[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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