[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2090-S2091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on a different matter here, for nearly a 
century, America's national security and economic security has been 
grounded in our scientific and technological superiority, often 
supported by smart investments by the Federal Government. But in recent 
years, countries like China have closed the gap with the United States. 
If we fail to respond, they will overtake us, with drastic consequences 
for our workers, businesses, allies, and partners around the world.
  It is long past time for the United States to make the next wave of 
investments to fix dangerous weak spots in our economy and preserve our 
place as the world leader in science and technology, which then leads 
to millions of good-paying jobs here in this country.
  So, today, I am proud to join with my friend the Republican Senator 
from Indiana, Senator Young, and several of my colleagues from both 
sides to reintroduce the Endless Frontier Act. It is a big, bold, and 
bipartisan initiative to propel American science and technology into 
the 21st century. Let me stress that last point. This bill is 
bipartisan.
  As Senator Young and I have worked on the bill over the past several 
months, several Senators from both sides have been added as original 
cosponsors: six Democrats and six Republicans. That is because there is 
a bipartisan consensus that the United States must invest in the 
technologies of the future to outcompete China. Whichever nation 
develops new technologies first, be they democratic or authoritarian, 
will set the terms for their use. The stakes for personal privacy and 
personal liberties, as well as for national security, economic 
security, and minority rights around the globe, are simply enormous.
  So at the center of this legislation is a $100 billion investment in 
research, commercialization, and workforce training in the kinds of 
technology that will play an outsized role in the future--
semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G, to 
name a few.
  Another $10 billion would foster the development of technological 
hubs around the country. We want to see Silicon Valleys across the 
country, from my home State of New York and upstate to communities in 
the South, to the Midwest, to other places that rarely get the 
attention they merit despite the potential of their workforces, their 
institutions, and their links to the global economy.
  Technological growth in jobs should not be limited to a few centers 
in America, and this bill attempts to spread it to other communities as 
well. It will also strengthen the critical supply chains in the United 
States and with global allies and partners. The Endless Frontier Act is 
exactly what we need to reinvigorate American science and technology, 
to promote our national security, and to create the jobs of the future.
  I have committed to put a bipartisan, competitive-related bill on the 
floor of the Senate. The Endless Frontier Act will be a central part of 
that legislation. We will also push for emergency spending to implement 
the bipartisan semiconductor manufacturing provisions in last year's 
Defense bill.
  Another potential component, led by Senators Menendez and Risch, is 
being marked up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. 
This is exactly what our Republican colleagues have asked for when it 
comes to regular order.
  We are marking up bipartisan bills in committee and considering 
bipartisan amendments here on the floor. We have just seen this back 
process play out on the anti-Asian hate crimes bill this week, and next 
week we are going to follow it up with a water infrastructure bill that 
is also thoroughly bipartisan.
  Our efforts to cement another century of American economic leadership 
should be no different--thoroughly bipartisan.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page S2091]]

  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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