Lucas: COMPETES Act A Failure of Bipartisanship

Feb 12, 2022
Press
Cheyenne, OK- Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) released the following statement criticizing the America COMPETES Act passed today by the U.S. House:

“At every turn this was a failure of bipartisanship and a failure of policymaking,” Lucas said. “I’m deeply frustrated that instead of taking action on the Science Committee’s bipartisan legislation, Speaker Pelosi chose to create a massive bill filled with controversial provisions that she knew could not garner support from both sides of the aisle. Democratic leadership ignored two years’ worth of good faith negotiations so they could move yet another unpopular, one-sided bill that allows them to expand their big government and big spending agenda. We could have passed a targeted, strategic competitiveness bill with broad support from Republicans and Democrats alike. The decision to make this partisan reflects Democratic leadership’s skewed priorities: partisan messaging over policymaking. I worry about what this means for future bipartisan collaboration within the House. I hope that when we move to conference this legislation with the Senate, we can work to remove extraneous, partisan provisions and focus on the necessary legislation to ensure American competitiveness with China.”

The nearly 3,000-page COMPETES Act passed on a nearly party-line basis with little Republican support. 

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