provides grants to the u.s. computer chip industry. they'll also continue work on legislation that expands access to va benefits, this is live coverage on c-span2. senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. lord of our lives, hear our prayers. fill us with your spirit so that we may please you. as we seek your divine approval, empower our lawmakers to do your will. lord, help them not to have an excessive focus on the temporary things

while neglecting the eternal. may our senators live lives that bring glory and honor to your name, receiving your approbation for their faithfulness. create in them humble and contrite hearts that will refuse to deviate from the path of integrity. and, lord, we continue to pray for ukraine. we pray in your merciful and powerful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., july 27, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable sherrod brown, a senator from the state of ohio, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to accompany h.r. 4346 which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany h.r. 4346, an act making appropriations for legislative branch for the fiscal year ending september 30,

2022, and for other purposes.

u.s. semiconductor chip manufacturing industry. explain first why congress thinks that the semiconductor industry needs billions of dollars in subsidies right now. >> guest: tens of billions of dollars in subsidies will probably be passed by the senate today. the recent this just we don't produce the remaining microchips or semiconductors they're sometimes called. these are the little computer , the seat heater in your car, wrote all of the devices in modern society. we used to produce a lot of them in the united united stat the dawn of the digital era but

the route sourcing and cost cutting we don't produce a lot of them here at all anymore. that's been a problem and the pandemic era. there's been a lot of difficulties getting microchips for things like whether it's digital device like a computer or things like cars that their tens of thousands of cars lining lots in michigan that can't get microchips just because of supply chain prices, because of some trade concerned with china and just because demand skyrocketed during the pandemic. we are facing a national and global shortage of microchips right now. the ideas we want to make more of them in the united states. policymakers are concerned we don't have enough microchips now but what if we had some sort of conflict with china, , trade conflict or something more serious? if they started cutting off our access to these chips more we would have a big issue economically. the idea is tried incentivize companies to make these computer chips here. the problem is that costs billions of dollars to build

those factories. other governments around the world are giving them subsidies to now we're lined up to do the same. >> host: we used to produce 40% of the world's chips. today we make 12% of the world's ship. how long did that take to go from 40% to 12%? when we were -- when we were producing 40%? >> guest: kind of at the dawn of the digital era back in the '90s early 2000s but in an effort to bring down the price for consumers for all these digital devices weathered something that goes into your car radio or your computer we outsource these things. china makes a lot of them. south korea and taiwan make a lot of them as well especially the most advanced chips. those are the things that are cutting edge when it for military technology, ai and things like that. we want to get the most advanced chips back so that's we see the senate lining up today to approve billions in subsidies for these plants. >> host: it will still have to go through the house.

it's the chips for america act. even with the chips i i can sd for? >> guest: creating helpful incentives for powering semiconductors, something like that. it has been through a lot of different names. started as the endless frontier act almost two years ago. there's been twists and turns legislatively since then but now we're calling it chips plus sites because her scientific research funding in there as well. >> host: $54 $54 billion ins for semiconductor manufacturing research investments to support technology, hubs around the united states, tax credits to the tune of billions to promote investment in manufacturing. those tax credits running through the mid-2020s. the question was make an immediate difference? >> guest: the chipmaker say it will. intel in particular made a big announcement earlier this year they're going to spend tens of billions of dollars building and expanding microchip facilities in ohio and they say once they get the subsidies they can move forward with the project. there's also plans to build more

facilities in texas, arizona. policymakers are aiming to make these regional microchip hubs where you can have a lot of the industry associate with that right in one place. that's been contentious. as the negotiations dragged on throughout the summer you saw intel say we to delay the groundbreaking on some of that ohio facility because we need to make sure we're getting the subsidies approved, and there will he put the screws to the lawmakers to say we have to go and push this thing out before the end of the summer. it's been a big ask of the white house and vulnerable democrats in congress because they need something to run on when it comes to the midterm elections where a lot of other thing stalled in congress these days they need to sail these were doing something to bring manufacturing back and they also frame it as combating inflation because the chips issues have fueled inflation and love these high-tech devices. >> host: do we know how much china subsidizes its domestic industry on chips? >> guest: i don't offer top of my head. should that's a last

century, the whole last century, america's prosperity was anchored on our country's unmatched commitment to science research, technological growth, innovation, advanced manufacturing. the question before the senate then is simple. will that prosperity live on in the century to come? are we on the brink of another generation of ingenuity, of american discovery, of american leadership? by passing our chips and science bill today, the senate says yes, we are. and in a loud, bipartisan voice. today by approving one of the largest investments in science, technology, and manufacturing in decades, in decades, we say that america's best years are yet to come. this is a very good day for the american people and for american innovation. the legislation is going to create good-paying jobs.

it will alleviate supply chains. it will help lower costs and it will protect america's national security interests. i'm confident that future generations will look back on the passage of this bill as a turning point for american leadership in the 21st century. i admit that some of the policies, not all, but some are esoteric, but they are vital. all too often we are told government and business think short term. this is one of the most significant pieces of long-term effect and thinking legislation that we have seen in this body in a very long time. i believe that our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren will work in jobs we cannot yet imagine because of the investments we're making here today. like the infrastructure investment and jobs act and the recent gun safety law, the chips and science bill is one of the major bipartisan achievements of this congress.

but reaching this point was anything but easy. on the contrary. the legislation has been several years in the making and it took a lot of twists and turns before reaching the finish line. it brought together industry, labor, universities, governors, mayors from both parties and from every region. and i thank my colleagues and their staff for pushing it over the line. in 2019 i approached my republican colleague todd young. we had talked in the gym that he was interested in the same types of investments that i was. and i said, let's work together on legislation to revive america's commitment to science and innovation. together we drafted the first version of the endless frontier act, a bill whose policies shape today's legislation. al year later we joined with senators cornyn and warner to begin addressing our nation's chip crisis by pushing for authorization of new federal chips as an incentive as part of the ndaa and senator kelly of arizona has been a major

advocate for getting these chip programs done. so even before this congress began, members on both sides knew that we had to work together if we were to keep america competitive in the 21st century. we also knew if we didn't get there first, our arrivals, chief among them the chinese communist party, would likely beat us to the purge and reshape the world -- punch and reshape the world in their authoritarian image. frightening. a frightening prospect. a month after i became majority leader, i directed the chairs and members of our relevant committees to start drafting a legislative package to outcompete china and create new american jobs with the endless frontier act serving at the core of this effort. i also instructed them to draft legislation to plug the dangerous holes in america's semiconductor industry. i said to everyone, people on both sides of the aisle, that if both sides work together, i would put a bill on the floor of the senate later that spring and

that's what happened when we overwhelming passed the u.s. innovation and competition act of june 2021. it took three weeks, lots of debate, amendments, just as the senate ought to work. even on major and difficult legislation as this has been. senators can'twell and wicker were tremendous leaders in this effort, and skillfully managed the floor process. they deserve a great deal of praise, not only for passing last year's bill, they about year's as well. the legislation we're passing today contains many of the critical investments in that bill. both bills make historic investments in science and innovation, the original endless frontier and usica bill and the bill we're passing today, chips plus science. both bills make those investments. we will plant the seeds for developing the tech hubs of tomorrow in places with great potential, but which have been overshadowed by cities likes

san francisco, boston, austin or new york city. the bill will help turn cities like buffalo and indianapolis into new centers for innovation, and the result will be countless new, good-paying jobs and a bright future for those areas for years to come. both bills will help end the chips crisis by offering tens of billions of dollars to encourage american chip manufacturing and r&d. and if anything, this year's version is stronger because of the itc provisions. it will create tens of thousands of high-tech manufacturing and davis-bacon construction jobs, from albany, new york, to new albany, ohio, and beyond. it's going to lower costs for cars, washing machines and so much more in the long run. because of our -- because our chip shortage will be alleviated. both bills establish a national foundation tech directorate and provide funding to the department of energy to achieve new breakthroughs in the technology like a.i., quantum

computing, cybersecurity, renewable energy, 5g, biotech and other discoveries yet unknown. and both bills provide funding to build wireless communications supply chain to counter huawei. this was a top priority of my cheeg, mark warner, and i thank him for hissers in this regard. the bottom line, today's legislation is one of the largest investments in science, technology, and valuables the manufacturing in -- and advanced manufacturing in decades. what ill this includes critical investment in chips and ?iefng scientific research, other things are in the works in conference committee. that important work must continue, it will, and it's my intention to put the conference committee on the floor in september, after the work is complete. so let me be clear -- today is a very good day for the american people and for the future of our country. i believe firmly that when signed into law, this bill will

reawaken the spirit of discovery, innovation, and optimism that made america the envy of world and will continue to do so. because of the investments we're approving today, america will be the place where the next transformational breakthroughs in industry and science occur. nearly 80 years ago dr. vanavar bush, head of the u.s. office of scientific research, wrote in a report to president truman that, quote, without scientific progress, no amount of achievement in other directions can ensure our health, prosperity, and security in the modern world. the name of that report? it was called science, the endless frontier. it's the inspiration for much of the work we've dedicated to passing this bill today. in the wake of dr. bush's report, we created the national science foundation, funded the national energy laboratory, split the atom, spliced the gene, landed a man on the moon

and unleashed the internet. we generated decades of american prosperity and fostered and i enate sense of optimism in the american spirit. today, we face the great task of renewing and strengthening that legacy in a world of fierce competition. it's no longer a situation where we can just leave it up to corporate america, because we didn't have competition. now there are nation states funding and aiding their corporations, and authoritarian governments around the world are doing thattened a cheering for us to fail -- doing that and cheering for us to fail, hoping we'll sit on our hands and not adapt to the changes in the 21st century. they believe that squabbling democracies like ours can't unite around national priorities like this one. they believe that democracy itself is a relic of the past, and that by beat ug to emerging tech -- beating us to emerging technologies, autocracies hope to reshape the world in their image. let me tell you something, i

believe in america, i believe in our system, i believe that they will not succeed, i believe that this legislation will enable the united states to outinnovate, outproduce and outcompete the world in the industries of the future. and i believe that the strongly bipartisan work on this bill revealed that in this chamber that we all believe, all of us, democrats and republicans, that another american century lies on the horizon. for this, these many worthy reasons, let us pass the chips and science bill today. i yield the floor, and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

most of it is not paid for. a lot of it will be deficit spending. the idea it is worth it to subsidize these industries and bring them back because they will help bring down the tax place in place like columbus and things like that. on your second question, how does it benefit the u.s. do with american companies building chips in china as well? that's a big question and that's what he saw this debate over the so-called guardrails in the bill. right now as it is written it would try to prevent any recipient of the subsidies from investing in new advanced microchip facilities in china.

