OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

America Competes Act is A Win for the Country

Floor Speech

Date: Feb. 4, 2022
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. DEAN. Mr. Speaker, for decades we have heard elected officials rightfully decry the loss of American jobs, and then promise to bring them back.

And for generations Americans have waited for that promise. Here is the chance.

Since January 2000, the United States has lost over a quarter of all domestic manufacturing jobs. That means a decline of more than 4.7 million jobs in just two decades.

Real people have paid the consequences. I have seen it in my own district, suburban Philadelphia; in places like Pottstown, Boyertown, Norristown that have lost manufacturing jobs and opportunities.

The America COMPETES Act is a chance to revitalize these and other communities as well as to strengthen our national security. Here are some highlights:

$52 billion to maintain and expand our production of semiconductor chips right here at home, which run our cars, phones, computers, healthcare system;

$45 billion to improve our supply chains, with a special focus on producing more of our critical goods here; and

Investments in scientific research and innovation so that we are not only in this century but we are globally leading it.

This bipartisan legislation should be an easy ``yes'' for everyone in this Chamber and everyone in the Senate to pass. The America COMPETES Act is not a political win. It is a win for America.

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