[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3999-S4000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  U.S. Competition and Innovation Act

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, 68 to 32, that was the final vote 
tally last night for the U.S. Competition and Innovation Act--USICA--an 
overwhelming display of bipartisan support, a rarity on a major bill in 
this Senate.
  I believe the final vote reflects the importance of the bill--of 
rededicating the Federal Government to science and technology; to 
outcompeting our adversaries, especially the Chinese Communist Party; 
to strengthening critical supply chains as well as our partnerships and 
alliances abroad.
  I believe that future generations will look back on this competition 
bill as the turning point for American leadership in the 21st century.
  I think the depth of the bipartisan support reflects the process we 
took as well. The kernel of the bill is legislation I wrote with 
Senator Todd Young, the Endless Frontier Act. We ultimately included 
legislation from six committees and input from every Member. Over 3 
weeks, the Senate considered more than 20 amendments, the vast majority 
from Republicans. In fact, the Senate even accepted an amendment from 
Senator Paul by voice vote. That doesn't happen too often around here.
  Excluding budget resolutions, nearly as many amendments have received

[[Page S4000]]

rollcall votes on this one bill as on all the bills in 2017, when the 
Republicans were in the majority--nearly as many amendment votes on 
this one bill as over that entire year. We are running the Senate in a 
different way.
  So I want to thank my colleagues on both sides for their efforts, 
Senators Cantwell and Wicker for their excellent management of the 
bill, Senator Young for working with me from the beginning until the 
very end, Senators Menendez and Risch as well as Murray, Durbin, 
Peters, Brown, and Wyden, whom I am committing to working with to put 
real teeth into the anti-censorship provisions of this bill before it 
becomes law. Senator Wyden has been a hallmark on that.
  Of course, the job is not done until the legislation moves through 
the House and onto the President's desk.
  Now that the bill has passed the Senate, we are going to work with 
Speaker Pelosi and the relevant committee chairs in the House to move 
this bill forward as quickly as possible.
  Of course, the House can bring in additional priorities, but I am 
intent on seeing the major thrust of this legislation become law. The 
bill is so important to the future of America that the House and Senate 
must come together and send President Biden a bill he is very, very 
eager to sign.
  Yesterday, the Senate took a bold, strong step toward boosting 
American science, technology, and innovation for decades. We are going 
to keep at it, keep at it until we cross the finish line.