Congressman Kildee Delivers Floor Speech on America COMPETES Act

Statement

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today delivered remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives urging the passage of the America COMPETES Act.

Video of the speech is available for download here.

The America COMPETES Act will strengthen America's competitiveness by:

Creating the CHIPS for America Fund: Includes $52 billion for CHIPS for America Act which will incentivize private-sector investments and continued American leadership in semiconductor fabrication and will help address supply chain disruptions and ensure that more semiconductors are produced here at home;
Strengthening Supply Chains and American Manufacturing: Authorizes $45 billion to improve our nation's supply chains and strengthen our economy and national security by preventing shortages of critical goods by ensuring that more of these goods are made in America;
Advancing American Scientific Research, Technology and Innovation Excellence: Makes major new solutions-driven investments in every aspect of innovation and scientific research, making the kind of investments that will lead to breakthrough discoveries;
Securing America's Global Competitiveness & Leadership Through Economic Development, Diplomacy, Human Rights & Alliances: Includes numerous provisions to strengthen and promote America's leadership around the globe, including in such areas as investing in partnerships and alliances, investing in standing up for America's values, expanding our investments in diplomacy, and promoting human rights;
Creating Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities: Starts a new four-year $4 billion program to help older, industrial communities negatively impacted by trade, like Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Detroit, reposition their local economies for future growth by prioritizing locally driven economic development planning.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:

Ms. Speaker, I rise in support of the America COMPETES Act. With this legislation, we have an opportunity to strengthen domestic supply chains, invest in American manufacturing and lower everyday costs for families, small businesses, and seniors.

The pandemic has exposed deep weaknesses in our supply chains that have increasingly relied on foreign manufacturing, instead of making goods in America with American workers. This bill will help fix our broken supply chains so that we build more critical components here, in America--not overseas in China.

For Michigan auto workers, this includes addressing the semiconductor chips shortage, which has shuttered auto plants and forced thousands of auto workers to be temporarily laid off. This bill will invest billions to bring chip manufacturing back to the United States.

This bill also includes my legislation to create a new Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities program that will help many older, industrial communities that have been negatively impacted by trade--communities like Flint, Saginaw and Bay City. TAA for Communities will help these places develop and execute local economic development plans to spur growth.

I encourage a yes vote on this important legislation and I yield back.

Source