US Senate okays ambitious innovation plan to counter China

Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill that aims to boost US semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China.

The 68-32 vote for the bill on Tuesday demonstrates how confronting China economically is an issue that unites both parties in Congress. That's a rarity in an era of division as pressure grows on Democrats to change Senate rules to push past Republican opposition and gridlock.

The centerpiece of the bill is a $50 billion emergency allotment to the Commerce Department to stand up semiconductor development and manufacturing through research and incentive programmes previously authorised by Congress. 

The bill's overall cost would increase spending by about $250 billion with most of the spending occurring in the first five years.

Reservations about its costs

Supporters described it as the biggest investment in scientific research that the country has seen in decades. It comes as the nation's share of semiconductor manufacturing globally has steadily eroded from 37 percent in 1990 to about 12 percent now, and as a chip shortage has exposed vulnerabilities in the US supply chain.

"The premise is simple, if we want American workers and American companies to keep leading the world, the federal government must invest in science, basic research and innovation, just as we did decades after the Second World War," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY. 

"Whoever wins the race to the technologies of the future is going to be the global economic leader with profound consequences for foreign policy and national security as well."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said the bill was incomplete because it did not incorporate more Republican-sponsored amendments. He nonetheless supported it.

"Needless to say, final passage of this legislation cannot be the Senate's final word on our competition with China," he said. "It certainly won't be mine."

Senators slogged through days of debates and amendments leading up to Tuesday's final vote. 

Schumer's office said 18 Republican amendments will have received votes as part of passage of the bill. It also said the Senate this year has already held as many roll call votes on amendments than it did in the last Congress, when the Senate was under Republican control.

While the bill enjoys bipartisan support, a core group of GOP senators has reservations about its costs.

One of the bill's provisions would create a new directorate focused on artificial intelligence and quantum science with the National Science Foundation. The bill would authorise up to $29 billion over five years for the new branch within the foundation with an additional $52 billion for its programs.

'Wasteful spending'

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky, said Congress should be cutting the foundation's budget, not increasing it. He called the agency "the king of wasteful spending." 

The agency finances about a quarter of all federally supported research conducted by America's colleges and universities.

"The bill is nothing more than a big government response that will make our country weaker, not stronger," Paul said.

Senators have tried to strike a balance when calling attention to China's growing influence. They want to avoid fanning divisive anti-Asian rhetoric when hate crimes against Asian Americans have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.

Biggest investment in science

Other measures spell out national security concerns and target money-laundering schemes or cyberattacks by entities on behalf of the Chinese government. There are also "buy America" provisions for infrastructure projects in the US. 

Senators added provisions that reflect shifting attitudes toward China's handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. One would prevent federal money for the Wuhan Institute of Virology as fresh investigations proceed into the origins of the virus and possible connections to the lab's research.

 The city registered some of the first coronavirus cases.

It's unclear whether the measure will find support in the Democratic-led House, where the Science Committee is expected to soon consider that chamber's version. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who has been working with Schumer for two years on legislation that's included in the bill, called it the biggest investment in science and technology since the Apollo spaceflight programme a half century ago.

"I'm quite certain we will get a really good product on the president's desk," Schumer said.