Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 last July, which President Biden would sign on Tuesday.
The bipartisan bill aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research, according to a report.
The White House said tech executives, union presidents, and political leaders from both parties would join Biden at 10 a.m. ET signing ceremony.
The bill includes over $52 billion for U.S. companies producing computer chips and billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development and spur other U.S. tech’s innovation and development.
The Biden administration also contended that the legislation would “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry.
The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.
Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative would yield 8,000 new jobs and boost the U.S. market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.
The White House said a newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility.
Advocates said the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The U.S. produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors. In contrast, east Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.
Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products, including consumer electronics, automobiles, health care equipment, and weapons systems. Officials say that the Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat.
The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity 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 pricing.
The bill, a significant piece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats had worked on for over a year, squeaked through with no Republican support in the chamber, which is evenly split by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.
In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including enhancing background check requirements. The legislation sped through Congress in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a single gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.
And last week, Biden revealed that a U.S. strike in Afghanistan killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was considered a mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that bolsters health benefits for veterans exposed to chemicals that billowed from toxic burn pits.
That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move stoked outrage from some veterans’ groups and comedian Jon Stewart, who emerged as a leading advocate.
Biden’s already-middling approval ratings have sunk in recent months as global inflation and supply chain issues take a toll on Americans’ wallets at the grocery store and the gas station.
His unpopularity, paired with a challenging political map and other political headwinds, has fueled concerns among Democrats that they could suffer a rout in the November midterms that results in Republicans taking control of one or both chambers of Congress.
But the latest polls show Democrats’ chances of keeping the Senate have improved, and Biden on Monday predicted that the climate and tax bill’s passage would “immediately help” in the midterms.
This article originally appeared on CNBC.
Let’s chat about the CHIPS Act. It’s not just about supporting chip manufacturing. it’s also boosting tech workforce skills and making supply chains more resilient. What do you think about the potential impact of this legislation on the tech industry and the economy? It’s pretty exciting to see how this could shape things up!
Did you catch that the CHIPS Act funds new U.S. chip plants to reduce reliance on foreign production? It’s all about boosting innovation and making the U.S. a top player in semiconductors!
Isn’t it exciting how the CHIPS Act boosts the U.S. semiconductor field, driving innovation and global leadership? By uniting government, academia, and industry, we’re creating a strong, secure tech ecosystem for economic growth and national defense.