The Competition and Innovation Act Is Bad Enough. Don’t Make It Worse.

The United States Competition and Innovation Act, i.e., “the China bill,” continues its sleepy way through the Senate. But don’t be fooled by the long quorum calls and diversions to take care of other business. There are more than 400 amendments filed.

Article by Walter Lohman from Daily Signal.

Out of the gate, the bill had far too many references to industrial policy, which in some sense is its essence. It gifts $52 billion to the semiconductor industry and spends well-over $100 billion on research and development that is not only better left to the private sector, but in fact is duplicative of existing government initiatives. It also includes many domestic political riders, like prevailing wage standards, that have nothing to do with the China challenge.

Where it should be strong, for instance, in protecting the very research it authorizes, it falls short.

Some of the amendments out there that make the bill better. There are more pending, however, that make it worse. Here are some of the lowlights:

1. An amendment to add the secretary of agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. This would unnecessarily complicate foreign investment in the U.S. agriculture sector. The committee can already avail itself of Department of Agriculture expertise if a truly security-related security issue arises regarding a specific investment.
2. An amendment to add another $1 billion in spending to create a new grant and cost-sharing program through the Department of Transportation to subsidize the use of alternative fuels by commercial airlines. The Obama administration tried a similar alternative jet fuel program in the military, at great cost to taxpayers. Climate-policy-by-subsidy is a costly approach and reinforces cronyism rather than empowering customers.
3. An amendment to double the size of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It is not clear that DARPA needs, is requesting or can absorb an additional $3.5 billion per year in new funding.
4. An amendment to establish a nonprofit corporation called ‘‘National Fab Lab Network,’’ which among other things, would literally and explicitly seek establish a fab lab in every congressional district.
5. An amendment requiring a report be conducted on a 2015 World Trade Organization ruling against the United States regarding mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, pork, and other meat products. A rethink of this issue is completely unnecessary and undermines already precarious support for principles of free trade. In 2015, Congress repealed Mandatory COOL, and did so for many reasons, including its cost.
6. An amendment instituting a blanket ban on the Thrift Savings Plan investing in “Entities Organized or Established in the People’s Republic of China.” There are reasons to curb U.S. investment in certain Chinese companies, but such a broad designation is unnecessary to get at U.S. security concerns. Politicizing retirement investing to achieve grand foreign policy objectives is no less a mistake than doing so for political and social objectives.

This list is meant to be illustrative, a call for those who care about the China challenge to dig into what is happening in the Senate. There is a lot of good in this bill. To preserve that and make it something worth supporting, lawmakers should start by not making it worse.

‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us

Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.

For the last few months, NOQ Report, Conservative Playbook, and the American Conservative Movement have appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.

It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. Both of our YouTube accounts were banned. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Medium canceled us. Apple canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.

The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancellation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.

The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects, including death. One of our stories about the Johnson & Johnson “vaccine” causing blood clots was “fact-checked” and removed one day before the government hit the brakes on it. These questions and news items are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting canceled.

There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ, CP, and ACM readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are pacing to be short by about $3700 per month in order to maintain operations.

The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.

During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.

We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.

As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.

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