The Senate has approved a multibillion-dollar bill designed to support the U.S. high-tech industry, particularly the domestic semiconductor chip sector, in boosting U.S. competitiveness in face of threats posed by the Chinese regime. In a 68 to 28 vote, the Senate passed the House’s Democrat-led America COMPETES Act, a controversial bill that was nominally designed to counter China’s influence but also provided funding for climate change projects and labor unions. The House legislation was approved in February by mostly a party-line vote, with Republicans saying that provisions in the bill weren’t tough enough on China. On Monday, 27 of the 28 senators who voted against it were Republicans, while four other Republicans chose not to vote. “This bill, for all its provisions, is really about two big things: creating more American jobs and lowering costs for American families,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before the vote. “It will …