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President Joe Biden on Tuesday will sign a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen the United States’ competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research.
Technology executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties will join Biden at a signing ceremony at 10 a.m. ET, the White House said.
Receipt, called the Science and Chips Act, includes more than $52 billion for American companies that make computer chips, as well as billions in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development, and to spur innovation and the development of other U.S. technologies.
The Biden administration also argued that the law would “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said on Tuesday that many companies, “driven” by the chip bill, have announced more than $44 billion in investments in new semiconductor production.
From left, delegates Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D- Texas, seen following a bill registration ceremony for the Useful Incentives for Semiconductor Manufacturing Act (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022, at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday Friday, July 29, 2022.
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Of that, $40 billion came from Microninvest in memory chip production. The White House said the company’s initiative would create 8,000 new jobs and boost its share of US memory chip manufacturing from 2% to 10%.
The newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundriesMeanwhile, that includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ facility in upstate New York, the White House said.
Advocates say the funding is needed to enhance America’s technological edge and revive the country’s lagging chip industry. The US produces only about 10% of the world’s semiconductor supply, while East Asia accounts for 75% of global production – including most of the highest-end chips, according to the White House.
Semiconductors are key components of a wide range of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, healthcare devices and weapons systems. Officials said the Covid-19 pandemic caused chip shortages and supply chain stress, highlighting America’s reliance on foreign-made chips and exposing a potential national security threat , officials said.
The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats limit a range of activities before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns. .
Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on wealthy corporations and reforming prescription drug prices. The bill, a major part of Biden’s agenda that Democrats have been working on for more than a year, passed without Republican support in the room, which is split evenly by party. . Vice President Kamala Harris voted yes.
In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including strengthening background check requirements. The act was passed by Congress following 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 killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who is widely believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks.
Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that would boost health benefits for veterans who have been exposed to chemicals emanating from toxic burn pits.
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 supporter.
Biden’s already average approval rating has dropped in recent months, as global inflation and supply chain issues hit Americans’ wallets at the grocery store and gas station. His unpopularity, coupled with a difficult political map and other political turbulence, has raised concerns among Democrats that they may be subject to change in the presidential elections. November’s midterm elections result in Republicans taking control of one or both houses of Congress.
But the latest polls show Democrats’ chance to keep the Senate has been improvedand Biden on Monday predicted that the passage of the tax and climate bill would “help immediately” midterm.
