America LEADS Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
America Labor, Economic competitiveness, Alliances, Democracy and Security Act or the America LEADS Act
This bill addresses science and technology development, global infrastructure, U.S. manufacturing, foreign relations, and other topics.
Provisions of the bill include those
authorizing through FY2025 various federal research and development activities;
requiring the Department of State to take actions to advance the development and adoption of quality global infrastructure;
requiring the use of domestically produced aluminum in certain federal projects;
requiring the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce to take actions to encourage the development and production of measurably secure microelectronics and semiconductors;
expanding disclosure requirements for U.S. institutions of higher education that receive foreign gifts;
authorizing various programs to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics training, as well as language skills education;
requiring the President to impose sanctions to combat malign behavior by China's government and related persons;
authorizing annual contributions to the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund and the United Nations's Green Climate Fund;
prohibiting the use of federal funds to withdraw or reduce the presence of the Armed Forces or DOD in Japan or South Korea;
prioritizing the transfer of excess defense articles to certain allies in the Indo-Pacific region;
authorizing the State Department to provide assistance to increase maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region;
authorizing the United States to cofinance infrastructure projects that would otherwise be included within China's Belt and Road initiative;
requiring the President to establish a Special Representative for the Arctic; and
providing priority refugee status to certain residents of Hong Kong or Xinjiang.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 17, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 17, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced it on September 17, 2020, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 13 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 17, 2020, 2184 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2184 days ago, on September 17, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers