US President Joe Biden during a virtual conference on Chips Act at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on Monday, July 25, 2022.
Countess Gemal | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A bipartisan bill to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing and make the United States more competitive with China has cleared an important Senate vote and is ready to finalize at the Chamber of Commerce within a few days.
A so-called cloture vote to break legislative filibuster was originally set on Monday night, but until Tuesday morning after heavy thunderstorms on the east coast disrupted some senators’ travel plans. It was postponed.
Voting passed 64-32.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. He said he hoped that lawmakers could “get on track to end this law as soon as possible.”
Known as “CHIPS-plus,” this package includes approximately $ 52 billion in funding for US companies that manufacture computer chips and a provision that provides tax credits for investments in chip manufacturing. It also provides funding to drive innovation and development in other US technologies.
If it passes the Senate as expected, the House of Representatives will adopt the bill. Proponents of the bill want Congress to pass it and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature before the August recess, which begins in two weeks.
According to these supporters, the law is essential to the economic and national security interests of the United States in a world that is increasingly dependent on technological advances. They could also help counteract the effects of Covid’s global chip shortage, making it more competitive with China, where the United States has invested heavily in its own chip manufacturing capabilities. Claims that there is.
“The United States invented semiconductors. It’s time to take them home,” Biden said at a meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon. The president, who tested positive for Covid last week, effectively attended the meeting.
Mr Biden said the law would “improve our competitiveness and technological advantage,” and called on Congress to “pass this bill as soon as possible.”
CHIPS-plus is a simplified version of the broader law that has long been boiled down in the House and Senate. Larger measures threatened by Republican leadership Early this month.
The slimmer bill passed an early procedural motion last week with bipartisan 64-34 votes.
Voting will take place on Monday as separate announcements by Senator Joe Manchin (DW.V.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). They tested positive for Covid.. Both senators said they would work remotely and follow the CDC Distance Guidelines, but Senate rules require them to vote directly.
Their diagnosis is not expected to undermine the Senate’s efforts to pass CHIPS-plus, but it could interfere with other Democratic legislative goals before the August recess.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration wants Congress to act now.
At a meeting with Biden on Monday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan talked about the enormous national security risks “we are facing today” as the pandemic exacerbated supply chain vulnerabilities. I warned.
Sullivan said the US’s continued reliance on foreign semiconductor makers is “totally dangerous and the disruption in chip supply will be catastrophic.” “The longer you wait, the more dangerous the confusion.”
Lockheed Martin, jet engine maker Cummins, and medical device maker Medtronic executives repeated these national security discussions during the meeting.
Chris Shelton, a major American trade union Communications Workers, told Biden:
