Bill to boost U.S. chip production passes in Senate, moving to House

With an ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips causing a myriad of issues across a variety of industries, U.S. legislators have been looking to increase domestic chip production as many of these chips are currently being manufactured in China.

Now, it seems like things are moving steadily forward with these efforts as the Senate recently passed a bipartisan bill called CHIPS-plus (Chips and Science Act) in a 64-33 vote. With this, the bill is moving to the House.

Should it pass the House, it’ll end up on President Joe Biden’s desk ready to be signed. Included in the bill is $52 billion in funding for U.S. companies in effort to boost the production of semiconductor chips, along with tax credits to further encourage investment in chip manufacturing, and funding for the innovation and development of other U.S. technologies, as reported by outlets like CNBC.

The CHIPS-plus bill to boost domestic production of semiconductors in the U.S. has passed the Senate with a 64-33 vote.

© AP Photo/Steve Helber

In remarks from Majority Leader Schumer, he notes that passing this bill would be “a turning point for American leadership in this century.” Schumer’s statements also touch on how the bill includes measures that the Senate already passed last summer.

“This morning, the Senate will draw a clear line in the sand that America’s chip crisis—and America’s dwindling commitment to science and innovation—will not continue under our watch. Within the next hour, the Senate will vote to finally – finally! – move towards final passage of our chips and science bill. That’s what we’re calling it, the chips and science bill. That will put us in a position to finish the work on this bill before the end of the week.

It’s a major step for our economic security, our national security, our supply chains, and in fact, for America’s future. I want to be clear: the proposal we are passing this week contains the majority of key science and innovation measures that the Senate passed last summer. It will make historic investments to scientific research. It will take direct aim at our nation’s chips crisis.

Alongside the infrastructure law and our recent gun safety law, among others, it is one of the most consequential bipartisan achievements of this Congress. I thank all of my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are helping to make this happen.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the bill is received when it reaches the House, and should it pass the House, how quickly it’ll get signed by President Biden. Currently, the U.S. relies heavily on semiconductors manufactured overseas, so being able to increase production domestically certainly sounds like it’d be helpful in addressing the chip shortage.

Of course, we’re curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. Let us know in Chatty, and for more on the status of semiconductor manufacturing, be sure check out some of our previous coverage including how Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)’s Q2 2022 earnings beat EPS estimates.