research institutions are part of what truly makes America great and in 
addition to the discoveries they produce, they are great drivers of 
innovation and our economy.
    As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the 
Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, I believe we must 
establish lasting structures and programs to enhance American 
diplomatic, economic, and security engagement with our allies and 
partners in the Indo-Pacific. The Foreign Affairs Division of America 
COMPETES includes several bills of mine that would do just that--The 
Countering China Economic Coercion Act, which would establish the 
first-ever interagency task force to respond to the People's Republic 
of China's growing economic coercion against government, businesses, 
organizations, and individuals; The Taiwan Peace and Stability Act, 
bipartisan legislation that strengthens U.S. support for Taiwan's 
participation in the international community, advances U.S-Taiwan 
economic ties, and enhances deterrence over a cross-Strait conflict; 
The Taiwan Fellowship Act, bipartisan legislation that establishes a 
fellowship exchange program for U.S. Federal government employees in 
all three branches of government to learn, live, and work in Taiwan for 
a length of up to two years; The Honoring Our Commitment to Elevate 
America's Neighbor Island and Allies (OCEANIA) Act, bipartisan and 
bicameral legislation that would elevate all of Oceania in U.S. foreign 
policymaking to help deliver a robust diplomatic and development 
commitment to support the long-term growth, governance, and resilience 
needs of the region; and an amendment calling for the full U.S. 
ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 
(UNCLOS).
    I look forward to working with my colleagues on this conference 
committee to resolve the differences between these two proposals in a 
timely manner so we can send a strong bipartisan bill to the 
President's desk for his signature and get these provisions implemented 
as soon as possible.

                                 [all]