Lawmakers Seek Tech, Telecom Adds to America Competes Act

The House Rules Committee will consider several telecom- and tech-focused amendments to the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) Tuesday, for a potential floor vote on the measure later this week. The measure mirrors some elements of the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), including $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). Many proposed amendments aim to make changes to the chips language.

Several proposed HR-4521 amendments focus on deterring Chinese companies. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., wants to require companies receiving the chips funding from making new investments in China, including expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity in that country. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, proposes adding Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s entity list. Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., wants to bar American Rescue Plan Act funding recipients from using the money to buy equipment from ZTE and fellow Chinese gearmaker Huawei.

House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., proposes requiring the Commerce Department, Environmental Protection Agency and Council on Environmental Quality to certify they have reviewed and addressed federal permitting requirements for semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing facilities and barriers to creating a viable domestic supply chain for those products, before distributing the chips funding. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., wants to strike out a prevailing wage requirement for semiconductor facilities projects funded by HR-4521.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., proposes making nonprofits eligible for the semiconductor money. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., seeks to ban recipients from using the money on stock buybacks or paying dividends to shareholders. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., seeks to require that entities that have reasonable pay ratios between workers and executives get preference for the chips money. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, proposes reserving at least 10% of the semiconductor money for “small businesses in economically disadvantaged communities.”

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., wants to require companies with more than 100 employees that apply for the semiconductor funding to give the Commerce Department data on their workforce's racial diversity. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., wants to ensure “currently or formerly incarcerated individuals” get priority for hiring for semiconductor manufacturing jobs created by the funding. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., wants GAO to examine how semiconductor projects support U.S. critical infrastructure industries. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., wants a GAO report on the impact of the global semiconductor supply shortage on U.S. manufacturing.

Some amendments focus on telecom policy. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, wants to require the FCC to share its broadband coverage data with the Agriculture and Interior departments. Curtis also seeks to attach the Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act. It would allow federal departments to delegate federal environmental compliance for broadband projects to state and tribal governments (see 2006250068). Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., wants to expand the focus on rural areas in a proposal drawn from S-1260 to allocate $100 million to historically Black, tribal and minority-serving colleges and universities to develop telecom sector job training. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., wants a GAO study of how the federal government can leverage its buying power to alleviate telecom supply chain issues.

Several lawmakers filed amendments involving the FTC, DOJ, antitrust, cybersecurity and AIs. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., would require the FTC and DOJ to consider foreign government subsidies in pre-merger notification reviews. The amendment directs the agencies to issue joint disclosure requirements for companies. The legislators introduced related legislation targeting Chinese companies. Gallagher and Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., would direct the Department of Homeland Security to designate four “critical technology security centers” to evaluate and test “security of technologies essential to national critical functions.”

Eshoo and three other lawmakers want to direct the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to publish an annual report on promoting cyber improvements for small business, nonprofits and local governments. Commerce and the Small Business Administration would provide information about cyber barriers for smaller entities. Eshoo and Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., previously reintroduced legislation mirroring the amendment.

Reps. Scott Franklin, R-Fla.; Jerry McNerney, D-Calif.; and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., seek Small Business Administration grants for small organizations to develop AI standards. The National Institutes of Standards Technology would consult the SBA under the amendment, which targets Chinese competitors. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., wants to require the regional tech hub program to focus on “localities that are not the top five leading technology centers.” Members in the Senate and House want diversity in designating the regional tech hubs.

Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, wants to require the FTC to certify compliance with Freedom of Information Act requests in order to receive funding. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is seeking information from the FTC through various FOIA requests (see 2112030042). The agency said it’s not going to back down from corporate lobbyists’ “threats” (see 2111190039). DelBene and other Democrats want to direct the U.S. trade representative to work for “inclusive” and “forward-looking” rules on digital trade and the digital economy, urging the administration to address digital barriers and ensure a “free and open internet.”

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, seeks a congressional report about Chinese companies providing cloud computing and associated data privacy risks. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., filed a late amendment on face-scanning technology. She seeks a Commerce Department report on the “impact of biometric identification systems on historically marginalized populations.”