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The House of Representatives passed legislation late last week aimed at increasing U.S. competitiveness in semiconductor manufacturing, reviving a bipartisan push to fund domestic chip manufacturing. While the Senate passed funding for the CHIPs for America Act in June 2021, the House has yet to move on authorizing funds for semiconductor manufacturers until now.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the CHIPs Act, once passed into law, will provide $52 billion in R&D and production funding for semiconductor companies in the U.S. $2 billion of the funding will be set aside to fund “legacy chip” production, to ensure a steady supply of the semiconductors used in automotive manufacturing.
While the core provision providing $52 billion for chip manufacturing and R&D is popular on a bipartisan basis, the bill still has some way to go before it becomes law. According to the Detroit News, the version passed by the House February 4 excludes sections on trade and climate change. Leaders from both houses of Congress must iron out those differences in conference before sending the bill to President Biden’s desk.
The original bill in the Senate was introduced by Senator Brown (D-Ohio) and Senator Young (R-Indiana), whose reactions to the House bill were mixed.
In a statement, Young criticized the passage of the House bill as insufficiently bipartisan. “Last year, the Senate followed regular order and an open process to pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act with strong bipartisan support. I am disappointed that the House did not follow a similar process,” he said.
In his own statement, Brown, a co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus, urged “a quick negotiation of a final bill to send to the president’s desk.”
“We need bipartisan legislation to better compete with China, bring critical supply chains home to the U.S., and ensure the technologies that drive the next generation of economic growth and manufacturing will be developed in America,” said Brown.
