Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Ahead Of Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Jobs And Competitiveness Legislation
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on today’s votes and the next steps as the Senate moves forward with bipartisan jobs and competitiveness legislation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
It is an important day here on the Senate floor: in a few hours we’ll hold a vote on final passage for the bipartisan jobs and competitiveness legislation many of us has worked on for over a year.
For the information of all, today’s actions
will come in two steps: we will first vote on cloture on the substitute
amendment—which contains the text of the Senate-passed US Innovation and
Competition Act.
Then we will proceed to final passage. Both votes are set at a 60-vote threshold and I am confident that we’ll wrap up this important work by the end of the day.
As I have said since the beginning of this process, the actions we’re taking on the Senate floor will enable us to enter a Conference Committee with the House, which we need in order to finalize our competitiveness bill. I believe we can see a Conference Committee initiated by the end of this work period.
If enacted, I believe this legislation will be one of the most important accomplishments of the 117th Congress. This bill, for all its provisions, is really about two big things: creating more American jobs and lowering costs for American families.
It will help lower costs by making it easier to produce critical technologies here at home, like semiconductors.
It will create more jobs by bringing manufacturing back from overseas.
And, just as importantly, this legislation will fuel another generation of American innovation. Whichever nation is the first to master the technologies of tomorrow will reshape the world in its image. America cannot afford to come in second place when it comes to technologies like 5G, AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, bioengineering, and so much more. This bill is a necessary step towards securing the bright future of American ingenuity, which has always helped us lead the way.
I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for everything they’ve done to help us reach this moment. It’s been a long hard road, but almost every member of this chamber has had a hand in putting this bill together: it was a blend of various proposals across various committees, and it was a product of a healthy amendment process both in committee and on the floor.
We’re hopefully just a few hours away from reaching the next important step in the process, putting us on a glide path to initiating a Conference Committee with the House.
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