Bipartisan Bill Aims to Drive U.S. Economic Opportunity

WASHINGTON (11 June 2021) – IEEE-USA commends the Senate for passing the 2021 Endless Frontier Act this week. This ambitious bill, now officially called the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), is designed to increase the impact of federally-funded research on American society. We congratulate Senators Chuck Schumer and Todd Young for their vision and leadership, passing this bill with strong bipartisan support.

The USICA includes three key reforms that will increase the return on federal R&D investments:

  • Focus on high-impact fields: This bill devotes significant new spending to the most impactful fields of research. While the U.S. needs to invest in all fields of research, some research has more promise to increase economic growth, save lives, and create jobs than others. Research in AI, high-performance computing, and robotics will create thousands of new, high-paying jobs and improve the quality of life for all Americans.
  • Technology transfer: The EFA also invests substantial new money in programs designed to move great ideas out of the nation’s labs and into American society. This has, traditionally, been the weakest link in America’s innovation ecosystem. The Senate was right to prioritize investments in new and improved tech transfer infrastructure.
  • Deepening and broadening the benefits of innovation: The bill contains several provisions to incentivize the spread of innovative companies and people to all parts of the country. It also invests in workforce training at all levels, including community colleges and alternative training programs, to ensure that all Americans have a chance to work in the STEM fields.

“The Endless Frontier Act makes crucial improvements to America’s innovation pipeline,” said Katherine J. Duncan, 2021 President, IEEE-USA. “These changes will ensure that the American economy remains at the cutting edge of technological progress, and that all Americans can fully benefit from that progress.”

The full text of the Endless Frontier Act can be found here.

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 Contact:

Corey Ruth
Media Relations Associate, IEEE-USA
202-530-8327
c.ruth@ieee.org

Russell Harrison
Director of Government Relations, IEEE-USA
202-530-8326
r.t.harrison@ieee.org