Senate passes bi-partisan $250 billion industrial bill to compete with China

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Showing broad bi-partisan support for countering China’s military and economic expansion, the Senate on Tuesday passed a $250 billion industrial bill, one of the largest of its kind in US history, CNBC reports. The US Innovation and Competition Act passed 68-32.

That the legislation was worked on by six Senate committees and almost every Senator is a reflection of the many areas of competition between the US and China, CNBC noted.

The USICA provides funding for scientific research, subsidies for chipmakers and robot makers, as well as tens of billions for modernizing the National Science Foundation,” CNBC said. The bill also establishes a Directorate for Technology and Innovation.

In particular, USICA provides $52 billion for semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing initiatives. “Senate passage of USICA is a pivotal step toward strengthening U.S. semiconductor production and innovation and an indication of the strong, bipartisan support in Washington for ensuring sustained American leadership in science and technology, John Neuffer,” CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told CNBC.

Welcoming the act as a “strong start,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb said in a press release: “The Chinese Communist Party is working overtime on cyber, AI, and machine learning so that they can become the world’s preeminent superpower. We can’t let our foot off the gas.”

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