that's for a period of ten years. and last there some they can get around that they will be barred from holding or expanding any new microchip facilities in china. of course all of these companies still of legacy facilities they probably work with but the ideas we don't want to be transferring the most advanced semiconductor technology to the chinese government and military. if you're making those in china, because it is a one-party state is not a real division between the state and the economy, they could easily fall into their hands. lawmakers think they have accounted for that in this build up whether they have i think we will seek. >> host: trust your memory. the senate bipartisan chips bill expected at $79 billion to u.s. deficit. they go. >> guest: thank you to the bloomberg reporters who brought that to me this morning. >> host: marilyn out of massachusetts republican good morning. >> caller: i'm sorry i doubt on the wrong line. i'm an independent, but this

makes me crazy. makes me so crazy if the answer to the question is who was paying for this? the american people. the american taxpayers are paying for this. why are we subsidizing multi-billion dollars companies and were basically bribing them. they're holding us hostage and saying we are not going to build a factor in the united states unless the american people subsidize us. it's wrong. it's wrong. it's ron kirk american people should not be paying for this. what we should be doing instead is perhaps lowering the taxes that these large companies have to pay and also getting rid of the regulations for them to build the factories here. we are going to be paying for this foreign billion years and the subsidies never go away. feel free to correct me. try to understand and noticed that a lot of frustration from voters. a recession is looming and what

we see coming out of the senate? a big deficit spending bill with subsidies for profitable corporations. what the backers of the bill would say is yes, we can cut all those regulations, given tax breaks in a lot of places. they're getting tax breaks for being there, but at the same time governments all across the world are also subsidizing these corporations. they're going to go where they get the best deal here if we want them to build microchips here in the united states that means lawmakers, it's with the death of the spending to entice them to come to a place like -- deficit spending -- rather than taiwan, south korea or somewhere in western europe. the european union is working on their own version of the chips bill as well. they really are playing government off each other and hold a very big swing in this debate. i think that, the issue of that influence over our political system is maybe a bigger one,

but yes, it is definitely at play here. but i think the response from the backers of the bill is it's worth that spending to make sure we're not reliant on other nations for the most advanced semiconductor technology because it's economically important and really, really important to military as with a big part of the final price tag of this spending through the tax code as it were. explain how that works here. >> guest: there's like 54 billion initial subsidies that are seed money to get these copies on the ground, a variety of grants and things like that. if you're semiconductor company and you continue to produce, then there's a tax that it was co-production tax credit to continue producing those for ten years. i think that some 2023-2027. that's if your factory comes into service in between 23 and 27, you can take advantage of those tax credits. we are not only giving them a

one-time payment we will continue giving them tax breaks for continuing to produce those microchips here in the u.s. this was something added pretty late in the process. it was called fabs act because you call it semiconductor factory a fab. something that is meant to make sure that people don't just take the money, build a factory and then a few years later outsource. you will continue to get tax breaks for making chips into united states but it does mean we are on the hook longer-term what is a regional technology have? >> guest: basically putting money into research disclose whether it's a small college or things like that to try to boost research and technology to help feed workers into these new factories, into these industries but one thing that did make it into the bill were provisions to allow science and technology phds to come from other nations. there were immigration provisions that got left out of the bill. i think that's going to be a problem going forward because there's a workers shortage in

many sectors in the united states right now. semiconductor sector is not uniquely immune to those and you need a lot of really high skilled workers to work in these factors, , people with very specialized knowledge. we are just not churning them out the numbers we need from our educational institutions in the u.s. but republican said were not doing anything on immigration and this bill a joe biden addresses stuff of the border, and so that got left out of the bill. there's a lot of stuff that got left out of this bill, and entire trade title that would alter our relationship toward china commercially. there was a lot of china strategy, bills i got left out of this. there was a whole year long process of trying to craft not just a chips bill but a china competitiveness bill. the vast majority of that got left on the cutting room floor this summer. i can go into that if we want to run what i have about five minutes left at a bunch of callers waiting for you. sally michigan democrat good morning. >> caller: good morning.

at the beginning he defined a semiconductor as power to things. antony power is battery. i have a battery in my phone. i also have chips. my washer needed to get the chips replaced, the control unit, but it was still plug into electricity. so i'm not, in my head i'm not quite sure what ships are. they are not power but i know they are necessary, we will take that up. >> guest: apologies if i was confusing earlier. we're just talking about that chip in your washer. that computer chip. these things are typically not providing power or electricity to your device. that is what the battery would do. i should make a point to say that the biden administration is trying to bring the battery sector over as well because they see that as another strategic sector that where reliant on the chinese four. we are talking about the basic computer chips that just make

all of your devices work. these other things, everything from your computer to your phone to your washing machine. these things are in everything now so there really important to the economy. >> host: doris out of georgia independent good morning. >> caller: good morning. i have a simple question. what exactly are computer chips? what are they made of? what's their source? >> guest: testing my technical knowledge here, doris. just these little memory boards of the go and all of your devices, and they are made by these big robotic arm machines. i can't tell you the materials that go into them straight off the top of my head, but suffice it to say that they are, the computer chips, the memory boards, the circuits that are the brains of every device that you have. it's the reason that you can push a button and something else happens. it's just, these of the building blocks of the digital economy. as a policy report i'm sorry i

can't be more specific than that. >> host: in terms of wind industry started waving the red like you that we had a problem shortage in the united states, when did this legislation the idea start moving? >> guest: i think, you know, about two years ago there was a bill that in evolved into this bill called in the stranger acts of those a lot of the research funding at the computer chip funding because national security experts have been raising the flag for years now that we're really rely on other nations for these chips. and that kind of filtered down through the congress is a national security hawks said we need to address this. in the supply chain crunches of the pandemic really drove it home. everyone sitting at home are ordering new devices can order a new things, all of these things have computer chips in them. so you have an increase in demand, your supply chain disruption because some of the factors were getting taken off-line for caller. there were problems at the

ports. to get the man for computer chips go up, supply and transport is been curtailed, and the really of you and say oh man we really need to do something about this. i think it's plain to see people to places like michigan now where i think general motors has over 90,000 vehicles just sitting idle in these big fields at a michigan just waiting for computer chips to come in. sometimes they will sell you one without all the chips in it. >> host: rankling pennsylvania i would be concerned about that -- franklin pennsylvania jim republican good morning. jim, are you with us? go ahead. >> caller: my question is rob portman. my question is rob portman had language in the bill that prevented people from making the chips over china which would give china the expertise that this is critical infrastructure

that goes to our security. an chuck schumer took the lineage out of the bill. explain to me what the language was and why chuck schumer did that trick you thank you. very well read into the policy of this bill i have to say. so there's two separate issues. one is the guard rails which i was talking about. those are the would make it difficult or impossible for if you got money from this bill to go and build a factory in china. those provisions are still in the bill. there's been haggling overth the details but those things are still in the bill. u robin portman thing, he was pushing what we call a research provision. here's how washington democrats are describing the american economy -- from the white house last month, quote, robust economic progress under president biden's leadership. according to president biden himself, our economy has, quote, unique strengths that we can

build on. there was, quote, providing important breathing room for american families. and then it was, quote, strong as can be but for inflation, but for gas and food. the economy is as strong as it can be except the pesky thing, the worst inflation in more than 40 years. you almost have to laugh at that analysis. contrast the democrats' spin with how working americans are describing our economy. from a grocery store manager in tennessee, it's just not a good situation. from a grandmother in georgia, the food, the gas, the bills, the mortgage -- everything, it's a lot on a family. overall, the majority of americans are concerned their paycheck can't cover the essentials amidst inflation.

and a majority disapprove of what president biden is doing about it. clearly something isn't adding up. but that it isn't a new feature of washington democrat's one-party control of government. it has actually been a hallmark of the biden administration. last spring, they misread what it needed after a once-in-a-century pandemic and flooded the engine with trillions of liberal spending. then they missed the warning signs on the runaway inflation that that mistake brought on. now they're mounting a panic campaign to redefine the word recession. before the next quarterly g.d.p. comes out tomorrow. so washington democrats seem to think the real-world effects of

their policies -- the pain americans are feeling as they try to balance household budgets -- can just be spun away, spun away with talking points. well, i can tell you there are millions of working families who wish it were in fact that simple. but you know full well that it isn't. now, on a different matter, yesterday i met with officers of the kentucky narcotics association to discuss the ongoing substance abuse crisis in my home state. these frontline professionals have watched kentucky pass some grim milestones in recent years. this is one of the most

horrifying consequences of the ongoing breakdown of law and order in our country. in 2020, overdose deaths in the commonwealth increased nearly 50% from the year prior, reaching an all-time high of 1,964. then last year we broke that record again recording 2,250 overdose deaths, 14.5% higher than in 2020. remember, as of this past january, two years in the pandemic, fentanyl alone had killed more americans age 18 to 45 than the coronavirus. that's not even all overdoses. that's just fentanyl alone. the kentucky law enforcement officers with whom i got to visit work every day to try to

reverse these heart-weathering trends. they've had -- heart-wrenching trends. they've had some success. earlier this month, louisville seized a full kilo in louisville. that's enough to kill half a million people -- in louisville alone. but they're struggling to stem the cascade of narcotics pouring into our streets. the reason, they told me, is pretty clear -- our unsecured borders. already this year our overwhelmed customs and border patrol agents encountered more than 1 .million i will -- 1.6 illegal encounters. some of these individuals were promptly detained and deported, many of them were booked briefly and then released into the american heartland. presumably we'll never hear from most of them ever again.

these are just the known encounters to say nothing of the 900,000 got-aways that dhs officials think have taken place since the beginning of the last fiscal year. put another way, a group of people larger than the entire population of my hometown broke into our country without interacting with border agents at all. alongside this human tide is an ever-increasing flood of inlicit drugs, most notably -- illicit drugs, most notably fentanyl. that drug played a role in 72% of the overdoses in kentucky last year. cbp officials have seized 5,722 pounds of the stuff this year alone. imagine how much slipped through their fingers and onto our streets. our democrats -- are democrats admitting this is an emergency? are they working overtime to put

a tourniquet on this crisis? just the opposite. secretary mayorkas jetted to a summit in aspen earlier in month and pronounced, quote, the border is secure. that's our secretary of homeland security. maybe that kind of talk plays well at a ritzy ski resort packed with liberals. it doesn't play very well with law enforcement and first responders in states like kentucky who have to deal with crime and fatal drug overdoses every single day. the far left throws our borders open for ideological reasons and it's the most vulnerable communities that end up paying the deadly price. the president of the national border patrol council has directly contradicted the biden administration's insistence that our southern border is in great shape. here's what he had to say. this is the president of the national border control council.

