President Biden signed an executive order in late February directing agencies to conduct a comprehensive 100-day assessment of the U.S. supply chain for high-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals and semiconductor chips. In response to the White House’s policy, Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress announced that bipartisan leaders of relevant committees will work together to draft legislation that would provide significant funding for industries in the supply chain that have been impacted and face disruptions to address the Chinese challenge. “This legislative measure designed to counter China’s malicious behavior has the opportunity to win broad bipartisan support,” the bill’s lead author told Voice of America.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said at a press conference last month after the caucus ended on the 23rd that he had directed bipartisan leaders of the committees to begin work on legislation with the goal of defeating China and creating new American jobs.
“This (bill) will focus on key areas, infuse U.S. investment and we will beat China in all (key industries),” Schumer said.
Details of the bill have not been released. But it is understood that the bill would focus on semiconductor manufacturing, which is currently facing a global shortage, and other manufacturing and supply chain production vulnerabilities, and invest heavily in research and development and production for these industries.
“I hope this bill will focus on U.S. plans to protect the semiconductor supply chain in the short and long term and keep us on the leading edge in artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum computing, biomedical research, (data) storage and more,” Schumer said at a press conference, “We can’t rely on foreign chips We can’t let China overtake us in chip production.”
“Endless Frontier Act” upgraded to include details on strengthening supply chain resilience
Last May, Schumer and Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) co-sponsored the Endless Frontier Act. The bill would inject up to $100 billion over the next five years into research and development of emerging technologies, and would provide $10 billion over the next five years to the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish “regional technology hubs” across the country.
This bill is seen as one of the key bills to strengthen the competitive advantage of the U.S. technology sector. Schumer said the bill currently being drafted is an updated version of the Endless Frontier Act introduced last year.
Indiana Republican Todd Young, who is leading the new version of the Endless Frontier Act, told the Voice of America that the bill is an upgrade to last year’s Endless Frontier Act. Young told VOA that the final version of the bill is still being discussed and that his staff is actively consulting with Schumer’s office and the administration.
“We’re working with Schumer’s office, executive branch staff and many of our fellow Republicans as we try to get some policies in the Endless Frontier Act that will enhance supply chain resilience,” Todd Young told the Voice of America. Young told the Voice of America.
Todd Young. Young said, “This legislative measure, designed to counter China’s malicious behavior, has the opportunity to win broad bipartisan support.”
It is understood that the contents of the bill may provide an emergency funding for U.S. chip production to coincide with the implementation of the recently enacted “Chip for America Act” (CHIPS for America Act). According to the content of the “Chip for America Act,” the bill authorizes a series of semiconductor research and development programs and provides grants for domestic U.S. semiconductor manufacturing to support U.S. chip production.
As the global chip manufacturing suffered a severe shortage, this problem is hit hard by the Epidemic and slowed growth of automotive manufacturing and other industries is even worse. Therefore, addressing the semiconductor chip supply chain gap has become one of the primary goals that Congress is eager to address.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, also confirmed to Voice of America that bipartisan leaders of several Senate committees were involved in the development and discussion of the bill.
“On the broad China issue, the supply chain is one of the factors,” Menendez said in an interview with Voice of America, “but there are broader issues that we are concerned about, how do we compete with China? How do we confront China? That’s what we should be doing right now.”
“So each of the committees with different responsibilities are working with their Republican colleagues to see what is generally agreed upon by both sides, what is bipartisan and what can be pursued, and then we’ll see how we can move forward down the road,” Menendez said.
Menendez mentioned that while the two parties in Congress may disagree on some implementation details, there is consensus on the general direction. “I think there should be a lot of mutual agreement on both sides that can be worked on. The rest of it can come up for debate and discussion,” Menendez continued.
House Leader: Decoupling from China in Key Areas
The major cross-party legislative measure is expected to be introduced in the near future. Schumer has said he plans to move the bill forward with a fast-track consideration process, and he hopes to get a vote in the Senate as soon as this spring.
“We need to get a bill like this to the president’s desk as soon as possible to protect America’s long-term economic and national security,” Schumer said in his message.
The legislative measure in Congress may complement the administration’s efforts to increase U.S. supply chain independence and reduce dependence on China. The U.S. government is examining and developing strategies to address the geopolitical and technological threats posed to Washington by Beijing.
From its trade record and territorial disputes with its neighbors to allegations of technology theft and espionage, congressional advocacy for countering Beijing’s global power expansion continues unabated even after a change in the ruling party. Both parties see China as the biggest national security threat to the United States.
President Biden signed an executive order last week directing agencies to conduct a comprehensive 100-day assessment of the U.S. supply chain for high-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals and semiconductor chips, and a year-long review of the supply chain in six key areas, including defense, public health, information and communications technology, transportation, energy and Food production, in order to strengthen the resilience of the U.S. supply chain.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the Republican leader of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, went to the White House on February 24 to meet with President Biden on the executive order to revisit the U.S. supply chain.
In an interview with the Voice of America after the meeting, McCaul said Biden has stated that he will fully support the legislative measure in Congress.
Rep. McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House China Task Force, emphasized that the purpose of either the executive order or the legislative program is to promote a targeted “decoupling” of the United States from China.
“This is to determine what is related to national security, such as pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals, semiconductor chips, in these areas (and China) decoupling. It may also transfer some of the products made in Taiwan and South Korea to the United States or other more secure allies with which to work,” McCall told the Voice of America.
McCaul also said he supports Schumer’s push for a legislative program that would invest heavily in U.S. supply chain industries. McCaul stressed that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was also happy to see this, suggesting that the Senate bill may be successful in obtaining cooperation from the House after its introduction.
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