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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sent: Mar. 24, 2022
Contact: Eduardo Carrizosa,
[email protected]<mailto:
[email protected]%0b>
Blue Dog Coalition Urges Congressional Leaders to Move Swiftly on China Competition Bill
WASHINGTON—The Co-Chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Ed Case (HI-01), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), and Kurt Schrader (OR-05)—sent the following letter to Congressional leadership urging swift action to resolve differences between the House-passed America COMPETES Act and the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The letter can be viewed here<[link removed]>, with text appearing below:
March 23rd, 2022
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Charles Schumer Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell:
We write to express our hope that you will act with a sense of urgency so that the House and Senate can swiftly begin negotiations to resolve differences between the House-passed America COMPETES Act and the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). It has been over nine months since the Senate voted in a bipartisan way to approve USICA and over one month since the House approved the America COMPETES Act. It is critical that we move forward without any additional delay.
We also want to underscore that the final bill produced by negotiators should consist of bipartisan provisions—including the Blue Dog-endorsed Supply CHAIN Act and BLUE Pacific Act—that are laser-focused on streamlining supply chains, lowering costs for consumers, supporting the vital semiconductor industry, funding cutting-edge research leading to innovation, and helping the United States outcompete authoritarian China in key technological areas. Efforts by either party to push for the inclusion of partisan or extraneous provisions will only serve to further delay—or even prevent—passage of the bill. At a time of high inflation, there is no place for provisions addressing peripheral issues and requiring significant government spending.
Because of circumstances well beyond their control, including the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, American families are hurting—paying more for food, gasoline, and other necessities. Let’s help them by moving quickly to pass a pragmatic and bipartisan bill that will strengthen our economy and our national security.
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The Blue Dog Coalition is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives comprised of fiscally-responsible Democrats, who are leading the way to find commonsense solutions. They are pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public. The BlueDogs are dedicated to pursuing fiscally-responsible policies, ensuring a strong national defense for our country, and transcending party lines to get things done for the American people. Visit our website<[link removed]> to learn more, and get the latest news updates by following us on Twitter<[link removed]> or liking us on Facebook<[link removed]>.
