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President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill on Tuesday that aims to boost US competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research.
“Today is a day for builders. Today, America delivers,” Biden said at the signing ceremony outside the White House. He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including technical executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.
The bill, called the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies that make computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars in research and development funding and to spur innovation and development of other American technologies.
The Biden administration also claimed the legislation would “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private industry spending. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies “spurred” by the chip bill have announced more than $44 billion in new investments in semiconductor manufacturing.
US President Joe Biden (C) signs HR 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on August 9, 2022.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
Of that amount, $40 billion comes from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative would create 8,000 new jobs and raise the U.S. market share in memory chip manufacturing to 10 percent from 2 percent.
The recently announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ facility in upstate New York, the White House said.
Supporters say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and revive the lagging chip industry. The U.S. produces only about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductor supply, while East Asia accounts for 75 percent of global production — including most of the top chips, according to the White House.
Semiconductors are critical parts of a range of products, including consumer electronics, automobiles, healthcare equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused chip shortages and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s reliance on foreign-made chips and exposing a potential national security threat, officials say.
The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats wind down a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington at the end of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.
Senate Democrats passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on wealthy corporations and reforming prescription drug pricing. The bill, a centerpiece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats have been working on for more than a year, passed without Republican support in the evenly divided chamber. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote.
In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including by strengthening background check requirements. The legislation moved quickly through Congress after the deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.
And last week, Biden revealed that a US strike in Afghanistan had killed senior al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that increases health benefits for veterans who have been exposed to chemicals from toxic burns.
That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move has sparked outrage from some veterans groups, as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who has emerged as a leading advocate.
Biden’s approval ratings have already dipped in recent months as global inflation and supply chain woes weigh on Americans’ wallets at the grocery store and gas station. His unpopularity, combined with a difficult political map and other political hurdles, has fueled fears among Democrats that they could suffer a defeat in November’s midterm elections that would result in Republicans taking control of one or both houses of Congress.
But recent polls show Democrats’ chances of retaining the Senate have improved, and Biden on Monday predicted that passing the climate and tax bills would “immediately help” the midterm elections.
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