The Senate will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. to continue working through legislative items it hopes to accomplish before adjourning next Friday, August 5th until September 6th.
The Senate will take up a procedural vote this evening that will determine the future of the bill that would pump $52 billion into the domestic semiconductor industry. The bill combines the $52 billion in subsidy funding to boost semiconductor production in the U.S., along with about $24 billion in advanced manufacturing tax credits that would also support the industry. The package also would authorize about $200 billion in spending, mainly for federally backed scientific research over the next decade. It would fund about $1.5 billion for next-generation wireless research and establish new long-term policies for the nation’s space program. Congress wants to boost U.S. competitiveness and reduce reliance on China for manufacturing key components of cars, appliances, and the national security apparatus. The Chips Plus legislation needs to clear the 60-vote cloture threshold before the chamber can move on to a final vote later this week. The measure got 64 votes to advance it forward last week, but that was before what’s actually in the bill was finalized. If it wins the 60 votes needed to clear that bar, it will move on to a final vote by Tuesday or Wednesday. Debate would then move to the House where its prospects are less clear. Some Democrats and Republicans say prosperous tech companies don’t need taxpayer subsidies, with some Republicans also skeptical about passing a bill assembled mainly by Senate Democrats. House leaders are optimistic they will be able to piece together their own bipartisan coalition to give final approval to the legislation and send it to President Joe Biden before the August congressional recess. Both the House and Senate previously approved larger pieces of legislation aimed at making the U.S. more competitive with China, but the bills — referred to in the House as “America COMPETES” and in the Senate as “USICA” — have since stalled amid conference negotiations between the chambers.
This week, the Senate may take up the Respect for Marriage Act, which would protect same-sex marriage at the federal level which the House passed in a 267-157 vote last week, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in backing the measure. It would also repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The legislation would address a national patchwork of marriage laws by requiring states to legally recognize same-sex and interracial marriages if those marriages are valid in the states in which they were performed. The legislation needs 60 votes to pass meaning ten Republicans would need to support it.
The Senate could also move on a resolution expressing support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which the House approved in a bipartisan 394-18 vote last week. The measure, which has bipartisan sponsorship, expresses support for Finland and Sweden’s “historic decision” to apply to NATO and calls on member states to formally support them joining the military alliance. It also opposes any efforts by the Russian Federation to adversely respond to Finland and Sweden’s decision to join the alliance and urges NATO members to satisfy the two percent defense spending pledge that countries signed on to at the 2014 Wales Summit. That declaration said that NATO allies currently spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense would try to continue to do so.
The House will reconvene for votes at 6:30 P.M. tomorrow and is expected to adjourn for August recess this Friday, July 29th, returning Tuesday, September 13th.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