the cartels use illegal border crossings to facilitate their higher-value contraband, including fentanyl. in other words, more illegal immigration means more of this illegal poison. but president biden and washington democrats simply won't admit it. their response to the border crisis has been to issue new internal guidance, encouraging border personnel to use more politically correct language when referring to criminal aliens. they'd rather police language than police the border. remember, the biden administration spent taxpayer dollars going to court arguing they have a right to end the remain-in-mexico policy and throw our borders open even wider. president biden tried to cut funding for ice in his most recent budget. washington liberals say it is the compassionate policy to lure desperate people into inhuman

conditions, let the drug cartels have open season and let american citizens die as a result. mr. president, that's not compassion. that's cruelty. an abdication of duty with deadly consequences for the american people. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: mr. thune: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: the republican whip. without objection. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the biden border crisis continues to rage. last month the u.s. customs and border protection encountered 207,416 individuals attempting to cross our southern border illegally, the highest june number ever recorded. in april and may successively

set records for the highest numbers for any month ever. during the 2021 fiscal year, they encountered a record number of individuals attempting to cross our southern border illegally. 1,734,686 to be precise. a record. well, mr. president, we still have three months to go for this fiscal year, but we've already exceeded last year's number by more than 11,000. that's right. in just nine months, we have already exceeded last year's record number of apprehensions. the situation at our southern border is out of control. although you'd never know it to hear the president and his administration. the border is secure. the president's homeland security secretary said just a

few days ago. again, quote, the border is secure, end quote. my question, mr. president, is how he said that with a straight face. our southern border is the opposite of secure. it is in crisis. the flood of illegal immigration is so great that huge numbers of customs and border protection officers have been pulled off the border to process migrants. a may article from the economist reported and i quote, around 60% of cpb agents have been assigned to process migrants taking them away from field work. end quote. that of course leaves our borders wide open to illegal activity, including the drug trafficking that's flooding our country with fentanyl. it also means even with all the apprehensions the border patrol has made, many more individuals are getting through unstopped. one source reports that so far this fiscal year, there have

been more than half a million got-aways, in other words individuals the border patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. the economist article i mentioned also noted, and i quote, one border export -- expert, i should say, estimates that less than 20% of people trying to cross the border undetected are stopped. end quote. less than 20%, mr. president. that is a security nightmare. our customs and border protection agents are giving this job their all but there's no way for them to keep up with the flood of immigration, especially when they have been -- when they're being pulled off the border to process migrants. mr. president, it's president biden's job to stop this border crisis but -- but when he's pretending this crisis doesn't

exist, he's taking actions that are contributing to this disaster. on his very first day in office, president biden rescinded the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border. he halted construction of the border wall. he revoked a trump administration order that called for the government to faithfully execute our immigration laws. and his department of homeland security issued guidelines pausing deportations except under certain circumstances. that was all again on his first day in office. needless to say the effect of all this was to declare to the world that the united states borders were effectively open. and even as huge numbers of illegal immigrants pour across our southern border, he's continued to build on those actions. the president has sought to significantly limit the ability of immigration and customs enforcement to enforce immigration laws. deportations dropped precipitously during fiscal year 2021 as did arrests in the

interior of the country. in match of this year the administration rescinded a 2019 rule expanding expedited removal for individuals here illegally. and of course the administration is still attempting to remove title 42 covid-19 restrictions with no viable plan to control the resulting surge in illegal immigration. mr. president, illegal immigration, especially the kind of out-of-control illegal immigration that we're currently experiencing has serious consequences. i've already mentioned some of the security risks it presents. with customs and border protection overstretched, it's easier for bad actors to cross the border into our country. gang members, drug traffickers, human smugglers, and the list goes on. our country's currently in the midst of a fentanyl crisis. in fact, right now fentanyl

overdose is the leading cause of death for american adults between the ages of 18 and 45. where is all this fentanyl coming from? most of it is being trafficked across our southern border. and the current border situation is undoubtedly facilitating that trafficking. illegal immigration is financially costly as well. immigration and customs enforcement is currently running out of money for this year, thanks in part to the out-of-control situation at our southern border. mr. president, president biden has talked about wanting to build, and i quote, a fair, orderly, and humane, end quote, immigration system. mr. president, there is nothing, nothing humane about our current situation. encouraging illegal immigration

as the president's policies have done as contributed to a humanitarian crisis that saw at least 557 migrants die attempting to cross the southern border during fiscal year 2021. just last month in an incredibly tragic, horrific story, 53 migrants died in an unair conditioned tractor-trailer after being smuggled across the border. it was a sobering reminder of the human cost of policies that enable illegal immigration. the president may think that his border policies are compassionate. but again, mr. president, he would be wrong. policies that encourage illegal immigration, that encourage individuals to undertake the often dangerous journey across our southern border often at the mercy of human smugglers are the very opposite of compassionate. mr. president, i'd like to think that the president will wake up

to the dangerous situation we're in and take action to help stem the flood of illegal immigration at our southern border. but after a year and a half of his administration's neglecting this crisis, i'm not getting my hopes up. i'm afraid that like inflation, out-of-control illegal immigration has become a fact of life in the biden presidency. as with inflation, americans and those vulnerable individuals that are attempting to enter our country will be left to suffer the consequences. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana.

mr. young: mr. president, when it comes to america, i'm an optimist, always. you see, i can't help but approach the future with great hope. after all, as americans we've never let obstacles stand in our way or accepted that problems can't be solved. no, our citizens are the world's most ingenious. our military, its mightiest. our economy, the strongest. and our innovators the most creative. the last century was defined by our accomplishments and our ideals. and i believe this one will be, too. but i have to say, mr. president, this path is not guaranteed. now as then, america's success depends on unleashing the potential of our people in outcompeting and outinnovating

global rivals who don't share our values or our economic interests. right now we're in the middle of a great power competition with authoritarian regime in beijing that seeks global and rejects democracy. the chinese communist party is currently investing $1.4 trillion in frontier technologies that will dominate the 21st century. artificial intelligence, quantum computing, hypersonics among other key technologies. its innovators are earning patents and publishing research at a.i. at greater rates than our own. schools are producing stem graduates and science universities are regularly outranking our own. its military is making advances

in cyber warfare and the development of hypersonic weapons, autonomous vi vehicles, electronic cyber warfare and these are the technologies that will dominate the 21st century economically and militarily. china's government is planning on winning the a.i. race, winning future wars and winning the future. and the truth is, if we're being honest with ourselves, beijing is well on its way to accomplishing these goals. america is at risk of falling behind economically and technologically to a world power that doesn't value liberty or even human life. so how should we respond? for too long when it comes to chinese aggression, america has relied on a strategy of deterrence taking steps like

blocking huawei from doing business in the u.s., tightening export controls, and improving foreign investment rules. now these are important measures, but they're no longer enough. you see, it's time, mr. president, to go on the offensive. and that's exactly what this legislation which has gone by many names from the endless frontier act to the u.s. innovation and competition act to chips plus will do. unleashed private sector innovation while significantly boosting federal national security investments. let me highlight a few specifics. first, this bill greatly encourages domestic investment in semiconductor production. right now the united states of america is almost entirely reliant on other nations for high-tech computer chips that power our smartphones,

automobiles, household appliances, and military platforms. in fact, the recent shortage of these chips has hobbled our economy. it's hit our pocketbooks. for example, a shortage of computer chips forced general motors to idle its assembly plant in fort wayne, indiana twice already this year. u.s. semiconductor production once accounting for nearly 40% of the world's supply has dropped to just 12% while china's production share is increasing rapidly. 90% of the chips used in our military technology are made overseas. let me say that again. 90% of the chips used in our military technology are made overseas. most are made in south korea and taiwan, but an increasing number are produced in china.

this is a very real economic and national security vulnerability. and this bill will reassert america's place in this industry and take a giant leap towards ensuring that our supply chain and national defense will never be at the mercy of technology produced overseas. another important aspect of this bill is critical applied research funding. this legislation reforms and invests in the national science foundation to partner with the private sector and universities to develop critical emerging technologies that will transform the global landscape. we know that national success and competitiveness in the 21st century economy will be built on emerging technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence. funding research crucial to keeping america safe is one of the federal government's

responsibilities. and this legislation will help us not just catch up with but overtake china in these critical areas. and this bill will establish regional technology hubs across our country, which will become centers for the research, development, entrepreneurship and manufacturing of new, key technologies. this is incredibly important at a time when too many persons in the heartland feel left out and too many areas overlooked, when only a handful of cities account for nearly 90% of job growth in these sectors. simply put, this bill will make america stronger, safer, and more prosperous. and it's desperately needed. how do we know? because the chinese communist party has actively lobbied

against this legislation. they know this bill is bad for china and good for the united states of america. this bill is about securing our country, giving our people the tools to floorish and ensuring america continues its global research role. it's been a long journey to get to this point, but history will show that by passing this chips-plus bill, we're confronting the challenges of today and building a prosperous and secure tomorrow for all americans. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. sanders: i have heard time and again my republican colleagues and a number of

democrats voice their serious concern about the deficit and our national debt. we are told that because of the deficit, that at a time when we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major countries on earth, we cannot extend the child tax credit to help working parents and substantially reduce childhood poverty. at a time when over 600,000 americans are homeless and some 18 million families are spending half of their incomes on the high cost of housing, we are told over and over again that because of the deficit, we captain build the low -- we cannot build the low-income and affordable housing we desperately need. at a time when millions of senior citizens of this country desperately need help to go to a dentsist because their teeth are rotting in their mouths, they

can't afford hearing aids, they can't afford eye glasses, reare told that we cannot afford to -- we are told that we cannot afford to expand medicare because of the deficit. at a time when the average family in this country is spending $15,000 a year on child care, an unimaginable amount of money for a working family, we are told that we cannot reform a dysfunctional child care system because of the deficit. at a time when some 70 million americans are uninsured or underinsured, we are told that we cannot guarantee health care to all americans as a human right, like virtually every other major country does, because of, the deficit.

in other words, mr. president, despite the fact that half of the people in our country today are living paycheck to paycheck, despite the fact that half of our seniors live on incomes of $25,000 or less, despite the fact that we have more income and wealth inequality today than we've had in a hundred years, where three billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of america, despite all of that, whenever it comes to protecting the needs of low-income or working families, i hear over and over again we just cannot afford to do that because of the deficit. well, mr. president, guess what -- all of that profound and serious concerns about the

deficit fades away when it comes to providing a $76 billion blank check to the highly profitable microchip industry, with no protections at all for the american taxpayer. somehow, the deficit is of great concern when it comes to providing help to working families, to low-income americans, to children, to seniors, but it's not a concern when you provide massive corporate welfare for enormously profitable multinational corporations. i guess, mr. president, when the semiconductor industry spends $19 million on lobbying this year alone, and when intel spends $100 million on lobbying and campaign contributions over the past 20 years, when that

industry says jump, the response from congress is how high? that is what a political system dominated by big money looks like. the people in this country who desperately need help can't get it, the corporations that are making huge profits and the ceo's who are making exorbitant compensation packages get everything they need and more. in other words, it appears that the deep concerns about the deficit are rather selective. now, mr. president, after i finish my remarks, i will give my colleagues a chance to prove me wrong. i'll be raising a budget point of order against this bill because it increases the deficit by over $79 billion, with

