Aug. 9 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will visit Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wednesday to highlight progress made under the CHIPS and Science Act one year after he signed the law in an effort to boost semiconductor manufacturing across the United States.
Biden plans to deliver a progress report on a growing number of clean energy and manufacturing projects, while taking credit for the CHIPS law that has garnered $166 billion in private investments for the tech industry over the past year, with nearly $53 billion in federal dollars set to build a national network of semiconductor manufacturers, the White House said.
The president was set to deliver remarks at 3 p.m.
Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law on Aug. 9, 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in U.S. manufacturing due to a heavy dependence on foreign technology.
In a prepared statement, Biden said his policies were working to create jobs, drive technological innovation, and make the country more globally competitive as the semiconductor industry revved up significant business growth around the world.
“These investments are creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country — from Ohio to Arizona, Texas and New York,” the president said, while taking credit for programs that have helped American workers find jobs in the semiconductor industry.
“Over the coming months, my administration will continue to implement this historic law, make sure American union workers, small businesses, and families benefit from investments spurred by the CHIPS and Science Act, and make America once again a leader in semiconductor manufacturing,” Biden wrote.
The CHIPS Act contains several provisions to boost supply chains, support national security by adopting critical technologies, and shore up the nation’s investment in technological research and development, which has fallen to less than 1% of GDP since the mid-1960s, the White House said.
Biden said the CHIPS law was serving to improve America’s standing on the world stage at a critical time for the global economy as China was threatening to expand its geopolitical influence.
“America invented semiconductors — and today, they power everything from cell phones to cars to refrigerators. But over time, the United States went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s chips to just over 10%, making our economy vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions,” Biden wrote. “The CHIPS and Science Act aims to change that.”
The 2022 law established a 25% tax credit for capital investments in semiconductor manufacturing, giving a boost to companies seeking to break into the domestic technological push.
The Commerce Department announced $39 billion to fund projects to construct, expand, or modernize existing semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The effort includes incentives under CHIPS Act to make wireless networks more compatible and to establish the National Semiconductor Technology Center, which will encourage further research and development in the private sector.
At least 50 community colleges in 19 states have announced programs that will seek to place workers in semiconductor jobs.
So far, more than 460 statements of interest have arrived from companies seeking to launch semiconductor projects in 42 states, the White House said.
Previously, the administration said it was working with global partners to stop advanced technology from floating freely to China, which held the most resources in the global market for rare earth minerals, which are needed to make high-tech chips.
Nearly a month after the law took effect, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced that U.S. companies that receive CHIPS funding would be banned from building advanced technology facilities in China for a decade, citing national security concerns.
As part of the effort, the Biden administration grants to bolster tech development throughout the United States. The program is open to eligible business and government groups who apply before Aug. 15 to be designated as a Tech Hub which, like San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, is essentially a community of businesses focused on technological development.
In his 2024 budget request to Congress, Biden called for $4 billion to expand funding to industries of the future in an effort to establish the United States as the world leader in chip and semiconductor manufacturing.
In April, the European Union passed its own version of the CHIPS Act, which provides $47 billion to increase the bloc’s market share in semiconductors by the end of the decade.
