[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3361-S3362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHIPS Act
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a few moments, the Senate will take
the first procedural vote on the chips bill that will fight inflation,
boost American manufacturing, ease our supply chains, and protect
American security interests.
This is one of the important votes that we will take this session,
because advancing this bill is crucial for lowering costs, solving our
Nation's chip shortage, and making sure America remains competitive in
the 21st century.
America will fall behind in so many areas if we don't pass this bill,
and we could very well lose our ranking as the No. 1 economy and
innovator in the world if we can't pass this.
Lower costs, more jobs, a stronger economy--that is the recipe behind
this bill, and it spells good news for the American people today and
for decades to come.
I want to thank both my Democratic and Republican colleagues for
working together for more than a year on these policies. I want to
thank Senator Cantwell, our very able, dedicated, and hard-working
committee chair, as well as Senators Wicker and Cornyn and Warner and
Kelly and Sinema, as well as our conference members, as well as the
many individual Senators on both sides who contributed to this
legislation. This has been bipartisan work in the Senate at its best--
something we have done on several pieces of legislation this year--and
I hope we can do more and do it more often.
Now, on the procedure, Members should know this vote will be a test
vote, and a favorable outcome will allow the science portion of USICA
to be included in this bill.
Let me explain. This vote will be a motion to proceed on a House
message, which we will use as a vehicle to pass our chips legislation.
It only requires 50 votes to proceed, but if we can get enough votes to
comfortably withstand a filibuster, I will amend this chips, ITC, and
ORAN bill to include the science provisions that so many of my
colleagues, led by Senators Cantwell and Wicker, have worked on so hard
to secure.
I want everyone to understand, a ``yes'' vote on this motion to
proceed indicates Members will vote yes on cloture on a package that
includes chips, ITC, ORAN, and the science provision.
As you all know, I am a strong supporter of the science provisions. I
was the original author, along with Senator Young, of many of these
policies under the Endless Frontier Act.
I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this vote, and I thank Senator
Young for his 2-year partnership on this legislation. However, folks,
if this vote doesn't produce enough votes to comfortably withstand a
filibuster, we will move forward with the chips, ORAN, and ITC
provisions here on the floor. It is my preference for the Senate to
include the science provisions in this bill because they are so
important for the future of our country.
I am very optimistic we will see a strong bipartisan vote later
today.
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