President Joe Biden hailed a bipartisan tech bill during a Wednesday event at the White House with state lawmakers and critical industry executives.
The president has previously endorsed the Bipartisan Innovation Act, which would direct more than $50 billion in new funding toward the domestic research and development of semiconductors and other critical technologies. Though the legislation has support from members of both parties, it has stalled since being introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
WHITE HOUSE EXPECTING ANOTHER ‘HIGH HEADLINE’ IN FEBRUARY INFLATION REPORT
“Companies are choosing to build new factories here in the United States when just a few years ago, they would have built them overseas,” Biden said. “Companies are ready to do more, a lot more if Congress passes a bipartisan innovation act.”
The president noted the U.S. pioneered semiconductors through the expansion of the space program in the 20th century before offshoring moved the country’s chip supply overseas.
“This puts us at the mercy of shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, but we have an opportunity to reclaim the position of leadership. I think there’s a bipartisan consensus,” Biden said. “The bottom line is this bipartisan innovation bill will allow us to stamp more products made in America, and it’s going to bolster our national security and economic security. It matters. So let’s get it done.”
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and representatives from Samsung, Whirlpool, HP, and Cummins all attended the event, held just one day ahead of the publication of February’s Consumer Price Index report.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier in the day the administration expects another “high headline” in that report, specifically pointing to semiconductor bottlenecks as placing continued upward pressure on commercial prices.
“As we’ve seen, over the past year, global events, like the pandemic or Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine can result in disruptions to global supply chains that lead to higher prices for American consumers, which is further underscores the importance of strengthening our economy and making it more resilient to shocks like that in the future,” she stated at Wednesday’s White House press briefing. “I just opened this briefing by pressing for the passing of the competitiveness legislation that the president would love to sign into law because we know that one of the big pressures is, of course, from the car and manufacturing sector of the car sector.”
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
