Rep. Lee Joins Speaker Pelosi at America COMPETES Act Press Event
OAKLAND, CA – Representative Barbara Lee (CA-13) joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Representative Doris Matsui, and Bay Area education, research and private sector leaders on Friday to highlight the House-passed America COMPETES Act, a strong bipartisan package to fix our supply chains, start making more critical products here in America, turbocharge American scientific and technological leadership and strengthen our global competitiveness.
The California delegation members also toured Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, where researchers worked to better understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus and develop vaccines and therapies for COVID-19, including the antibody treatment sotrovimab, and met with Berkeley Lab students.
“We’re here to highlight the America COMPETES Act. This landmark bipartisan legislation will fix our supply chains, increase domestic manufacturing, and strengthen our global competitiveness in the science and tech sectors,” said Rep. Lee. “The work being done in the Berkeley Lab is a great example of federal investment in scientific innovation. For nearly a century, Berkeley lab has maintained its status as a major international center for research, with the mission of solving the most pressing scientific problems facing humanity. The lab remains a national leader in developing the scientists and researchers of the next generation and it is with great pride that the Berkeley Lab is located in California’s 13th district, the most enlightened district in the country!
The Congresswoman continued, “The COMPETES Act makes critical investments in our technological leadership. As we’ve seen, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare some deep weaknesses in a supply chain increasingly reliant on foreign manufacturing. The COMPETES Act invests billions in semiconductor fabrication, supply-chain improvements, strengthening domestic manufacturing, and building more critical components here in the United States, which we know will positively impact our local economies. And finally, this bill invests in increasing the diversity of the scientists, researchers and technologists who drive the innovation economy. It includes provisions that support increasing diverse participation in STEM from pre-k to higher education and conducting research to study the barriers of entry for people of color in the field. This is so important, because it is crucial that the innovators of tomorrow represent our communities today. The work Berkeley Lab is doing each day will positively impact our future, and it gives me great pride that it’s in my district. Once again, the East Bay is leading the way.”
A livestream of the Congresswoman’s remarks can be viewed here.
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Majority Leader’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the House Democratic Leadership, she is the highest ranking Black woman in the U.S. Congress.