The Chips and Science Act removes the hurdles of the House of Representatives. The only thing missing is President Biden’s signature to become law.
A law to increase microchip production in the United States has just removed a major new hurdle. The House of Representatives has just passed the Chips and Science Act with a vote of 243–187–1. In fact, all that’s left is the reconciliation process and President Biden’s signature to make this bill into law. The Senate’s equivalent measure was passed the day before by a vote of 64 to 33.
Chip and Science Act Removes House Obstacles
This legislation is a smaller version of several previous bills, but it should be of great help to semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. It offers over $52 million to U.S. chipmakers, as well as tax breaks for domestic factories. In a press release, the President confirmed that the bill would also reduce production costs, create “well-paying”jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign chip suppliers.
The only thing missing is President Biden’s signature to become law.
Previous approaches have set targets on both sides of Congress. Republicans feared that reconciliation would involve unrelated issues of climate, health care and taxes. They also said it could bolster Chinese manufacturing. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, for his part, expressed concern that the legislation would reward chip makers already awash in gold, and he was the only non-Republican in the Senate to vote against it.
The Chip and Science Act should not affect manufacturing in the short term. It will take years for companies to build new factories or improve existing ones to end the chip shortage and achieve United States independence on the issue. However, if things go the way the proponents of the project imagine, the CHIPS and Science Act will clearly eliminate any potential supply issues.