Press Releases

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act today, which includes dozens of amendments offered by Congressional Progressive Caucus members. Progressives’ legislative inclusions to the bill will advance increased corporate accountability for firms receiving federal subsidies, promote gender and racial diversity in the technology sector, ensure strong human rights protections for U.S. security cooperation abroad, and strengthen climate action in the legislation. 

The America COMPETES Act will spur greater American production of chips, strengthen U.S. supply chains and strengthen American manufacturing, and advance U.S. scientific excellence and research. Thanks to CPC members’ amendments, the bill will also include: policies to track carbon emissions and increase green climate funding, ensure women and workers of color are not left out of job creation in manufacturing, prevent U.S. funding to countries with histories of human rights abuses, and insert guardrails against corporate self-enrichment. Through the amendment process, the Caucus also secured the first vote in Congress on U.S. sanctions policy in Afghanistan and its humanitarian effects on civilian mortality and refugee outflows. 

Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said: “The CPC is committed to using every opportunity to ensure that U.S. policy is grounded in equity and fair treatment at home and abroad, and takes on the most urgent crises of our time, especially the climate crisis. Our members brought their unique experience and perspectives to identify COMPETES as such an opportunity, and mobilized to ensure that the bill included key progressive priorities.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus members’ amendments that were incorporated into the America COMPETES Act include:

• Amendment No. 21 by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) — Waives cost-sharing requirements for certain National Science Foundation grant programs related to STEM education for a period of 5 years.

• Amendment No. 31 by Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01) — Directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the USAID Administrator, to expand global testing capacity, vaccination distribution, and acquisition needed medical supplies, including available COVID–19 vaccines, to ensure success in ending the pandemic globally.

• Amendment No. 32 by Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01) — Conducts a comprehensive assessment to measure the impact of oil spills and plastic ingestion on sea life

• Amendment No. 34 by Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01) — Codifies the Biden Administration’s commitment to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy in the United States by 2030

• Amendment No. 36 by Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01) — Studies the impacts of US and multilateral regulations and sanctions, including the environmental and public health impacts of natural resource exploitation

• Amendment No. 46 by Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) — Expresses the sense of Congress on the importance of opposing the targeting of Chinese researchers and academics based on race

• Amendment No. 67 by Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) — Includes environmental defenders to mitigate the impacts of climate change and work with allies and partners to ensure a level playing field exists when it comes to climate action

• Amendment No. 74 by Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) — Prohibits the use of any funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act to be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress

• Amendment No. 89 by Rep. John Garamendi (CA-03) – Inserts H.R. 4996, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, to establish reciprocal trade to promote U.S. exports and require ocean carriers to adhere to minimum service standards that meet the public interest.

• Amendment No. 105 by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03) — Establishes an Office of Education Technology in the Bureau of Indian Education

• Amendment No. 115 by Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02) — Directs the Secretary of Commerce to increase the number and diversity, equity, and inclusion of STEM professionals working in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mission relevant disciplines

• Amendment No. 123 by Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-53) — Ensures no International Military Education & Training program funds are authorized to be appropriated to any foreign security forces unit if the Secretary of State determines that such forces have engaged in a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights

• Amendment No. 125 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) — Requires the Comptroller General to submit a report to Congress on the number and amount of rewards under the CHIPS for America Fund and Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund disaggregated by recipients of each such award that are majority owned and controlled by minority individuals and majority owned and controlled by women.

• Amendment No. 144 by Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14) — Clarifies that research into urban and rural water and wastewater systems also includes low-income, disadvantaged, and underserved communities

• Amendment No. 148 by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) — Authorizes $240 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance funding to promote economic development for communities reliant on the energy and industrial sectors

• Amendment No. 150 by Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) — Adds the text of the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act, which promotes the responsible development of wind, solar, and geothermal resources on public lands by prioritizing development in strategic areas; facilitating smart siting and efficient permitting of projects in places with high energy potential and lower wildlife, habitat, and cultural resource impacts; and updating revenue sharing for these projects to ensure that states and counties get fair returns.

• Amendment No. 158 by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) — Encourages the recruitment and retention of women and minority students into STEM fields. Establishes a competitive grant program to develop and implement programs to increase the participation of women and minorities in STEM. Supports activities include mentoring and internship programs, and outreach to women and minority K-12 students

• Amendment No. 163 by Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) — Expresses a Sense of Congress condemning anti-Asian racism and discrimination

• Amendment No. 170 by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) — Prevents companies from using any of the funds allocated under Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) fund from being used on stock buybacks or the payment of dividends to shareholders

• Amendment No. 192 by Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) — Authorizes the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to invest in the vaccine cold chain (the refrigerated supply chain needed for vaccine production, storage, distribution and delivery) as well as vaccine manufacturing so that less developed countries are equipped to deliver COVID vaccines produced by the global community

• Amendment No. 194 by Rep. Katie Porter (CA-45) — Incorporates national security threats related to climate change into a statement of policy on U.S. international priorities

• Amendment No. 201 by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) — Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create an office to study bias in the use of artificial intelligence systems and publish guidance to reduce disparate impacts on historically marginalized communities

• Amendment No. 259 by Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05) — Ensures grants from the National Science Foundation can be used for the professional development and mentorship of student and faculty researchers at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs. 

• Amendment No. 260 by Rep. Andy Levin (MI-09) — Amends Title III by broadening Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality short term skills and job training programs and establishes a secure and privacy-protected data system that contains information about postsecondary student academic and economic outcomes.

Additional amendments from CPC members that were introduced and received a floor vote include:

• Amendment No. 22 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) on behalf of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) — Directs the State Department, in coordination with the Department of Energy and in consultation with appropriate agencies, to report on the impact of US sanctions on innovation, emissions reduction, climate cooperation, and economic justice.

• Amendment No. 124 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) — Requires a report on the humanitarian impacts of U.S. and multilateral sanctions in Afghanistan, including on mortality rate and refugee outflows; impacts of such sanctions on the influence of the People's Republic of China in Afghanistan; and the impact on illicit financial activities between the People's Republic of China and affiliated entities in Afghanistan in the event of the collapse of Afghanistan’s banking system.