Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) voted to pass the America COMPETES Act, comprehensive and strategic legislation that will super-charge America’s competitiveness and position our nation to compete – and win – on the world stage. The package, which passed the House today by a vote of 222 to 210, fixes our supply chains by strengthening U.S. manufacturing, makes bold investments in American scientific research, technology, and innovation, and bolsters America’s leadership and competitiveness across the globe. Rep. Sewell’s Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 was included in this bill which would modernize U.S. trade laws and protect American jobs by combating China’s anti-free market practices.

“Ensuring that America can compete and WIN on the world stage is critically important,” said Rep. Sewell. “The America COMPETES Act will do just that, super-charging American competitiveness with bold investments in research, innovation, and American manufacturing.”

“I'm so proud that my bipartisan Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 was included in this bill, which will modernize our outdated trade laws and push back against China’s most egregious anti-free market practices,” continued Sewell. “This bill is about standing up to China and protecting good-paying American jobs, and I thank my Republican colleague Rep. Bill Johnson for co-leading this transformative legislation with me.”

Rep. Sewell’s Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0, which she introduced in December 2021, would strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws to protect American workers and combat China’s unfair, anti-free market trade practices that distort the global market. The Level the Playing Field Act 2.0 enjoys strong support from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the United Steelworkers, and steel manufacturers in Alabama.

The America COMPETES Act will super-charge American innovation and competitiveness by:

• Making bold investments in semiconductor chips: with $52 billion to support U.S. production of semiconductors — a key component in consumer electronics, cars, defense systems and other key products — address supply chain disruptions that push up costs for families, bring back chips production to America and ensure that the U.S. leads the way on semiconductor fabrication.
• Strengthening supply chains and manufacturing at home: with $45 billion to support the manufacture and acquisition of critical goods or industrial equipment that are essential for national security and economic vitality – including public health and biological preparedness, information and communications technology, the energy and transportation sector’s industrial base, and agricultural commodities and food product supply chains.  COMPETES reduces our reliance on critical goods from countries of concern and encourages the relocation of manufacturing facilities out of these countries.
• Advancing American scientific research and innovation excellence: ensure that we lead the technologies of the future with a suite of bipartisan science, research and technology bills to turbocharge American innovation, focused squarely on producing solutions and results. COMPETES also maximizes the American talent pool by strengthening and diversifying our nation’s STEM workforce.
• Promoting U.S. global leadership: positioning the interests and values of the United States, not China, to win on the world stage, including with strong action to hold the PRC accountable for its trade abuses, which hurt U.S. workers, and for its human rights violations, including the genocide against the Uyghurs.