Sen Schumer to add the US Innovation and Competition Act to annual defense policy bill

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will add legislation to boost US competitiveness with China to a massive defense policy bill the Senate is due to begin considering this week. "Our supply chain crisis needs attending to and we cannot wait," Schumer said when announcing that the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would be amended to include the US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The USICA would authorize about $190 billion for provisions to strengthen US technology and research - and would separately approve spending $54 billion to increase US production and research into semiconductors and telecommunications equipment, including $2 billion dedicated to chips used by automakers that have seen massive shortages and made significant production cuts. The Senate passed USICA with a strong bipartisan vote in June 2021, but the measure never received a vote in the House of Representatives. Reuters previously reported that supporters of USICA were considering adding its provisions to the NDAA. As one of the few major pieces of legislation passed every year, the NDAA often acts as a vehicle for a range of policy issues.