Thompson Votes to Super-Charge American Innovation and Competitiveness


Press Release

Posted:

Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) voted to pass the America COMPETES Act to strengthen our supply chains, bolster American manufacturing, and boost American competitiveness. This bill is a comprehensive, strategic package that will power the success of America’s workers, businesses and economy at home and position America to compete on the world stage.

“One of my top priorities is ensuring that American workers and businesses have the support and resources they need to build economic opportunity and success for their families. I was proud to cast my vote today to pass the America COMPETES Act to help address the daily challenges many Americans are facing,” said Thompson. “By tackling supply chain issues, strengthening our middle class, and ensuring that American manufacturing is prioritized, we’re going to create a bright future for California’s Fifth District. The America COMPETES Act will work together with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help our industries remain competitive on the global stage and work to bring good-paying jobs back to the United States.”

The America COMPETES Act will super-charge American innovation and competitiveness by:

  • Making Critically-Needed Semiconductors in America: Over the past 30 years, the United States’ global share of manufacturing semiconductors – an increasingly essential component in everything from computers to cars – has collapsed, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to chip shortages and disruptions abroad that drive up costs of key goods here at home. The America COMPETES Act meets this challenge by appropriating $52 billion for the CHIPS for America Act, critical investments to support continued American technological leadership in semiconductor fabrication, address supply chain disruptions and ensure more semiconductors are produced here at home.
  • Fixing the Supply Chain and Strengthening American Manufacturing: The disruption of the pandemic has exposed deeper weaknesses in a supply chain that has increasingly relied on foreign manufacturing, instead of making goods in America with American workers. The America COMPETES Act authorizes $45 billion to fix our broken supply chains by building more critical components in America, strengthening American manufacturing and protecting our national security with American-made capacity to prevent shortages and disruptions – including public health and biological preparedness, information and communications technology, the energy and transportation sector’s industrial base, and agricultural commodities and food products.
  • Turbocharging American Scientific Research, Technology and Innovation Excellence: To ensure America leads the technologies of the future, the America COMPETES Act of 2022 includes a suite of bipartisan science, research and technology bills to turbocharge American innovation, focusing on solutions and maximizing the American talent pool by strengthening and diversifying our nation’s STEM workforce.
  • Securing America’s Global Competitiveness and Leadership Through Economic Development; Diplomacy, Human Rights and Alliances: Includes numerous provisions to strengthen and promote America’s leadership around the globe, ensuring that American interests, partnerships and values succeed on the global stage, and that American leadership wins on the key issues our time, including the climate crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, particularly as other countries seek to re-write the rules of the road in their favor.

Section-by-section analysis and factsheets of the COMPETES Act can be found here. Endorsements of the bill and its elements from the scientific community and others have been compiled by the Science, Space and Technology Committee here.