[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 74 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN INNOVATION ACT

  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I would like to thank my colleague from 
Ohio for working together on a bipartisan package of legislation that 
will increase our economic competitiveness and strengthen our national 
security. As chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee, we are preparing legislation that will 
help our country respond to major cyber incidents, solidify our global 
leadership on artificial intelligence, incentivize domestic production 
of personal protective equipent to increase our ability to respond to 
pandemics, and strengthen ``Buy American'' laws to make sure Federal 
dollars support American workers and small businesses.
  I would like to briefly discuss one of the bills we are working on--
my colleague's Safeguarding American Innovation Act, which takes on the 
threat of foreign governments stealing American taxpayer-funded 
research and intellectual property developed at U.S. colleges and 
universities. This is a serious, complex problem, and we need to make 
sure we get the response right. This is why we plan to advance this 
bill out of committee and continue working through additional changes 
before this bill is incorporated to the Endless Frontier Act on the 
Senate floor.
  We intend to move a number of bills out of our committee, including 
the Safeguarding American Innovation Act after the recess and include 
them in bipartisan competitiveness legislation. If this broader package 
is considered on the Senate floor during the first week of the next 
work period, we will focus on preparing a bipartisan package from our 
committee's jurisdiction to be added during floor consideration.
  I know my colleagues and the administration have concerns about 
potential overlapping authorities, visa restrictions, and the reporting 
requirements for foreign gifts to colleges and universities, among 
other issues, I believe we must work through these in a bipartisan 
manner. As a result of Senator Portman' s important work and others in 
Congress, there has been positive movement already to address these 
issues by both the U.S. Government and institutions of higher 
education, which have been educating their staff and faculty about 
their serious responsibilities to disclose any foreign research support 
they receive. I will yield to Senator Portman to discuss the process we 
have agreed to undertake in the coming weeks and thank him again for 
engaging in this collaborative process.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Thank you. I am committed to advancing our committee's 
competitiveness legislation in the manner laid out by my colleague from 
Michigan. I appreciate the work we have put into this package to date. 
As we prepare to dramatically increase investment in our research 
institutions and emerging technologies, the Safeguarding American 
Innovation Act must be a part of any competitiveness legislation. We 
must protect the intellectual property behind the revolutionary 
discoveries and advances being made across our Nation. This whole-of-
government approach to get the Federal Government's house in order 
addresses a far-ranging problem and implicates the jurisdiction of 
other committees including the HELP Committee and the Foreign Relations 
Committee. I appreciate that the chairs and ranking members of those 
committees want to continue negotiations on this bill. I understand 
some changes to this legislation will be needed before it passes the 
Senate floor. That said, this legislation is the result of several 
years of bipartisan investigatory work by Senator Carper and myself 
during our time as chair and ranking member of the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations.
  I am committed to working with committees of jurisdiction, the 
majority leader, Chairman Peters, and the administration to reach an 
agreement on this text in the coming weeks before it will be added to 
the Endless Frontier Act. I am also committed to continuing to engage 
with key stakeholders including our institutions of higher education. I 
am ready to put in the work and find a path forward here. The threat is 
real, and we need to address it now. I look forward to working with my 
colleague from Michigan to pass this legislation, along with other 
important measures before our committee, as soon as possible.
  While I am a cosponsor of Endless Frontier Act and believe it 
provides an important increase in funding to the National Science 
Foundation, if we don't take the basic steps outlined in the 
Safeguarding American Innovation Act, these funds may contribute to 
China's rise instead of improving the competitiveness of the United 
States, as intended.
  Mr. PETERS. Thank you, Senator Portman. You have my commitment to 
work closely together on this multi-committee process. I believe we can 
find common ground with our colleagues and an agreement with the 
administration and Leader Schumer in the coming weeks. Thank you for 
your partnership on these important issues. I look forward to advancing 
an important, bipartisan Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
Committee package and ensuring our priorities are included in the final 
bill passed by the Senate.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Let me take a moment at the end to make a few points. 
First, the issue of China's predatory actions against American 
intellectual property is one that we must address as part of the 
competition bill. Second, my friends from Ohio and Delaware, Senators 
Portman and Carper, are to be commended for their work on this issue in 
the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Third, I have committed 
to work with Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Portman, and other 
relevant committee chairs and ranking members to reach an agreement on 
the text of the Safeguarding American Innovation Act so that it can be 
included in the Endless Frontier legislation.

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