US Senate leader will add China tech bill to defense measure

Fast News

Democrats seeks to pump more money in research and development in a bid to stay competitive against China.

(Getty Images)

US Senate Democratic
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will add
legislation to boost US competitiveness with China to a
massive defense policy bill the Senate is due to begin
considering this week, a boost for a measure that has been
stalled for months in the House of Representatives.

“Our supply chain crisis needs attending to and we cannot
wait,” Schumer said in a Senate speech announcing that the
annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, would be
amended to include the US Innovation and Competition Act, or
USICA.

The Senate passed USICA with a strong bipartisan vote in
June, but the measure never received a vote in the House of
Representatives. 

Supporters of the bill have since been working
to find a way to pass it and send it to the White House for
President Joe Biden to sign into law.

READ MORE: Beijing warns of retaliation as NYSE begins delisting Chinese telecom firms

As one of the few major pieces of legislation
passed every year, the NDAA often acts as a vehicle for a range
of policy issues.

That strategy does not guarantee that USICA will become law,
but it increases the chances for some of its most important
provisions.

The measure would authorize $190 billion to
strengthen US technology and research, and an additional $54
billion to increase production and research into semiconductors
and telecommunications equipment.

Once the Senate approves its version of the NDAA, Senate and
House negotiators will work on a compromise between the Senate
measure and a version of the bill passed by the House earlier
this year.

That compromise must then pass both the House and Senate
before it can be sent to Biden.

READ MORE: US bans Chinese phone carrier over national security concerns

Source: TRTWorld and agencies



US Senate leader will add China tech bill to defense measure
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