WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, led a legislative hearing titled American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership.
"With the rise of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies across industries and households, we must ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of innovation. Leadership in these fields will determine not only our economic competitiveness, but also our ability to safeguard our national security and maintain our strategic advantage over our adversaries," said Chairman Bilirakis. "These are issues that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree on."
Watch the full hearing here.
Below are key excerpts from today's hearing:
Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13): "The United States leads on the world stage when it comes to technology. We have cemented our status among top nations in technological advancement and have achieved a level of global competitiveness that will allow us to secure our leadership in this critical space for decades to come. As we approach this 250 [year] landmark, we must continue to evaluate ways to foster innovation and enhance the opportunities that we have been able to explore. We cannot grow complacent. We must keep innovating. We must keep building, and we must keep competing."
Congressman Gabe Evans (CO-08): "Unfortunately, China is dominating in this Open-Source AI race, and we know that they will leverage their position to rob American intellectual property, replicate that technology at a lower cost, and replace America's share in the global market through heavily subsidized products. And they also have laws on the books to require mandatory backdoors for the PRC and the PLA to be able to manipulate this technology. How did the Chinese get ahead?" Mr. Chilson: "The Chinese got ahead in the open-source space, in part, because they had no alternative. They cannot keep up with the frontier models that we build. They have not been able to figure out how to do that yet, and we make the most amazing, closed models."
Congressman Craig Goldman (TX-12): "Mr. Isler, the Bedrock Act and Biosecurity Modernization Act both direct the Commerce Department to assess supply chain vulnerabilities and commercialization barriers in biomanufacturing. From a scientific standpoint, how serious are those vulnerabilities today, and what role should the federal government play in accelerating the domestic commercialization of biomanufactured products without stifling private innovation?" Dr. Isler: "It is our responsibility in a rapidly changing biosecurity and biotechnology landscape to both promote innovation and protect American citizens as we do. The BMI and Bedrock Act are good examples of the balance between the two. These are two sides of the same coin."