Democrats Lead the Way for the CHIPs Act

Re-Building Our Domestic Manufacturing Base

“Today the Senate passed an historic bill that will lower costs and create jobs. As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers, It also will create jobs -- good paying jobs right here in the United States. It will mean more resilient American supply chains, so we are never so reliant on foreign countries for the critical technologies that we need for American consumers and national security."

-- President Joe Biden

The CHIPS Act (“Chips and Science Act) is a bill (see this link) pushed by the Democrats in the Senate and House, with strong Biden support.

It provides $280 billion to subsidize domestic manufacturing of semi-conductors and invests billions in science and technology innovation. This is just a beginning on goals to not only strengthen U.S. manufacturing, but also to ensure that our country will not have to rely on other countries to make essential goods for our own survival.

We found out the hard way during the 2020 lock-down that lack of semi-conductors (“chips”) prevalent in our products (cars, computers, home appliances, hospital equipment, etc.) will stop us in our tracks if we do not have domestic access. Manufacturing such essential components ourselves enables us to have control over our future.

Helped along by $100 million spent by manufacturing industry lobbying, this bill attracted Republican votes to pass the Senate 64-33 and passed the House 243-187 this week.