$76 billion of that money going to the microchip industry, with no strings attached. mr. president, let me be very clear -- there is no doubt that there is a global shortage of microchips and semiconductors, which is making it harder for manufacturers to produce the cars, cell phones, household appliances, and electronic equipment that we need, and that is why i fully support efforts to expand u.s. microchip production. but the question we should be asking is this -- should american taxpayers provide the microchip industry with a blank check of over 76 billion at a time when semiconductor companies are making tens of billions of dollars in profit right now? and paying the head of intel some $170 million a year in compensation. and i think the answer to that question is a resounding no. that is why at the conclusion of

my remarks i will be asking unanimous consent to attach an amendment to this legislation. this amendment is simple and straightforward. it would prevent microchip companies from receiving grants under this legislation unless they agreed not to buy back their own stock. not complicated. now, this is rather amazing. this is really quite incredible and tells you where we are as a nation politically. over the past decade, semiconductor companies have spent nearly $250 billion, 70% of their profits, not on research and development, not on building new microchip plants in america, what this bill is presumably about, but on buying back their own stock to enrich their wealthy shareholders.

let me repeat. the industry that is asking for 76 billion of corporate welfare today, over the past decade spent $250 billion, 70% of their profits, not on research and development, not on building new microchip plants in america, but on buying back their own stock to enrich their wealthy stockholders. apparently, they just couldn't find 76 billion of their own money to invest in new plants in america, they need the taxpayers of this country to do it for them. do any of my colleagues really believe we should allow microchip companies to receive $76 billion in taxpayer assistance without a ban on stock buybacks? under my amendment, microchip companies would not be allowed to receive taxpayer assistance

unless they agreed they would not repeal existing collective bargaining agreements and would remain neutral in any union organizing effort. do any of my colleagues believe we should be handing out corporate welfare to profitable organizations engaged in busting unions? under my agreement, microchip companies would not be able to receive $76 billion in taxpayer assistance unless they agreed not to outsource jobs overseas. now, i heard my colleague from indiana speak a moment ago about the crisis in the microchip industry, that we are producing smaller and smaller amount, you about he forgot to mention, somehow forgot to mention, that over the last 20 years the microchip industry has shut down over 780 manufacturing plants and other statements in the u.s. and eliminated 150,000 american

jobs while moving most of its production overseas. in other words, what taxpayers are doing are rebuilding an industry that was destroyed by the industry itself by going abroad in search of more profit. understand my amendment, microchip companies would be prevented from receiving taxpayer assistance unless they agree to issue warrants or equity stakes to the federal government. now, i happen to believe in industrial policy. i think it makes sense for the government and private sector to be working together when it is mutually beneficial. if private companies, however, are going to benefit from generous taxpayer subsidies, $76 billion, the financial gains made by these companies must be shared with the american people, not just wealthy shareholders.

does that sound really unreasonable? if these guys are going to make huge profits based on this investment, don't you think maybe the taxpayers of this country who gave them the money might be able to get some of those benefits back? the microchip industry today is worth about $680 billion. by 2030 that market, the market for microchips is expected to grow to a trillion dollars. do any of my colleagues really believe that if microchip companies make a profit as a direct result of these federal grants, which is extremely likely, the taxpayers do not have a right to get a reasonable return on this investment? mr. president, let us be clear, none of this is a radical idea. all of those provisions that i just articulated were included in the cares act that passed the senate by a vote of 96-0. in other words, every senator

here has already voted for these provisions. now, mr. president, i have heard recently some of my colleagues who are saying don't worry, we have imposed, quote-unquote, strong guidelines to this bill. well, mr. president, let me respectfully disagree. the so-called guardrails would do nothing to prevent microchip companies from outsourcing a single job abroad. in fact, the so-called guardrails would not even force intel to divest all of the money they have put into semiconductor companies in china. the so-called guardrails would do nothing to protect taxpayers or to stop microchip companies from union busting. yes, mr. president, i understand some language has been inserted into this bill that would prohibit microchip companies from using federal grants to buy back their own stock, but let's be clear, this language is totally meaning lest. under this legislation, -- is

totally meaningless. under this legislation, companies can use the enormous profits they're making to buy back their own stocks. bottom line, let us rebuild the u.s. microchip industry -- i believe that -- but let us do it in a way that benefits all of our society, not just a handful of wealthy, profitable, and powerful corporations. mr. president, in 1968 dr. martin luther king jr. said, and i quote, the problem is that we all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor, end quote. i am afraid that what dr. king said 54 years ago was accurate back then, and as we can see by this legislation today, massive subsidies for the rich and the powerful while we continue to turn our backs on working families. what king said then is even more accurate now.

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that it be in order to call up amendment number 5145, that the amendment be considered and agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: i object. mr. sanders: mr. president, i raise a point of order that the pend be measure violates a section h. con. res. 71 of the 115th congress, the senate pay-as-you-go point of order. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: pursuant to section 904 of the congressional budget act of 1974, i move to waive all applicable sections of that act and any other applicable budget points of

order for purpose of the pending bill and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. wicker: thank you so much, mr. president. we'll soon be moving to a vote on the so-called chips legislation. it's had several names during its consideration in the senate and in the house. i prefer to call it the chips and science act. but it is an important bipartisan piece of legislation, and i urge its adoption.

is my friend from vermont seeking recognition? mr. sanders: no. mr. wicker: okay. so i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation. it will expand american semiconductor production, create new opportunities for research into cutting-edge technologies, and enhance our ability to compete with china. there is no more important competition than the one for technological supremacy between the united states and china. the outcome will shape the global balance of power for decades and will impact the security and prosperity of all americans. regrettably, at this moment we are not in the driver's seat on a range of important technologies. china is. china and other nations are increasingly dominant in tech innovation, posing massive threat to the our -- not only our economy but to our national security, mr. president.

but with today's vote, congress has a chance to move us back in the right direction and put america back into a place to win the game. this legislation, the chips and science act i'll call it it will provide an historic boost to our semiconductor industry, which for too long has played on an uneven global playing field, increasing american chip production is absolutely vital, given the importance of chips to our economy as well as our national defense. the pandemic taught us the hard way that we cannot be dependent on semiconductor production halfway around the globe. but, of course, chips -- semiconductors -- are not the whole ball game. this whole legislation goes much

further. advancing american innovation in quantum computing, advanced robotics, biotechnology, advanced materials, and artificial intelligence, the full suite of technologies that we need to outcompete china. and instead of limiting those investments to a small handful of institutions in five wealthy states, this bill casts a wide net, enlisting the talent and expertise of stem researchers nationwide. this legislation will guarantee that epscor, a program designed to stimulate competitive research in 25 predominantly rural states receives 20% of all r&d funding from the national science foundation, up from the current 13%. 13% now, 20% when it's finally ramped up. the bill will also reauthorize

the national science foundation, the gold standard for funding basic research, and it will establish a new directorate for technology innovation and partnerships, told tip, to supercharge the process of transforming basic research into technology development and then to the commercial marked, enabling us to compete better with china across a vast range of technologies. this legislation would not be complete without new safeguards against espionage, which we know is taking place right now against intellectual property theft for which the chinese have become notorious. i'm pleased we were able to include a number of long overdue reforms to protect the fruits of our nation's r&d investments. even so, there's more work to be done to protect american research across the whole of

government, and i commend my friend, senator portman from ohio, for moving forward with his initiative which i hope can be incorporated into the statute at some point. mr. president, this moment has been a long time in the making, and i want to -- i want to issue some bipartisan congratulations and words of thanks. my dear friend and colleague from the state of washington, the chair of the commerce committee, senator cantwell, is on the floor, and i congratulate her and commend her and thank her for her cooperation with me on this issue. i want to thank leader schumer and senator young, the original cosponsors of the endless frontier act, as well as senator cornyn, senator sinema, and many other colleagues who helped make this a better bill. and i also want to congratulate and commend officials from the

previous administration, from the trump administration, who are also telling americans will the importance of this legislation. this is a bill that will be signed by president joe biden, but it's also endorsed by ambassador robert lighthizer, president trump's international trade advisor; by mike pompeo, president trump's cia director and secretary of state; and by robert o'brien, former national security advisor to president trump. so three distinguished and knowledgeable national defense officials and foreign policy officials are saying this about the bill we'll soon vote on. ambassador lighthizer of the administration said on kudlow two days ago, we are in this existential competition with

china. the battleground of that competition is technology and chips. that is where we're going to win it or lose it. and he goes on to point out that the bill, while not perfect, is exactly the bill that we can get done right now, and i don't know of any bill that is ever perfect. mike pompeo, secretary of state, a stalwart in the last administration on national defense, says this -- and i quote -- congress must pass the chips act for both our national and economic security. we have to become less dependent on china for critical technologies, and this is how we do it. a bipartisan bill supporting r&d for semiconductor chip manufacturing is essential to securing vital technologies for our economy and our military.

that's mike pompeo. he was president trump's secretary of state. and then robert o'brien, former national security advisor to president trump, said america needs this legislation without delay. so i want to -- i want to also say a note of thanks to my own staff, my personal staff and my committee staff, for her tireless efforts -- for their tireless efforts over the last year and a half on this issue. this is the culmination of a great deal of work by some very, very talented personnel. countless meet, a legislative hearing in april, a markup in may, a final vote by the senate in june after days and days on the floor. all of these staff members work days and nights and weekends, helping to manage almost 1,000 amendments through the committee on the floor and all of them

contributed in many ways. i will single out for recognition my policy director, james mazel, who was absolutely vital to us in putting it all together, and his entire team. so thank you very much, mr. president. i urge a yes vote. i think the strong 64 votes we had yesterday on cloture was indicative of the support, and i anticipate its passage and look forward to its successful passage in the house of representatives. i yield the floor. ms. cantwell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to finish my remarks prior to the scheduled vote. thank you, mr. president. i come up to the floor today to talk about the legislation before us and how it is an investment today for jobs tomorrow, and i want to thank my colleague from mississippi for his partnership on this legislation. it seems like a century ago that

we had a markup in committee and passed this out, the science portion which we're now voting on, 24-4, more than a year ago. and yet here we are today on the product of much negotiation, not just our committee but eight other committees -- seven other committees. we're here because we know that innovation is in the dna of americans and that we know that it helped us win the world wars, it helped us cure disease, we know it's helped create millions of jobs, and it's helped members of their business community on opposite sides of a phone call or an e-mail connect to each other to get a product or a service. so this bill embraces americans' innovation and our tradition of it, and i, too, encourage a yes vote. after watching the covid crisis mangle our supply chain and see

semiconductors be a big part of inflation, the shortage in semiconductors has increased the cost of a used car by more than 40%, putting it out of reach of many families at a time when they just needed a car to drive to work. so this bill is about making sure that we face our manufacturing challenges here at home and that we train and skill the scientists and the workers to get that done. and so thanks starts with senator schumer and young for their hard work in introducing this legislation more than two years ago. senator schumer's great work with senator young on this was an eye-opening change in the way that we make investments in r&d. it was a concept novel then but i think we have a lot of understanding of it now, and that is to move our r&d into faster translation into products

and services. why? because the rest of the world is doing that, and we need to hurry as well. i also want to just point out that there are lots of contributions for members in this bill. senator peters on a.i. scholarships, senator cortez masto and national science technology strategies, senator rosen and critical minerals, senator warnock on semiconductor supply chains, senator ossoff on cybersecurity education grants, senator menendez on supply supply chain issues. so many, many things in this legislation contributed by many different members through a regular order process. but let's get specific about it. there are about five or six things in this bill that really matter to our nation at this critical moment. first is a new mission at the national science foundation.

that new mission is different because the national science foundation has been focused on basic research, so we are creating for the first time at a $20 billion investment over five years the focus for that new mission at nsf to say that they have to translate on -- focus on translating that science into fast he shall discoveries into solutions -- -- faster solutions into solutions here at home. while the united states has excelled at basic research, we have allowed other countries to excel at translational research. that needs to stop now. we need to make the investment in industries from aerospace to pharmaceuticals, to farming, to informational technologies that will help increase the pace of innovation whoer in the united states of heroic. -- here in the united states of america. second, met me say that nsf is

not alone in this mission. we recognize that the department of energy has also a key role to play in translational science. i want to thank the presiding officer, senator lujan, for his contribution of a $16.9 billion doe investment that doubles down in technologies areas that we also have to do faster translational science to scale up in cutting-edge energy r&d. this was a very large portion of the energy invasion that is funded in this bill. this legislation includes a five year $50 billion first-ever reauthorization of the department of office of energy science. i want to thank senators manchin and barrasso for working on this and its inclusion in this. combined, these investments will go a long way in reversing the decline in federal r&d that

has dropped threefold since 1978. we need to improve u.s. competitiveness but we're only going to do it by investing today for those jobs tomorrow. third, the bill also says that we need to be smarter at how we make our investments. i would say i represent a tech hub. it's already in existence. it took 30-plus years to create. there are places like seattle and san jose and san francisco and boston and san diego that you could say are tech hubs. they account for 90% of the growth in innovation sectors between the years 2005 and 2017. but is that all we're going to do in the united states of america, allow innovation to just continue to be more and more expensive because it's only produced in those areas?

i'm a firm believer in distributed generation, whether that's electricity or whether that's innovation. and the more disburseds the information is, you never know where the next bill gates or bill boeing is going to be from and what innovation they might come up with. so this bill also has a new mission with the department of commerce in technology hubs where it will focus on trying to foster new collaboration between universities, businesses, labor, and local government to accelerate economic growth and opportunity in innovation. these tech hubs will focus on the key technology areas that are in this bill and help us move faster at innovation. i want to thank my colleague, senator tester from montana, who was very big advocate in

making sure there was geographic diversity to the tech hubs. and we know that while we want to grow more technology advancement in the united states, that we also want to see it not just in seattle but in places like spokane or indianapolis or west virginia or wichita. we also increased in this act the manufacturing extension partnership. during the pandemic, we saw that many companies could not survive without supplies that were no longer available to them, and we know that with the manufacturing extension ecosystem that we have to stay competitive by innovating. this bill delivers $76 billion over ten years to develop the next generation of chips and to reestablish chip manufacturing in the united states. now i know my colleague from vermont and my colleague from florida and many others have

criticized this part of the legislation. i know that they think this is somehow -- trust me, i wish, i would probably agree more with the senator from vermont on the prioritization within our budget on various things that will help american families, but we can't ignore that chip production has gone overseas and that the united states has lost its share of that production to the point that we're now down to as little as 12%, or could go to 12%, at which point who wants to manufacture when the ecosystem is somewhere else? so we know that just last year alone chip shortages cost the u.s. economy $240 billion. that is the automobile industry that didn't have chips. that is part of the electronics

industry that didn't have chips. you can say it's even in the cost of every product that you buy because we certainly didn't produce the transportation system to even move product throughout the united states in companies like pack car that are from the northwest because they too did not have chips to put into their trailers to move product across the united states. so we know that with every dollar of chip r&d investment, that increases gdp gain by $16.50. so i know my colleagues would like us to make other investments, but i'd say that chips are just as essential as wheat is in america. people think about our farm investment and have no hesitation saying let's make sure that we keep wheat production in the united states of america. i guarantee you, chips are no

less important. and we have to have an increase in the united states or we're going to continue to fall behind on national security issues, on economic development issues that are so critical. we also in this legislation make one of the most significant investments in stem over the last many years. it puts $13 billion into science, technology, engineering, and mathematic workforce development. it creates $2 billion to minority-serving institutions including native american institutions to encourage their research and innovation. and i want to thank senator wicker for his leadership on the s-corps provisions, probably one of the more hotly debated conversations between our colleagues here in the senate and in the house. but i would say to my colleagues this is about innovation everywhere. this is about growing

opportunity everywhere. and that is exactly what we are saying with that. you never know what the next innovation is going to bring. so these key provisions from diversifying our investment in education and job training, from making investments in tech hubs, to the investments in r&d by d.o.e. and nsf in faster tran sayingsal science, we are improving the ecosystem that we have in the united states of america. this ecosystem has been built over a long period of time. it represents competing and collaborating organizations. that is what is at the strength of our r&d. so i want to thank senator

schumer and young, senator cornyn and kelly and many other people who helped introduce and move this legislation. i want to thank senator warren warren -- warner for his contributions and senator wicker for his team for the many advancements in this legislation. i would be remiss if i didn't thing eddie bernice johnson and frank lucas who worked hard to craft the legislation before us. i want to thank on my staff lila helms, melissa porter, mary gunther, nicky tushell, christie barnhart, johnny bellish, rosemary bays, erica holman and emma strothman for her help. on senator wicker's staff,

james masell and many other people. senator schumer's staff, john cardinal, mike hikeman and megan tira for their hard work. but no one deserves more focus and attention than richard wayne chambers from my staff who worked on the last competes bill and then worked on darpa, knows seriously the challenges we face in getting this legislation done and getting it over the goal line. so i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. we don't know exactly what innovations will come out of this, but we do know this, america will be more competitive because of it. and we do know this, that we will be able to grow our economy for the future because of the investments that we made today. i thank the president, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired and amendment 5136 is withdrawn.

the question occurs on the motion to waive. the yeas and nays were previously ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

proo on this vote, the yeas -- proo on this vote the yeas are

64, nays are 33, the motion is agreed to and the point of order falls. mr. schumer: mr. president. presiding officer: majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent for three minutes. could we have order? mr. president, this is a very good day for the american people, for american leadership, and for american prosperity in the 21st century. after years of hard work, the senate is passing the largest investment in investment and technology in decades. this chips and science will will cealing millions-good- -- will create millions of good-paying jobs and it will help lower costs and help protect america's national security interests. all too often our government and our businesses are accused of

being too short term, but this is one of the most significant long-term thinking bills we passed in a very long time. i told our caucus yesterday that our grandchildren will hold good-paying jobs in industries we can't even imagine because of what we're doing right now. and we did it together, both sides cooperating in good faith on some truly difficult issues. i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their superb work on this legislation. my colleague, senator young, with whom i originally authored the endless frontier act as well as senator cantwell, our conference chair, and senators wicker and warner and cornyn and kelly. i also want to thank senators warnock, brown, sinema for their help and leader mcconnell for his support as well as all members of the conference committee and all the individual senators, just about every one of us who helped shape this

legislation. these are moments when the senate is at its very best. this is going to go down as one of the major bipartisan achievements of this congress, along with the infrastructure investment and jobs act and the recent gun safety law. the american people deserve to see more examples like both sides coming together to do very, very big things that will leave a lasting impact on our country. and i am confident that future generations will look back on the passage of this bill as a turning point for american leadership in the 21st century. and we are paying attention to all of america. we're making sure tech hubs will be located not just in the big, big mega loposies in places like buffalo, syracuse, rock chetioner, indianapolis, and omaha, not just major cities. for decades it was america's

fierce commitment to scientific research, technological growth, and advanced manufacturing that made us the envy of the world. that funding that we put into science created the greatest laboratories, split the at tom, spliced the gene, landed a man on the moon and unleashed the internet. we generated decades of american prosperity and fostered an innate sense of optimism in the american spirit. and we made the world a safer, more hospitable place for our democratic values. today we face the great task of renewing and strengthening that spirit in this century, in a world of fierce competition and hungry authoritarians. it's no longer the case where we can just leave it up to corporate america. now there are nations, state, and authoritarian governments funding and aiding these corporations to come to their shores. authoritarian nations are cheering for us to fail hoping

we sit on our hands and fail to adapt to the changes of the 21st century. we dare not see the mantle of global leadership on our watch. we dare not permit america to become a meddling nation in the middle of this century. no, we mean for america to lead this century. we mean for america to prosper and grow just as we have done throughout history. it won't happen on its own, but today we're laying the foundation for a bold and thriving future. today by passing this chips and science bill, we are making clear that we believe america's best days are yet to come. i yield the floor and i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the motion to concur with amendment numbered 5135. the yeas and nays were previously ordered. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 64, the nays are 33, and the motion to concur with an amendment is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to accompany s. 3373 which the

clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany s. 3373, an act to improve the iraq and afghanistan service grant and the children of fallen heroes grant. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kelly: mr. president, just a few minutes ago, after a year and a half of work, we have finally, finally passed our plan to boost microchip manufacturing in the united states. microchips go in nearly everything we use. we're in the tv or the cell phone that folks are watching this on. and they're in lifesaving medical devices, and they're in our most advanced weapons systems. the united states invented

microchips, and once we produced 40% of the world's supply. today we only produce about 12%, and we don't produce any of the most advanced microchips. now that leaves us vulnerable to disruptions in the supply chain, like the current microchip shortage that has halted production lines and driven up prices. if you've recently tried to buy a car, a new car, and waited months or paid more than you were expecting, the microchip shortage is a big reason why. so, we've worked on a plan. republicans and democrats with incentives to make sure the world's leading microchip manufacturers grow their operations here in the united states instead of in china or europe.

