House Begins Consideration of the America COMPETES Act; Asian American and Pacific Islander Summit

House Begins Consideration of the America COMPETES Act
On Thursday, the House began consideration of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, a bill that will reaffirm America’s leadership in science and in industry. By doubling the funding for scientific research over the next 10 years, this bill will spur innovation, modernize manufacturing, and create jobs. This bill will help develop the next generation of American entrepreneurs by improving and expanding science, math, technology, and engineering education at all levels.

Science and technological innovation have formed the backbone of our progress as a people and our prosperity as a nation. This bill will keep America competitive by funding high risk/high reward research in cutting edge fields that will power the next century such as clean energy and innovative technology loan guarantees for small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses.

This bill comes down to good-paying jobs for Americans, strong American leadership in the global economy, and long-term growth for America’s workers and families. The COMPETES Act will create new industries to provide good jobs for our workers, expand markets for American products, allow the U.S. to reassert its leadership throughout the world, and give future generations a better chance to realize the American Dream. With this legislation, we are reaffirming our commitment to keeping America first.

The House is expected to complete debate on the legislation next week.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Summit
During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we have the opportunity to celebrate the beauty of a growing, thriving, dynamic Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population in the United States. Overcoming decades of prejudice and discrimination, those from Asia and the Pacific Islands have become essential threads in the fabric of American society. In San Francisco, which is blessed with a large and vibrant AAPI population, we have seen firsthand the extraordinary contributions made by the AAPI community to our culture, economy, and history.

Congresswoman Pelosi celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the AAPI Summit in Washington, D.C

On Wednesday, I attended the annual AAPI Summit in Washington, D.C. The summit provided an opportunity for leaders of the community and Members of Congress to discuss challenges and find solutions to problems that affect the nation’s AAPI population. In this Congress, our number one priority remains creating good-paying jobs for every American. And for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, fulfilling that promise means focusing on small businesses. To empower the 1.1 million AAPI-owned businesses in the U.S. and ensure their stability and growth, the House has passed several jobs bills, including the Recovery Act and the HIRE Act.

Few achievements will benefit AAPI families and businesses more than comprehensive health insurance reform. Without reform, more than 17 percent of Asian Americans would continue to go without health coverage, and more than half would delay or forgo routine care due to high costs. With reform in place, all communities will see a difference: improving access to affordable care; helping end health disparities; keeping families healthy; giving small businesses a tax credit up to 35 percent of premiums this year; and ensuring the success of the fight for a country free of such public health concerns as Hepatitis B, which affects the AAPI community at a higher rate than other groups.

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