Hoyer Statement on House Passage of the America COMPETES Act of 2022

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today following House passage of the America COMPETES Act of 2022:

“Today, the House passed the America COMPETES Act of 2022, major legislation to boost the competitiveness of American businesses and workers and help broaden access to economic opportunity.  I want to thank Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and the ten other chairs whose committees had a hand in assembling this bill, which brings together many of the best ideas from both sides of the aisle.  I am particularly proud because this legislation drew from many of the policies recommended in the Make It In America plan for jobs and opportunity, which I first introduced in 2010 and have worked with my House Democratic colleagues to adapt and update over the years to reflect the needs of our economy.  Those policies were a product of multiple hearings held on Capitol Hill as well as a nation-wide listening tour where my colleagues and I visited with workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, and local leaders in a broad array of Congressional districts.  Make It In America focuses on three key areas – education and skills training, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship – and on policies that could be enacted into law in a bipartisan fashion. 
 
“The America COMPETES Act represents a generational commitment to America’s technological edge, to our research and development, and to our economic competitiveness.  It represents a promise kept to America’s workers, equipping them with the skills necessary to navigate an evolving global economy and new opportunities to pursue the American Dream.  What my colleagues and I heard during visits to Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nevada, and other states was that our workers need better access to skills training and our kids require earlier pathways to STEM fields that will help both advance in high-paying industries.  That’s what the America COMPETES Act would do: open new doors of opportunity in education and skills training.  Moreover, as we make this bill’s investments in research and development, it will plant the seeds for an explosion in small-business growth as entrepreneurs commercialize new innovations.
 
“This legislation will also help us address inflation by securing critical supply chains, which is important not only for our economic growth but also for our national security.  It will help American businesses manufacture the microchips and semiconductors that are critical to so many high-tech industries in our country and the jobs they sustain and create.  The America COMPETES Act will build on the successes of the bipartisan infrastructure law; together, they will make it easier for American businesses and workers to produce and export the twenty-first century products that America and the world needs.
 
“Now that the House has passed this critical legislation for our economy and our people, we turn to reaching agreement with the Senate.  Democratic and Republican senators already came together to pass legislation similar to the America COMPETES Act last year, and I hope the House and Senate can resolve differences quickly and deliver another bipartisan victory for our country and its future economic competitiveness and security.  When America competes, America wins, and I hope we can send legislation to President Biden’s desk soon that will help all of our people compete, get ahead, and Make It In America.”