After months of negotiations, the top Democrat in the Senate restored critical investments in manufacturing and technology that were at risk of being dropped after a broad bipartisan bill gained traction on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, the Senate voted to proceed with the most politically powerful and commercially urgent part of the measure: legislation that would shower companies that build semiconductors in the United States with more than $52 billion in subsidies and tax credits.
A 64-34 vote indicated widespread support for comprehensive industrial policy legislation to counter China’s technological and manufacturing dominance. Attempts to agree on the sprawling bill had sputtered in recent weeks.
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and majority leader, restored to the legislation a host of critical research and development measures after 16 Republican senators voted for it. Mr. Schumer said he would add the provisions only if the bill drew 60 votes, indicating it could survive a filibuster and pass.
The Senate is poised to approve a broader package that would authorize roughly $250 billion for research and development. This proposal aims to reinvigorate communities hollowed out by corporate offshoring by concentrating investments in once-booming industrial hubs authored by a Midwesterner and a New Yorker.
Schumer said that all of this would help America lead the way in developing tomorrow’s technologies. Investing in science creates millions of new good-paying jobs and ensures that America will be the leader in these cutting-edge issues that will dominate the 21st century.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that the House could take up the bill as soon as next week, hailing it as “a major victory for American families.” The Senate could pass the legislation as soon as this week.
