The Senate is poised to pass a major bill that would pour hundreds of billions of dollars into science and technology in a bid to …
The Senate is poised to pass a major bill that would pour hundreds of billions of dollars into science and technology in a bid to out-compete China, and it’s doing so with something rare these days: strong bipartisan support. The Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 is part of a wave of recent China-related proposals in Congress. Indiana Republican Senator Todd Young is one of the Act’s key sponsors, as is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been leading the charge to get it passed. « The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act will be one of the most significant pieces of bipartisan legislation we pass in a very long time, » Schumer said in the Senate on Thursday. » It could be a moment in history that future generations look back on as a turning point for American leadership in the…21st Century. » The 1,445-page act appropriates $52 billion for America’s microchip industry, tens of billions more for scientific research, and an overhaul of the National Science Foundation, adding a technology directorate. It also includes funding to create new tech hubs around America. David Johnson, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, says that could be a game changer for places like Indianapolis, where there’s talent and energy but tech industries haven’t been able to scale up. » It’s a no-brainer that program would be great because there just hasn’t been a great deal of governmental participation in the building of the tech sectors of the economy that we have here, » he said. He reckons there would be at least 20 or more cities that could have a shot — places like Indianapolis, Columbus, Nashville, St.
