[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S3386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S. INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on another matter, the Senate continues
to work on the U.S. Innovation and Competition legislation that will
lay the foundation for the next century of American economic
leadership.
I have spoken a lot about the substance of this bill. So, this
morning, I want to reinforce how bipartisan and inclusive this bill is.
It is the product of at least a half a dozen Senate committees, meaning
that nearly every single Member of the Senate has had fingerprints on
this bill in one way or another.
The two pieces of legislation that form the core of the bill--the
Endless Frontier Act and the Strategic Competition Act--passed out of
committee on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes: 24 to 4 in the Commerce
Committee and 21 to 1 in the Foreign Relations Committee. That kind of
bipartisanship--almost unanimous support in multiple Senate
committees--is rare when it comes to major legislation. It goes to show
just how bipartisan this issue is and this legislation is as,
literally, dozens of bipartisan amendments were added to the bill
before it ever reached the floor.
Here on the floor, we are going to continue working through a series
of amendments from both sides. With such a depth of cooperation and
consensus between our two parties, there will be no reason we can't
wrap up this bill this week and achieve a strong result for our
country. Leader McConnell should be welcoming this bipartisanship as we
move forward on the bill.
____________________