Sweeping legislation originally intended to promote U.S. competitiveness with China was watered down and is now being promoted by House Democrats as a jobs bill meant to address societal concerns, Republican lawmakers say. The America COMPETES Act, colloquially referred to as the “China Bill,” was supposed to be the House’s response to the Senate’s bipartisan legislation: the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which passed the Senate in June of last year. Instead, Democrats are now promoting the bill as jobs legislation designed to ease inflation ahead of a contentious midterms election cycle, GOP lawmakers contend. National Security Provisions Replaced with Social Projects The Senate’s USICA was designed to promote technology, manufacturing, and research policies that would enhance the United States’ competitive power amid rising aggression from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It included provisions to prevent American researchers from engaging in foreign talent recruitment programs, such as China’s …