Senate GOP sticks to ugly hostage gambit on competitiveness bill

The name of the bill — the “United States Innovation and Competition Act” (USICA), though it’s gone by a few different titles — probably makes it sound boring, but it’s proving to be one of the most contentious legislative disputes of the current Congress.

At issue is a bill that lawmakers in both parties and both chambers have been working on for nearly a year. The point of USICA is relatively straightforward: It intends to bolster American competitiveness and counter China, in large part by addressing domestic semiconductor shortages. It’s...