it also boosts research so that the most advanced chips in the world are invented and produced right here in the united states. that will mean tens of thousands of new jobs in places like arizona, which is already a microchip hub poised to grow as intel and the taiwan semiconductor company expand and build new manufacturing facilities. that is all made possible by this legislation, and it creates jobs not just with those companies, but also with the companies that supply them the tools and packaging for their products. and these are great-paying jobs, and many of them do not require a four-year degree. i visited astraya mountain community college apcouple of

weeks ago where they are training arizonans to enter the semiconductor career track with just a ten-decors followed by a guaranteed job interview. this is an enormous opportunity to reinvent our economy for the future. and this week we're getting it done. this bill has now passed the senate, and i am confident that it will pass the house and be signed into law. and while this process has been long, it has also shown what we can accomplish when we work together, republicans and democrats. senators young, cornyn, warner and i first began working on this at the beginning of last year and we found agreement and we worked to build support from our colleagues. and since then, we've had to overcome more than a few roadblocks. but what matters most is that we got this done, and as a result, our country is going to once

again be a leader in microchip manufacturing, creating tens of thousands of great-paying jobs, strengthening our national security and lowering costs for every day products. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: mr. president, shortly i will ask unanimous consent on the nomination of ate department of homeland security. the department needs quality. qualified and steady leadership to support its 240,000 employees and their critical commission to protect our homeland security and to keep americans strike. the director of science and technology plays a vital role in carrying out these responsibility. conducting groundbreaking research to help us identify you'll have necials in homeland security so we can close existing gaps and increase our capacity to address current and

emerging threats. dr. kusnezov is more than qualified. he led the efforts at the department of energy in artificial intelligence agency. after more than a decade on the yale faculty as a professor of theoretical physics, he became a member of the senior executive service. he served as a senior advisor to the u.s. secretary of energy and chief scientist for the national nuclear security administration. throughout the confirmation process, dr. gov demonstrated that he has -- dr. kusnezov demonstrated that he has the

technical expertise to serve in this role. i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nomination, calendar number 727, dimitri kusnezov, to be the under secretary for science, technology, department of homeland security. that the nomination be confirmed without intervening action or debate. the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table, that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record and the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: is it there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. cramer: mr. president, reserving the right to object. this nominee has been failed by the bureaucracy he attempts to join. i have been working with the state department and the department of homeland security to rectify an egregious

immigration case, a north dakota family, an american family, is being forced to live apart from each other, after one of the parents, a canadian inadvertently overstayed their visa after poor advice during the covid pandemic. this has been going on for the past year. in fact, the canadian citizen, the canadian mother is barred from returning home for ten years. as we speak, the government is looking for more information. the review of this case could have been done a long time ago, but instead they are stringing out request after request, actually forcing my constituent to prove the hardship of being separated and even showing why moving to canada would be a problem.

think of it. their own government is asking them to justify why they can't just move to canada. they are past the point of ex as perration and i -- exasperation and i don't know how we can blame them. it is wrong and unjust, especially when thousands of people are allowed to pour across the southern border. i can share many more frustrating details of their saga, but i will refrain. my holds an d.h.s. nominees will remain until this case is resolved. ielt add, mr. president -- i'll add, mr. president, this will involve others involved in this case, specifically the state department. it is not a decision i make lightly. i would like to state the obvious, it should not take a

united states senate to call the administration and holding up nominees to get the so-called public servants to actually serve the public. get this done, and with that, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. peters: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: i renew my request, i ask unanimous consent that the vote occur at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the republican leader. that there will be ten minutes for debate equally divided on the usual form of nomination that the senate vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. cramer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. cramer: reserving the right to object. i'd be happy to have a vote on in this afternoon, but the decision isn't mine. it's the bureaucrats at d.h.s.,

and i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard.

class washington democrats aredescribing the american economy . in the white house last month quotes, robust economic progress under president biden's leadership.

according to president biden himself, our economy has quotes, unique strengthsthat we can build on . that was quote, providing important breathing room for american families. and it was quote, strong as can be but for inflation. but for gas and food. economy is the strongest it can be except that pesky saying, the worst inflation in more than 40years . you almost have to laugh at that analysis. contrast the democrat how the democrats spend without working americans are describing our economy . from a grocery store manager in tennessee it's just not a good situation. for a grandmother in georgia the food, the gas, the bills, mortgage, everything. it's a lot on a family. overall the majority of americans are concerned their paycheck can't cover the essentials amidst inflation

and a majority disapprove of whatpresident biden is doing about it . clearly something isn't adding up. that it isn't a new feature of washington democrats, one party control of government. in fact missing the mark on economic policy has actually been a hallmark of the biden administration. last spring they misread what it needed after a once in a century pandemic and flooded the engine with trillions of liberal spending. then they missed the warning signs on the runaway inflation. that mistake brought on. now there mounting a panic campaign to redefine the word recession. before the next quarterly gdp comes out tomorrow. so washington democrats seem

to think the real-world effects of their policies, the pain americans are feeling as they try to balance household budgets can just be spun away with talking points. well, i can tell you there are millions of working families who wish it were in fact that simple but who knows full well that isn't. ... now on a different matter yesterday i'm with members of the kentucky narcotics officers association to discuss ongoing substance abuse crisis in michigan.

industry on new types of medications, new

innovations. we allow research and development, tax credits to help pay for that cost. we support other efforts, national institutes of health helps pay for the basic research, hundreds of billions of dollars working with the industry and yet we have the highest prices in the word. the highest prices in the world. and one in four americans can't afford the medications they depend on which is not acceptable. it's just not acceptable. a senior with complex medical needs pays an average of more than $6,000 a year on prescription drugs. and the median price for a new prescription drug is $188,000 a year. that's 90 times the median price for a new drug just back in 2 2008. and that's more than most

americans earn in three years, not just one year but in three years. christina of centerline, michigan, knows this. she was prescribed humira for an autoimmune condition that affects her eyes. unfortunately even though she needs it, she can't afford it. the medication coxs more than $-- medication costs more than $6,000 a month, a month. she wrote this. autoimmune patients struggle with the cost of prescriptions being so high and some just give up, don't even bother. that should never be an option in my opinion, she says. james who lives in manastee suffers from narcolepsy, a newer rog cal condition in which patients can suddenly fall asleep during activity, including eating and driving. i'm sure we've all known someone

or seen someone who has this disease. james first started taking a medication called zyrom in 2015. back then it cost about $9,000 a month. today that same medication costs more than $18,000 a month. $18,000 a month. or $226,221.84 a year. mr. president, who can do that? who can do that? last year james' doctors switched him to a slightly different drug with less sodium produced by the same company jazz pharmaceuticals. the new drug zywave costs even more. $239,000, $239,320 to be

specific per year. james writes, who is profiting from these huge price hikes? will these huge price hikes continue every year? does jazz pharmaceuticals have enough oversight? are they putting profits over people? i think there's an answer to that. it sure seems like that to me, james. there is no fundamental reason for these prices to be going up and up and up. you know, mr. president, when think about insulin which has tripled in price in the last decade or so, this is a drug that was actually discovered a hundred years ago. a hundred years ago by two canadian doctors who developed this patent for lifesaving medicine. and because they felt it was unethical to actually be making a profit off of something that

would help people, they gave it to the university of toronto for the equivalent of $1. that was a hundred years ago. it hasn't substantially changed as a product in a hundred years. -- companies, covered their research and development, costs and so on. and yet in the last number of years the price has tripled, tripled. that's not a sign of price gouge -- if that's not a sign of price gouging, i don't know what is. from 2000 to 2018, big pharmaceutical companies raked in $11.5 trillion in revenue. that's t, trillion dollars. between 2016 and 2020, drug companies spent $577 billion on stock buybacks, not lowering prices but doing more for their

ceo's and doing more for their stockholders. $577 billion on stock buybacks, about ten times as much as they spent on research and development. they also and significantly increased executive compensation while americans struggle to afford lifesaving medications. for the record, the ceo of jazz pharmaceuticals made more than $16 million in total compensation last year. an awful lot of michigan families could live a good life on that one salary. the pharmaceutical and health products industry spent $353 million on lobbying in 2021, nearly double the spending of the second highest industry. in fact, at one point, mr. president, i haven't done this recently, but at one point i looked at the number of

lobbyists per senator, and it was 15 lobbyists in the drug companies for every one senator. so we wonder, what's going on here? and then we see what happens in elections and so on. unfortunately our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who receive a lot of the benefits of the contributions from the pharmaceutical industry then come to the floor and try to block us from doing something on above of people to lower these prices and that's what's going to be happening again next week. so far in 2022, pharmaceutical companies have already raised the price of 1,286 drugs and they raised the price on a hundred drugs just this -- right now, in july. this month. a hundred drugs, prices have gone up just this year. it's appalling. there's no other word for it. and while republican colleagues are fighting to protect these

absurd profits, senate democrats are fighting for people who need their medicine, who need their medicine, in some cases to survive, to live, or to be able to go to work, to be able to do what they need to do to support their children to get what they need. our commonsense plan which we'll be voting on next week to lower drug prices would save $288 billion over the next ten years. first, it would empower medicare to negotiate presc prescriptiong prices beginning with ten of the highest costing drugs starting next year. we negotiate everything else and we know the v.a. that negotiates on behalf of veterans on prescription drug pus pay -- drugs pays about 40% less. common sense tells us that we should be negotiating these prices. but unfortunately, years ago when the prescription drug bill

part d passed in medicare, the drug companies were successful in getting specific language in that says you can't negotiate with them. medicare cannot negotiate. that needs to change and we're going to change that. so it would be ten of the highest cosghest costing drugs r that would expand to 20 drugs in each year after that by 2029. just imagine how much money could be saved if medicare was allowed to negotiate. and it would directly benefit people who are living with conditions, including asthma, a blood clot, copd as well as cancers, as well as a whole range of things, everything you can imagine. secondly, our legislation caps medicare beneficiaries out-of-pocket costs for seniors, people with disabilities on medicare. we will cap the costs, the

out-of-pocket costs to $2,000 a year and allow people to spread that out over the year so that it's easier to make that payment. so instead of $6,000 a month or $9,000 a month or $10,000 a month or whatever, we're talking about a cap of $2,000. you could spread out over the year in out-of-pocket costs for seniors and people with disabilities. never again will a diagnosis like cancer mean $10,000 or more for a single drug to treat it. medicare beneficiaries would also receive free vaccines, including vaccines for shingles that currently cost seniors $190 if they aren't enrolled in medicare part d. it would increase help for low-income seniors giving all qualifying medicare beneficiaries the full low-income subsidy under medicare part d. so we'd help low-income seniors

even more. that would save the afternoon senior about $5,000. that's a lot of money. and it would keep part d premiums and medicare affordable for seniors and people with disabilities ensuring that premiums won't increase because of bad actions by drug companies. and that means not faster than inflation. speaking of bad actions by drug companies, it would penalize them for outrageous price increases if they go behalf inflation, they're going to have to rebate those funds. today drug companies are incentivized to keep costs high by secretly negotiating with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to increase profits at the expense of patients. under our legislation drug companies, not consumers, will be on the hook for drug price hikes that exceed the rate of

inflation. this proposal alone is expected to save medicare $71 billion. for far too long, the drug companies have been taking advantage of people like christina and james. people should not have to go without the medicine they need in this country, in america where we fund through our tax dollars so much of the innovation that creates these drugs. they should not be forced to skip doses or take less than what was prescribed to save money. and they should not have to choose between taking their medicine and keeping the lights on or putting food on the table. christina and james deserve better. americans deserve better. and we're going to fight until that gets done. that's what next week is all about on prescription drugs.

