Senator points to the strength of Washington State’s innovation ecosystem: “If America is going to compete with China, we need that innovation to be across the United States.” 

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosts Sens. Cantwell & Young, leaders of Chips and Science Act

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and lead negotiator of the Chips and Science Act, said that sustained federal investment in scientific research, advanced manufacturing and Washington State-inspired regional innovation ecosystems are essential to ensuring long-term U.S. global technological leadership and economic security.

During a conversation Tuesday alongside Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Sen. Cantwell pointed to Washington’s strong innovation ecosystem—grounded in scientific research and fueled by its major technology companies, aerospace industry and research institutions—that is driving long-term economic growth.

“The point is, we need the Washington State ecosystem,” Sen. Cantwell said. “If America is going to compete with China, we need that innovation to be across the United States. We need to build the basis by which those innovative instruments and the structure of them exist in various places. This is why the tech hub idea in the CHIPS and Science Act became so popular with our colleagues and so popular overall.”

Sen. Cantwell also emphasized how the Trump Administration’s devaluation of science and tariff policies undermine our long-term competitiveness at a time when investment is critical and as our adversaries are taking U.S. research and technology and implementing it. 

“What do we need to do to be smarter? One thing we don't need to do is to cut the scientific research budget in the United States,” Sen. Cantwell said.  “The fact that the Trump administration, and DOGE and [White House Budget Director] Vought all wanted to cut that—and now we're back to flat funding, at least with our portfolio in the NSF and NIST—all of that is a big challenge.”

“And obviously, I don't agree on the tariffs,” she added. “The tariffs are really having an effect. Research takes years and years and years. So, if you create an exodus of researchers from the United States…it's a big mistake. Let's get those things right.”

Cantwell praised emerging efforts to accelerate scientific discovery through artificial intelligence, including AI-driven research platforms at the national laboratories, and called for broader application of these tools—particularly in healthcare and biomedical research—to deliver breakthroughs faster.

On international competition against China, Sen. Cantwell reiterated her long-standing call for a coordinated alliance among democratic technology leaders—a “tech NATO”—to establish shared rules for the Information Age.

“I definitely think we need to use our might to counter China, and the best way to do that is to create an alliance with other smart technology countries,” the Senator said.  “If you just took us, and Japan, and Europe and India and basically a few others and said, ‘Okay, we're going to say these are the rules of the road for technology: You can't have a government back door. You have to respect these IP rights. You have to do this.’ And the world should only buy from countries who meet these standards.”

A full transcript of the Senator’s remarks can be found HERE. 

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