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Hudson Bill to Advance American Manufacturing Passes House

September 29, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bill to advance American manufacturing written by U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives today. Rep. Hudson's Advancing IOT Manufacturing Actwas passed as part of H.R. 8132, the American Competitiveness on More Productive Emerging Tech Economy (COMPETE) Act, a package of bills aiming to ensure U.S. leadership in emerging technologies.
"Threats from the coronavirus have made advancing American manufacturing and protecting our supply chains more critical than ever before, especially for emerging technologies and internet-connected devices," said Rep. Hudson. "This crisis has shown the dangers of being too heavily reliant on countries like China for industries including manufacturing and health care. I thank my colleagues for advancing this legislation and will continue to work on common-sense solutions to rebuild our economy."
Rep. Hudson's bill requires the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study on manufacturing in the United States, examining industries that are reliant on manufacturing and reviewing how internet-connected devices, also referred to as Internet of Things (IOT) devices, and internet solutions can impact the manufacturing process. This review will also study both challenges and opportunities created by widespread adoption of internet-connected devices.
To protect supply chains, this bill also examines existing supply chains and assesses the severity of risks involved, including the ability of foreign governments like China or third parties to exploit supply chains in a way that jeopardizes economic and national security.
The overall bipartisan COMPETE Act was introduced by Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL). In addition to Rep. Hudson's legislation, the COMPETE Act included provisions from Rep. Bob Latta (OH-05), Rep. Michael Burgess (TX-26), Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Rep. Larry Bucshon (IN-08) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY-02).
After the bill passed the House, Rep. Rodgers and Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) released the following statement.
"The U.S. must lead in the development and deployment of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, Internet of Things, and more to grow our economy, strengthen our national security, and advance U.S. leadership against bad actors like China. The bipartisan American COMPETE Act is an important step forward to helping us do just that," said Walden and Rodgers. "We thank our E&C Republican colleagues for provisions they authored in this bill, and our House colleagues for coming together in a bipartisan way today to ensure America leads in these technologies that define our future. We urge our colleagues in the Senate to take swift action on this important bill."
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