it's time. it's past time. people deserve to be able to afford the medicine that they need. it's time to put people before profits, mr. president, and that's exactly what we're going to do. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mrs. hyde-smith: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mrs. hyde-smith: i ask for unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileges until august 5 -- the presiding officer: the senate is? a quorum call. we're in a quorum call. mrs. hyde-smith: i ask that we rescind the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hyde-smith: i ask that the following interns be granted floor privileges until august 5 of 2022 -- jake tipton, cam ran hall, preston dubly, anna pitman. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hyde-smith: thank you. mr. president, i rise to express deep appreciation for mississippi state health officer dr. thomas dobbs, a friend and leader to all of the frontline health care workers in my state. dr. dobbs joined the mississippi state department of health as the state health officer in

december of 2018. after three and a half years and a global pandemic that none of us saw coming, he will soon step down from his role and return to the clinical side of medicine. mississippi state health officer is responsible for directing public health activities relating to the state's many health challenges which included my state's response to the covid-19 pandemic. dr. dobbs experience and his expertise made him the perfect professional to lead mississippi through this pandemic. with the belief that each person in mississippi was his patient, dr. dobbs worked tirelessly throughout his ten your to care for our -- tenure to care for our nearly three million residents. he was steadfast in informing and advising citizens, policymakers, and health care providers on the best practices to combat the deadly coronavirus.

he never wavered despite evolving challenges and so many tragic covid-19 deaths. he is one of the most respected public health officers, having earned a stellar reputation for his clinical work in the field of infectious diseases. dr. thomas dobbs proved himself to be the leader mississippi needed during a very difficult time. i'm saddened to see dr. dobbs leave the mississippi state department of health, but i am confident he will continue to do great things. there are not enough thanks in the world that could cover all that dr. dobbs has done for mississippi. but i say from the bottom of my heart, thank you, dr. dobbs. your service and sacrifice on behalf of mississippi reflects well on you and your professional. -- and your profession. i'm also grateful for his wife,

dr. tim dobbs, and their two sons for sharing so much of their husband and father during this time. as dr. dobbs departs the state department of health, i look forward to continuing working with him and the new state health officer, dr. dan etny in making mississippi healthier and happier. thank you again so much, dr. dobbs. i yield the floor. ms. ernst: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. ms. ernst: mr. president, the mountain americans have to climb to make ends meet keeps getting steeper and steeper as a result of bidenomics. since president biden began his

reckless tax-and-spending spree, prices are sky high for gas, food, housing, and just about everything else. the administration's own statistics reveal inflation-upped nearly 10% -- jumped nearly 10% in the last year, the biggest increase in over four decades. democrats keep telling us not to worry and that the problem is only temporary, yet every month prices keep climbing and climbing and climbing. the reason is simple -- president biden's fiscal policies are driving costs higher and higher. you may recall i came to the senate floor a year ago to warn my colleagues that bidenomics was causing inflation to spin out of control.

yet democrats have ignored the struggles being inflicted on hardworking americans and continue to pass $1 trillion bill after another. and his reckless spending increased the value of the dollar declined, meaning paychecks aren't going nearly as far as they did just a year ago. to make matters evening worse, the biden administration's ongoing effort to end domestic oil and gas production is fueling the elevated price at the pump, which reached an all-time high of more than $5 per gallon this summer. and an internal analysis by the biden administration's own treasury department forecasts that this fall gas prices could top $6 a gallon. i am already hearing from iowans

and iowa businesses about how folks aren't even able to afford to drive to work. the problem is becoming even more difficult since bidenomics is driving up the sticker prices on cars to record highs. the actual retail price for a new vehicle is $48,000. and if that sounds is like a lot, the cost of buying a home has also reached an all-time high of $416,000. it's no surprise fewer people are buying homes. and then look at rent. it's also hit a record high of nearly $1,900 a month. these unpredictable prices have everyone asking themselves if

the price is right. folks, americans shouldn't have to play guessing games about whether or not their paychecks can be stretched far enough to avoid going over a financial cliff. each bill the democrats have passed as part of the biden agenda has increased costs for work being americans while moving our nation closer and closer to the edge of a fiscal cliff. consider that when joe biden was inaugurated as president in january 2021, the inflation rate was only 1%. after their so-called covid relief bill, which cost $1.9

trillion, was passed in march of last year, the inflation rate moved up to nearly 3%. in july, president biden claimed that quickly increasing -- the quickly increasing prices were temporary and that his big spending plans would result in lower prices for americans. but by the time the president signed his $1 trillion so-called infrastructure bill in november, inflation had climbed to almost 7%. in december, president biden said inflation had reached its

peak. he was wrong once again, and today inflation is more than 9%. this isn't a cliff-hanger, folks. we all know where this is headed. step by step, president biden's reckless tax-and-spend policies are taking us closer and closer to going over the cliff. and yet the democrats are still trying to outbid each other with another $1 trillion budget-busting partisan package that would raise taxes on small businesses and increase prices for everyone. that's right, folks. bidenomics is driving up the cost of everything, and the

democrat solution is to spend even more of your hard-earned money to pay for more of their pricey partisan pet projects. any more and bidenomics will push the economy over the fiscal cliff and into a recession. it's time to take a step back and stop the wasteful washington spending which is the only way to make these prices come on down. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: madam president, i just was able to watch the administration climb the

inflation rate cliff, and i want to talk more about this problem of what happens when the administration ignores the warning signs that are going to produce the kind of results that they have produced. democrats, all by themselves, after five bipartisan bills the year before to try to fight covid and save the economy, decided that a recovering economy needed even more help to recover, and passed a $1.9 trillion spending bill in march of last year. and that money almost immediately went out. we talk about $1.9 trillion. i don't even know quite, madam president, how we can compare that in a way that people can think about it. the normal annual spending for the whole discretionary budget

is $1.47 trillion. so in one bill, in addition to the money that the government would be spending that year in the budget that we vote on, the discretionary budget we vote on, democrats decided we're going to spend that much and more. we're not going to spend just twice the normal discretionary spending. we're going to spend twice the normal discretionary spending plus another 25% or so. we spend every year -- last year we spent $780 trillion to defend the country. that's a third of the money roughly in the $2 trillion american recovery act. we spent less than $700 billion to do everything else that we vote on. all the debates we have here about spending are spending that results in a little less than

$1.5 trillion of spending that are part of the normal budget. so when you double that and then you add to the doubling of that, you put all of that into the economy at one time, you're clearly going to create a situation where you have inflation. that's what democrats in previous administrations, like the clinton secretary of the treasury, people in the obama administration, all said this will create runaway inflation. but if that wasn't enough, we hear that they want to spend even more. but over the next year, after they pass that bill, inflation kept skyrocketing. cracks kept exreerg in the -- cracks kept apappearing in the economy but our colleagues on the other side kept pushing to write the biggest check they possibly could and to write

another one. their latest plan is another massive amount of government spending. this one would be really focused on the affordable care act, sometimes called obamacare. apparently the affordable care act wasn't all that affordable or isn't all that affordable because almost nobody can afford it. if you don't get insurance at work, it's almost unaffordable. the original health care law, the government subsidies for people who didn't make much money so that they could afford to be in what turned out to be an overpriced system, but that law capped how much you could earn and still get a subsidy. the $2 trillion i talked about earlier, the reckless tax-and-spending spree from march of last year got rid of those income limits. apparently the income limits were, no matter how high they were, they weren't high enough so they eliminated the income

limits. now the amount you get from the government would be based on how big a share of your income you were spending on insurance, no matter how big that income was. one study found that a typical family of four making $106,000 would almost immediately and did almost immediately get almost $10,000 in subsidies before -- before that they got zero in subsidies. 400% of the poverty level appeared to be enough in the original bill. that's the system that should provide insurance that people could afford, but apparently it hasn't done that. the insurance on the government exchanges is is expensive in some areas that people making $500,000 or more could qualify for thousands of dollars from the government under this new structure. now this, by the way, is the

structure that the next spending bill is supposed to be trying to make permanent, or at least permanent enough that people will get so used to having it they'll never want to give it back. the bill was called the american rescue plan. its supporters kept telling us it had to be big because there were still people in real need, and the economy was struggling. we now know that while there are always people in need, it's not because the economy is struggling. now people are in need because the economy is spiraling out of control. and whether it's the gas pump or the grocery store, you're having to make decisions you wouldn't have thought you'd have to make. the health insurance subsidies in particular meant to be temporary, at least if you believed the reason that was given when that bill was passed, and would only last until the end of this year. now our friends across the aisle

want to make these temporary subsidies permanent. for purposes of the law itself, they don't want to admit that. they say we want to extend this year for another couple of years. by the way, i think we're clear that when we get to the next deadline, once used these subsidies for one year, as it turns out, let alone two or three more, the whole idea is to get people so committed to getting this money that the government will never back up and take it away. it's just a budget gimmick. everybody knows that, a gimmick to extend the program, to further redistribute taxpayer money to people who are making big incomes, but have decided it's better for the government to pay for their insurance than it is to pay for their insurance themselves. now this doesn't relate to everybody. in fact, the 400% of poverty, which many people thought at the time and still think sounds like an income you ought to be able

to pay your own insurance. if you can't, there must be something wrong with the health care system. in fact, last year my colleague from west virginia, senator manchin, said he had serious problems with another version of this bill because there wasn't a cap. this is his quote -- what i see are shell games, budget gimmicks that make the real cost of the so-called $1.75 trillion bill estimated to be almost twice that much during the full time of the bill. so the congressional budget office looked into this health insurance study plan or subsidy plan. they found that when it actually gets extended, this extension over ten years costs another $250 billion. if we have people who are making more than 400% of poverty -- in fact, if we have people who are unlimited in their income, who somehow need to have government help to buy insurance, we out

to figure out what happened with the insurance marketplace that obamacare created. the cbo, the congressional budget office figure, $36 million of that $250 million would go to people who make more than 400% of poverty, which works out to be about $140,000 for a family of four. they also say that 48% of the new people entering the program would be making more income than that $140,000 level. if you think someone who makes $140,000 is low-income, as maybe our friends on the other side of the aisle do, and deserves a handout from taxpayers to buy their insurance, again i'd say there must be something wrong with the insurance plan. if we've got an affordable health care plan that nobody can

afford, that should be our focus instead of focusing on making other taxpayers pay for the unaffordable health care plan rates that we have. the congressional budget office expects 3.2 million fewer people, by the way, to get their insurance on their job if the subsidies become permanent. why should your employer pay for your insurance if the government will pay for it instead? why would you pay some portion of the cost of your insurance if the government will pay 100% of the cost of your insurance? another 200 thousand people because of this would end up in medicaid and the chips program, the children's health insurance program. this is a plan to get people committed to something that just simply doesn't work. all it does is prove what

president reagan said, which he once said nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program. so we're going to be discussing the next few days about how we want this one-year program to become another two- or three-year program which clearly would become a permanent program. temporary assistance in march of 2021, and the other things in that bill that were spent immediately, that $1.9 trillion bill, fed the fuel to the fire of inflation that we see right now. combine that with terrible energy policies, and american families feel it every single day. we don't need to do more of the same. we need to figure out what we did that created this problem and stop doing it. i'd yield back.

