Foster Votes to Boost American Manufacturing, Science, and Innovation

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CHIPS and Science Act:

"This bill is a major triumph for American science and technological competitiveness. As the only PhD physicist in Congress, a businessman and designer of computer chips, and someone with over two decades of experience working at one of our national labs, I know how crucial it is for us to take comprehensive action to bolster America's scientific research capacity, long-term economic competitiveness, and national security by ending our dependence on foreign manufacturers for semiconductors. I am proud of the bipartisan work we did in the House Science Committee to make that happen.

"This bipartisan bill invests $52 billion to boost domestic supply chains to lower costs for families and counter the threat posed by countries like China and Russia. It also makes once-in-a-generation investments in our nation's universities, labs, and students to ensure our country leads the way in technological development for generations to come. I was especially pleased to see that, thanks to the adoption of my amendment, the bill included $10.7 billion in infrastructure funding for the DOE Office of Science Laboratories to modernize their facilities, which will directly benefit Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.

"While I was proud to vote in favor of this bill, I am also very disappointed with how Senate and House leadership managed the process. This legislation could have been made even stronger and more comprehensive if leadership had followed through with their promise of conducting a fully public and collaborative Conference Committee, instead of drafting a much narrower bill behind closed doors without input from Members. This is a symptom of how the legislative process in Congress has increasingly become an exclusive function of leadership deal-making by both parties at the expense of rank-and-file Members.

"Now, we have to follow through and make sure that Congress provides the appropriate resources to fund the vision of this legislation."