House passes $280 billion chip-funding bill tied to revitalized reconciliation package

by Chris Lange

Chris Lange, FISM News

 

The House on Thursday passed a $280 billion package to boost the semiconductor industry and manufacture of computer chips on U.S. soil, representing an extraordinary foray into the nation’s industrial policy. 

The CHIPS and Science Act provides $52.7 billion in government subsidies for semiconductor production and authorizes another $200 billion over 10 years for scientific research to help boost U.S. competitiveness with foreign rivals like China. The measure also includes an estimated $24 billion worth of investment tax credit for American microchip plants.

Twenty-four Republicans voted with 218 Democrats to pass the measure following Wednesday’s bipartisan approval in the Senate. The margin was slimmer than expected after some GOP lawmakers withdrew their support at the 11th hour, citing this week’s surprise deal struck by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on a pared-down version of President Biden’s reconciliation package which was tied to the measure. 

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) the ranking member of the House Science Committee who worked on the chips bill, said he “regrettably” could not support its passage in a statement

The Congressman said he is “disgusted by the developments” this week that “tied our research policy to reconciliation.” Lucas expressed “frustration” that the Senate held up a House vote on the GOP-backed competitiveness legislation as it pursued its massive social spending agenda. He further noted that the proposed budget for semiconductor manufacturing “jumped from $24 billion to $52 billion with no explanation.” 

“For better or for worse – and it’s very clearly for the worse – the CHIPS and Science Act has been irrevocably tied to a massive tax hike and spending spree in reconciliation,” Lucas said. “The decisions on how to pursue scientific policy are out of the hands of this Committee and, at this point, practically out of the hands of this Chamber,” he continued. 

Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, voted “yes” on the bill’s passage.  “We need to manufacture (chips) in this country, and not let it go offshore,” he told reporters ahead of the vote, adding that the legislation “…is vitally important to our national security.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) applauded the vote in a tweet.

“The CHIPS and Science Act bolsters domestic manufacturing, creates good-paying jobs, and fights inflation, advancing the #MakeItInAmerica agenda: education, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and supply chain resilience,” he wrote.

The vote is being hailed in some corners as a major win for the Biden administration ahead of the November midterms. The president is expected to sign the measure into law next week.

DONATE NOW