Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., have introduced a bill that aims to promote research and development across industrial areas vital to the nation's economy.
The Innovation Centers Acceleration Act seeks to address the lack of technology investments in the U.S. economy that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors over the years, Coons' office said Wednesday.
The bill would allot $80 billion for innovation center investments, foster public-private resource collaborations and launch a competition through which metropolitan areas can apply to lead innovation centers.
“The Innovation Centers Acceleration Act will not only strategically fund new R&D, but it will also ensure that growth does not concentrate in a handful of large cities, and instead gives new regions and diverse populations a chance to equitably share in the growth of the global economy," Coons said.