Cantwell: With New Federal Funding, Community Colleges Can Be “Backbone” of STEM Education

On Friday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, visited Yakima Valley College (YVC) for a roundtable discussion about STEM education opportunities. Sen. Cantwell and YVC faculty and students discussed the hands-on STEM education opportunities available at YVC, as well as new federal funding for programs aimed at Hispanic and first-generation college students unlocked by the recently-passed CHIPS & Science Act. The roundtable was followed by a tour of YVC’s STEM education facilities, including an on-campus lab where students are growing bacteria as part as an ongoing study into antibiotics.

Cantwell Says CHIPS and Science Act Key to Advancing U.S. Computing Technologies & Building the Workforce to Drive it

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, underscored the need to fully fund the CHIPS and Science Act STEM education programs and build a competitive, highly-skilled workforce – the workforce needed for American leadership in key areas like artificial intelligence, quantum science, distributed ledger technologies and the semiconductors that power the computer industry.

$20 Billion Intel Semiconductor Plant to Break Ground After Passage of Cantwell-led Bill

Today, President Joe Biden traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to celebrate the groundbreaking of Intel’s new semiconductor manufacturing plant. The company’s expansion marks the first major investment in domestic microchip manufacturing directly linked to the passage of the CHIPS & Science Act, championed by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and signed into law on Aug. 9.

Cantwell Statement on President Biden’s Signing of CHIPS and Science Act Into Law During White House Ceremony

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, attended today’s signing by President Biden of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 at a White House ceremony. Sen. Cantwell was a lead architect of the law and successfully rallied a last-minute bipartisan push to secure the inclusion of historic investments in scientific research and development.

Cantwell, Key Architect of CHIPS Package: “A great day for what might seem to many Americans as a very kind of ‘what does science and R&D really mean for me?’ Well, in reality, investment today means jobs for tomorrow.”

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Chair of the bipartisan Conference Committee on innovation and competition legislation, applauded overwhelming Senate passage today of a nearly $250 billion package of historic federal investments in American science and technology research, innovation and manufacturing. Sen. Cantwell was a key architect of the bill’s provisions and helped rally a last-minute bipartisan push for keeping investments in science in the legislation. The Act passed the Senate by a 64-33 vote.

Commerce Committee Approves Legislation to Strengthen Wildfire Response, Advance R&D, Combat Human Rights Abuses, Support Advanced Aviation

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced several bills today, including Senator Cantwell’s Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act that would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to monitor and prevent any fraud or manipulation that may be artificially inflating gas pump prices. All are subject to approval by the full Senate.