Cantwell, Wicker File Endless Frontier Act Amendment

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., agreed on a substitute amendment filed for Wednesday’s markup on the Endless Frontier Act (see 2104130068), according to documents we obtained. Introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., S-1260 is aimed at increasing domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The $112 billion bill has seven Republican co-sponsors. Commerce pulled S-1260 from an April markup after members filed more than 230 amendments (see 2104270045).

The bill would allocate $10 billion for tech hubs. Schumer had filed the legislation to designate 10-15 regional hubs. Some committee members raised concern about some regions missing out. The substitute amendment increases the number of tech hubs to at least 18, according to a committee aide.

Schumer said from the Senate floor Monday he's “fully supportive” of the “product that will be considered” Wednesday. Citing constructive, bipartisan talks over the past week, he intends to have the full Senate consider “comprehensive, competitive” legislation during this work period.

Young said in a statement he’s encouraged by the “broad, bipartisan ideas” incorporated into the substitute amendment: “I look forward to working through additional amendments during the Wednesday markup and passing a strong bill out of Committee.”

Tech groups we spoke with broadly support the proposal.

The Information Technology Industry Council backs the effort to fund key technology areas and boost U.S. competitiveness, said Senior Director-Government Affairs Margaret McCarthy. It’s good to see an emphasis on regional diversity, she added. ITI is carefully watching to see what might be added through a plethora of potential amendments. There’s strong bipartisan support from the committee, which hopefully sets up positive action on the Senate floor and potentially as early as next week, she said: It remains to be seen whether there will be sufficient Republican support.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has been working with Schumer’s office for more than a year, proposing this provision, said ITIF President Rob Atkinson. “We’re losing the technology race to China every year,” he said. “If we don’t take steps to turn that around, we’re going to end up looking like Great Britain: a hollowed out de-industrialized country.” He cautioned against a “peanut butter” approach in spreading these hubs too thin throughout the U.S.

The legislation would benefit from adding more than 10-15 hubs, said Massachusetts Institute of Technology lecturer William Bonvillian, who testified during a hearing. The bill is about technology development, which has been a major gap in U.S. R&D for a long time, he said: Such action, which occurs regionally, requires additional steps beyond research, including prototyping, testing, demos and moving into production.

It’s important for the U.S. to maintain its lead in AI and other emerging tech sectors, particularly on China, to ensure national security interests and to further jump-start the economy, said Computer & Communications Industry Association Vice President-Public Policy Arthur Sidney.

There’s been discussion about the level of involvement from the Department of Energy, which receives significant science-related funding. The legislation would double the National Science Foundation budget. A DOE spokesperson noted recent remarks from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at Howard University. Asked about concerns the plan could undercut DOE R&D, Granholm said the department is “super supportive of the notion of billions of dollars additionally going into research and development. We just want to make sure that it's done in a way that isn't duplicative.” She noted ongoing legislative discussions. The most recent language ensures DOE “expertise is incorporated into achieving the mission and goals of the Endless Frontier Act and to avoid duplication with existing federal efforts,” a committee aide said.

The committee will also consider Lina Khan’s FTC nomination. Some key Republicans were undecided (see 2104210039).