Foster Priorities Signed into Law as part of CHIPS and Science Act

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) released the following statement after President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law:

“The CHIPS and Science Act is a historic triumph for American science and technological competitiveness, and I’m proud of the bipartisan work we did in Congress to get it to President Biden’s desk,” Foster said. “This law will boost domestic supply chains to lower costs for families and make critical investments to ensure our country leads the way in technological development for generations to come.

“I’m especially proud that three of my amendments were included in the final version of this legislation and will play an instrumental role in delivering resources to America’s National Labs, bolstering our nation’s research and development capabilities in nuclear science and biotechnology, and moving the U.S. forward on digital identity technology.

"This is an important milestone, but it is just the starting point. It is now crucial that appropriations committees in the Senate and House follow through on this historic commitment, and provide the promised funding necessary to restore U.S. scientific leadership."

The Foster amendments included are:

Restore and Modernize Our National Laboratories Act:

This amendment calls for significant investments in infrastructure projects at the National Laboratories. The final version of the legislation included $14.7 billion dollars in infrastructure funding for the National Laboratories, including $10.7 billion of investment in the Office of Science Laboratories.

Strengthening Digital Identity Act:

This legislation directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)  to create robust standards and guidance for the implementation of digital identification, a long-overdue and necessary tool for the United States economy to transition into the digital age while preventing fraud, ensuring privacy, and improving equity. This will help ensure that NIST is ahead of the curve in establishing standards and guidance for a safe, secure, digital identification.

National Nuclear University Research Infrastructure Reinvestment Act:

This legislation amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to improve collaboration between relevant nuclear energy university stakeholders and to maintain and upgrade existing university research reactor infrastructure. As we look for carbon-free energy sources to help combat climate change, nuclear energy stands out as an established technology that can and does provide consistent, clean energy to our nation. Research reactors, like the ones supported in this legislation, offer an opportunity for demonstration projects or experiments testing new reactor technologies. This legislation also provides support for programs converting research reactors from high-enrichment, weapons-grade fuels, to the low-enrichment fuels used by the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors.

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