Chairwoman Johnson Urges Support of the CHIPS and Science Act on House Floor
(Washington, DC)— Today, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) spoke on the House floor during consideration of H.R. 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes transformative, bipartisan legislation from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX) floor statement as prepared for the record is below.
I stand before you today to strongly urge support for the CHIPS and Science Act.
The CHIPS Act and the bipartisan Science, Space, and Technology Committee provisions that form this package are vital to ensuring a bold and prosperous future for American science and innovation, maintaining our international competitiveness, and bolstering our economic and national security.
These provisions were built with rigorous input from the scientific community, industry, academia, and other stakeholders on what they need most to succeed in the 21st century.
This final product is the result of months of bipartisan negotiations. It is also the result of dedicated efforts and long hours put in by staff, and I want to thank each of them for helping get us to where we are today.
With this legislation, we will bring about solutions for the climate crisis, enhance our semiconductor research and manufacturing, create jobs, increase regional innovation, and so much more.
We will also take historic and much-needed action to build a strong and diverse STEM workforce and ensure that we are able to make use of all the brainpower and talent we have in this great nation.
With the bipartisan STEM pieces of this bill, we will create a bright future for ALL those who wish to pursue STEM—no matter their race, gender, or zip code.
We are ushering in a strong future for our premiere scientific agencies with transformational funding at NIST, NSF, and DOE. We also authorize important activities at NASA and address other discrete research topics across the government’s science agencies.
The United States has long been a beacon of excellence in science and innovation. And it is far past time that we revitalize federal support for the initiatives that have enabled us to lead.
I am proud of this package. And I am especially proud of the bipartisan provisions in Division B that began in the Science Committee. I want to thank Ranking Member Lucas for his partnership in this effort.
I know that this package does not have everything that everyone wanted - it doesn’t have everything that I wanted - but that is the nature of compromise and a result of the urgency of the situation.
We must pass this legislation immediately to ensure the United States remains a global leader in science, technology, and innovation and to bolster our economic and national security.
I urge all Members to put aside politics and support this thoughtful and balanced bipartisan package.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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