Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, and Providing for Proceedings During the Period From August Through September 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the CHIPS and Science Act. Our Nation has long been a global leader in science and technology, but we cannot afford to take that position for granted.

Our global standing rests not just on the ingenuity of our people but also on our government's bipartisan commitment to supporting innovation.

At this moment of unprecedented international competition, we urgently need an unprecedented investment in the groundbreaking research that powers America's economic growth. That is why the CHIPS and Science Act is so timely and so important.

In addition to bolstering domestic production of semiconductors, this landmark legislation will authorize more than $81 billion for the National Science Foundation.

Crucially, the bill also funds research that will yield the cutting- edge clean energy technologies of tomorrow, cutting carbon emissions and helping combat global climate change.

Madam Speaker, my district includes much of the Research Triangle, our Nation's largest research park, which is home to hundreds of companies breaking new ground in medicine, energy, telecommunications, and more.

We are also proud of our leading research universities like N.C. State University, HBCUs like Shaw and Saint Augustine's, and our State's largest community college, Wake Tech, and we have a women's college specializing in STEM, Meredith College.

Our investments in public-private partnerships afforded by the CHIPS and Science Act will provide these North Carolina-based companies and educational institutions with unprecedented funding and research support.

Companies in my district, particularly startups, have struggled to cope with the consequences of the global semiconductor shortage. To meet that need, this bill includes more than $50 billion in chips funding, which will mitigate current semiconductor supply chain concerns, incentivize domestic production, and prevent another chips crisis in the future.

I am also pleased that this package includes several bipartisan bills I led with members of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, including the Energizing Technology Transfer Act, a version of the NSF Technology Research Institutes Act, and the National Science and Technology Strategy Act.

These bills will help facilitate the commercial application of clean energy technologies by universities and private companies, the development of a national science and technology strategy, and investment in research and traineeship programs for graduate students.

The CHIPS and Science Act embodies the investment needed to empower innovation in North Carolina's Second District and across the United States. I support the rule and the underlying bill.

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