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: madam president, yesterday during a hearing before the senate judiciary committee, i had a chance to share the story of this fallen hero from chicago, illinois. her name is ella french. officer french joined the chicago police department in 2018. a true public servant, she was always eager to help. she loved people, loved her family, and loved animals, particularly stray dogs. she would often pick them up in her squad car and ferry them to safety at the end of the day. last year tragically officer french was shot down during a traffic stop. she was 29 years old. her partner, carlos shanez jr., was seriously wounded, and the gun that was used to shoot both of them had been

straw purchased in indiana, a state adjoining illinois. a straw purchase takes place when someone without a criminal record who can pass a background check buys a gun for someone who cannot. in this case the purchaser was turning the gun over to a convicted felon who used the gun to kill ella and seriously wound her partner. during yesterday's hearing which focused on law enforcement officer safety, we were joined by officer french's mother, elizabeth. she's a wonderful person. i want to take this opportunity to thank elizabeth french for her bravery and her commitment to honoring her daughter's legacy. i want to thank our witnesses including chief angel navalez of the chicago police department, who himself was shot in the line of duty for participating. he participated yesterday in the hearing. every time law enforcement

officers put on the uniforms and badges, they put their lives on the line, especially in a country that is now awash in guns. america, a country of 350 million people and 400 million firearms. in fact, guns are not only the number one cause of death for america's children, they're the leading cause of death for officers in the line of duty, second only to covid. we've made some progress in recent months in reducing the risk of gun violence for police officers and their families, the bipartisan safer communities act included a provision i long supported, cracking down on those straw purchases, like the gun that was used to kill this amazing young woman. we still have a lot of work to do. yesterday i introduced legislation, and i named it in officer french's honor, that would provide funding to

multi-jurisdictional task forces. the ella french act. i can think of no better way to honor the service and sacrifice of our officers to protect our families and children and to demonstrate to america that this senate is serious about stemming the tide of gun violence in our country. now, madam president, i ask consent to speak in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, in the united states of america, nearly all women, 99%, use some for the of contraception in their lifetime to prevent unplanned pregnancy, they use birth control pills, i.u.d.'s,

condemns and other devices. and others use birth control to manage. 99% of mainline protestanting, ee van -- prot protestant, in st women in all stages of life and backgrounds rely on birth control. it is their constitutional right. it's their decision. but this decision is now under attack. over a month ago in dobbs v. jackson women's health organization, the united states supreme court overturned roe v. wade, revoking for the first time ever an established constitutional right, the right

to reproductive health care. and i fear that the court's assault on our fundamental freedoms is just beginning. in his concurrence in the dobbs opinion, justice clarence thomas urged the supreme court, and i quote, to reconsider all of this court's substantive due process precedence, including griswald, laurence and ow oberfeld. that is an explicit threat by justice thomas about the right to same-sex marriage and the right to contraception, which has been protected by the court's decision in griswald v. connecticut for 55 years. in that case, griswald, a

supermajority of seven supreme court justices ruled that married couples have a right to access contraception. they enacted what you will not find in the constitution, privacy. now we live in an america where women are no longer guaranteed the right to privacy and where their very right to contraception is in doubt and jeopardy. this is not some alarmest rant. at this moment, women are being denied their right to contraception. how can that possibly be in this country. well, look no farther than your local pharmacy. this past weekend "u.s.a. today" reported on the story of abigl

martin. she went to a walgreens pharmacy. she was turned away by a pharmacist at walgreens. it took four days before she was finally able to access her medication by going to a different pharmacist. that is a dangerous delay in health care. apparently walgreens allows its pharmacist to refuse a prescription if they have a religious or moral conviction and refer the customer to another employee or manager on duty who can complete the transaction. since abigale's story went viral, others have come forward to say that cashiers refused to ring up their condoms because it did not go with the cash register's faith.

they are not to interfere of the needs of a patient standing at a cash register by a legal medication. which is why this week i sent a letter to walgreens, an illinois corporation, for an explanation of their policy. if walgreens is going to allow their individual employees to dictate what legal medical products their customers can purchase, then they need to make this policy known to the public. they should be required to display signs at their cash registers alerting customers and the public that they may not be able to fill their prescriptions or buy health care products in a timely manner. given this information, customers may decide to take their business elsewhere to a pharmacy that does not allow individual staff members to restrict or interfere with a customer's legal purchasing decisions. a woman's right to essential health care should not differ on

which pharmacy she chooses, who fills her prescription or who rings it up. her right to her personal decision in life is fundamental -- fundamental. that's why congress must past the right to contraception act, introduced by senators markey and murray. this is a commonsense proposal. and i cosponsored. it would codify the right to contraception in america nationwide, the right that has been undisputed for 55 years. we need this legislation because now women in america are living with the consequences of six unelected judges erasing the constitutional right to reproductive health care, and the pharmacies like walgreens are allowing their employees to dictate what health care products their consumers are able to purchase. walgreens says they want to be respectful of the moral judgment of their employees and staff. should they not only be

respectful of their customers? politicians and pharmacists have no business standing between a woman and health care. if protecting this right sounds like common sense to you, then join us in supporting the right to contraception act. if the supreme court will not respect this fundamental, personal right, you have a right to demand that your member of congress will. madam president, i ask that my next statement be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president across america tens of thousands of cars are lined up bumper to bumper at a total stand still. this is not an ordinary traffic jam. these cars are brand-new. they are assembled by some of the finest manufacturers in the country. they are missing something, a key essential component, microchips, if you're in the market for a new car,

refrigerator or smartphone, there's a good chance you felt the microchip shortage. they power nearly everything around us. but with the coronavirus pandemic, supply chains have been snarled which has led to a shortage of microchips. this has had a devastating impact on consumers, businesses and workers. over the past two years the price of a car has skyrocketed by 20%, 40% for new cars many we have seen this shortage in my home state of illinois which is one of the leaders in the auto industry. companies like s sta lant us has been forced to shut down several times this year because of the shortage. today the senate did something remarkable. we passed a bill, a bipartisan

bill. we came to the rescue of job creators. we are voting to invest billions of dollars to make microchips here in america. this bill is critical to the future of our economy. it's even critical for our national security and we need it desperately for more scientific breakthroughs, but in the near term, the chips act is imperative in shoring up our supply chain and our defense. it is essential for not just smartphones but for guided missile systems and fighter jets. right now america has to rely on foreign suppliers, like china, to supply us with microchips. in 1990, america produced almost 40% of the word's supply of microchips. today make that 12%.

somewhere along the way we settled on outsourcing semiconductor production to asia. that is not sustainable. imagine our turning to the chinese communist party to determine whether or not we can buy the microchips that fuel our economy and protect our nation. that's a dangerous scenario. i heard a few colleagues voice concern about the subsidies in this bill. but let's be clear, this is no reckless corporate giveaway. the chips bill will bring good jobs to our country. there are countries investing billions of dollars in luring chipmakers away from us. the chips act will incentivize the biggest names in manufacturing to make it in america.

beyond this economic and national security imperative, the chips act is important for another reason, one that really strikes at the heart of america. pioneering innovation. the chips act includes historic funding authorization for groundbreaking scientific research at the national science foundation and the department of science. this is an important issue to me personally as a member of the senate for years. it was seven or eight years ago when i decided to try to push for increasing medical research funds at the federal level. i concentrated on the national institutes of health, and senator roy blunt, of missouri, who was on the floor before me, joined me in a bipartisan effort, along with patty murray in order to make this bipartisan and effective. it worked. we dramatically increased the investment in n.i.h. but i knew that wasn't enough. we needed the department

energy's office of science as well as the national science foundation to have this same increase in funding. today, with the passage of the chips and science bill, we're finally moving in that direction. we know how important scientific research is. we learned it over and over. for instance fighting that vaccine for covid-19 in record breaking time was a result in investing in science and medical research years and years before. we also know that we've launched some things which are going to change the world. the james webb space telescope is one of those things. the deepest and sharpest photos of our universe are finally coming home to the united states and the rest of the world. what is nasa doing with this trove of data collected by this telescoap now? -- telescope, since nasa is funded by -- jacob bean said that he is going to use it to

learn about x-0 planets and the possibility of hosting a life. this has unleashed a flood of new ideas and just countless questions for researchers around the world. it shows how funding in scientific research can really change the place we live in. when we support scientists and researchers, we are paving the way for new discoveries, nasa had so much to do with developing athletic shoes, cat scans, smartphone cameras, these staples of american life were unintended discoveries pioneered in the nasa labs. we can kick start a new generation of discovery with the chips act. in illinois, in the chicagoland area, we have two of the best

research facilities in our country. they will break new ground in researching emerging technology like a.i. and quantum computing, they have partnered together with the university of chicago to launch the most advanced quantum network in the world. they plan to expand it to other parts of the world bringing more research into this cutting edge research and technology. much like space exploration 50 years ago, quantum computing is the new fro frontier in science. we've only begun to explore techniques like teleporting cubics that has profound implications. quantum computing can redesign how we use solar technology to maximize efficiency. these are the possibilities that lie before us. the passage of the chips and science act today on the floor of the united states senate is a vindication of our commitment to

this nation's future and an investment that generations will thank us for. madam president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> we are waiting here for a senator to come to the floor to speak >> for the last century, the whole last century, america's prosperity was anchored on our country's unmatched commitment to science research, technological growth, innovation, advanced manufacturing. the question before the senate then is simple: will that prosperity live on in the century to come? are we on the brink of another generation of american

ingenuity, of american discovery, of american leadership? by passing our chips and science bill today, the senate says, yes, we are. and in a loud, bipartisan voice. today, by approving one of largest investments in science, technology and manufacturing in decades -- in decades -- we say that america's best years are yet to come. this is a very good day for the american people and for american innovation. the legislation is going to create good paying jobs. it'll alleviate supply chains, help lower costs and protect america's national security interests. i am confident that future generations will look back on the passage of this bill as a turning point for american leadership in the 21st century. if i admit that some of the policies -- not all, but some -- are esoteric. but they are vital. all too often were told

government and business think short term. this is one of the most significant pieces of long-term i text and thinking legislation that we have seen in this body in a very long time. i believe that our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren will work in jobs we cannot yet imagine because of the investments we're making here today. like the infrastructure, investment and jobs act and the recent gun safety law, the chips and science bill is one of the a major bipartisan achievements of this congress. but reaching this point was anything but easy. on the contrary, the legislation has been several years in the making, and it took a lot of twists and turns before reaching finish line. it brought together industry, labor, universities, governors, mayors from both parties and from every region. and i thank my colleagues and their staff for pushing it over the line. in 2019 ai -- ai -- i approached

my republican colleague, young. we had talked in the gym, and i said let's work together on legislation to to revive america's commitment to science and innovation. together we drafted the first version of the endless frontier act, a bill whose policies shaped today's legislation. a year later we joined with senators cornyn and warner to begin addressing our nation's chip crisis by pushing for an authorization of new federal chips as an incentive as part of the ndaa. and senator kelly of arizona has been a major advocate for getting these chip programs done. so even before this congress began, members on both with sides knew that we had to work together if we were to keep america competitive in the 21st century. we also knew that if we didn't get there first, our rivals -- chief among them, the chinese communist party -- would likely beat us to the punch and reshape the world in their authoritarian image. ig