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Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), Congressional India Caucus Vice Chair and Member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined the India Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-30) and Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01), in addition to co-Vice Chair Rep. Michael Waltz (FL-06), in sending a letter to President Joseph R. Biden. In the letter, the India Caucus leadership urges the Biden administration to send much-needed resources and raw materials to the Indian people, in addition to asking that lives be prioritized over intellectual property ownership.
Good afternoon. I would like to provide a few updates about recent developments in Congress and share some important information.
Endless Frontier Act
With millions of lives at stake amid a rapid spread of COVID-19, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said he hoped President Joe Biden would call the Pfizer CEO to let India produce its vaccine at least for six months or a year.
Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, has been an ardent supporter of the move by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver of COVID-19 vaccines.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
How much more can the United States help India? The U.S. is now sending oxygen for COVID patients, raw materials for vaccines and other supplies for a country now leading the world in daily new infections. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California joins us. He is vice chair of the Congressional India Caucus.
Congressman, good morning.
RO KHANNA: Good morning, Steve.
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), Congressional India Caucus Vice Chair and Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the dire COVID-19 crisis in India:
Hopes were high for the Endless Frontier Act when it was first introduced in 2020. The bipartisan, bicameral bill promised to boost U.S. efforts to compete against China by sending $100 billion to the National Science Foundation, refocusing its efforts on emerging technology like semiconductors and AI and even changing its name to the National Science and Technology Foundation. But the bill stagnated last year as Congress battled over COVID-19 recovery and the upcoming election.
Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg urged a House subcommittee on Thursday to end tax breaks for fossil fuel producers, saying their existence was a "disgrace," and she accused lawmakers who have failed to remove them as "proof that we have not understood the climate emergency."
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will testify Thursday to a U.S. congressional hearing on fossil fuel subsidies, which the committee's progressive chairman is pressuring President Joe Biden to end.
Thunberg will appear virtually before the House Oversight Committee's subcommittee on the environment the same day Biden kicks off a virtual two-day Earth Day summit with world leaders, seeking to assert U.S. leadership internationally on climate change.
Washington, DC – Today, Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), Progressive Caucus Deputy Whip and House Armed Services Member, joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), and Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) in reintroducing the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act. The bill is a bold initiative to advance and solidify the United States' leadership in scientific and technological innovation through increased investments in the discovery, creation, and manufacturing of technology critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.
A group of Republicans and Democrats are putting forward a new plan aimed at bolstering the nation's economic competitiveness against China. It represents a big test of whether Republicans and Democrats can still collaborate on key issues in Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer along with Republican Sen. Todd Young introduced legislation on Wednesday to pour federal money into industries like semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Other co-sponsors included Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.