Ben Ritz, Director of the Center for Funding America’s Future project at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released the following statement:
“Earlier this week, PPI encouraged Congressional Democrats to give high priority to passing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and a reconciliation bill that includes significant deficit reduction and clean energy provisions. Unfortunately, media accounts suggest that both initiatives are shrinking.
“We shared Sen. Manchin’s concerns about the original reconciliation bill’s overreaching and likely impact on inflation. But walking away from a bill with roughly half a trillion dollars of deficit reduction and significant investments in increasing energy supply would squander the best chance Congress has to help the Federal Reserve rein in rising prices. We hope he and Sen. Schumer will not give up on negotiating a compromise on these components of a reconciliation bill.
“Pro-growth Democrats who want to see the United States outcompete China also should be concerned about reports of a plan to vote next week on a bill that only includes funding for semiconductor subsidies. Losing government R&D funds and other key provisions in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) would be an enormous setback for America’s innovation and scientific prowess.
“We understand that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s blindly partisan decision to withhold Republican support from a conferenced innovation bill complicates its path to passage. But retreating to a CHIPS-only approach would unnecessarily doom many higher priority pro-innovation policies. Instead, we urge Speaker Pelosi to put the full Senate-passed USICA on the floor for a vote in the House to circumvent McConnell’s obstructionism.
“Democrats must not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Aaron White – awhite@ppionline.org
