UPDATE: BIDEN SIGNED CHIPS BILL INTO LAW ON AUGUST 9.
It’s time to do your happy dance. Congress has finally managed to pass what is being called the CHIPS Bill — legislation designed to bring computer chip manufacturing back to America.
And they did it in a bipartisan vote. In the Senate: 64-33. And in the House, the bill passed 243 to 187. Okay, it could have included a few more Republicans, but given the atmosphere in Congress over the last few years, that’s an impressive result.
The centerpiece of the bill is $52.7 billion in subsidies for U.S. computer chip manufacturing.
Its provisions also include:
- a 25% tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing,
- $1.5 billion for technology development for U.S. firms dependent on foreign telecommunications, and
- $10 billion for the Department of Commerce to create 20 regional technology hubs.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, one of 24 Republicans who voted for the bill, called it a “national security” initiative that promotes U.S. jobs.
The bill is now on its way to Biden’s desk. There is little doubt that the President will sign the bill immediately. In a statement released by the White House, Biden commented,
“The CHIPS and Science Act is exactly what we need to be doing to grow our economy right now. By making more semiconductors in the United States, this bill will increase domestic manufacturing and lower costs for families. And, it will strengthen our national security by making us less dependent on foreign sources of semiconductors. This bill includes important guardrails to ensure that companies receiving tax payer dollars invest in America and that union workers are building new manufacturing plants across the country.”
Biden added, “I look forward to signing this bill into law and continuing to grow our economy from the bottom up and middle out for working families all across the country. “