Jackie Speier: “I thank the chairwoman for the bold legislation and for her legacy of service. Members, we cannot rest, we cannot be…”

“I thank the chairwoman for the bold legislation and for her legacy of service. Members, we cannot rest, we cannot be asleep at the switch. The countries that innovate and commercialize new technologies the fastest will be able to set the political, military, and economic agenda for the 21st century. We must prevail. The global microchip shortage is only a symptom of a broader challenge, which is that the United States' share of global semiconductor production has fallen from 37 percent to just 12 percent over the last 30 years. President Putin recently said the country that becomes the leader in AI will reign the world. Think about that. It is all about artificial intelligence. In the field of AI, China now surpasses the United States in the global share of research papers and consistently files more AI patents than any other country. The America COMPETES Act will reset our focus. We need to invest in research; we need to invest in application; and we need to invest in talent. The decline in American technology, innovation, and competitiveness is a national security challenge. We must avoid it.”