Friday, July 29, 2022 at 7:02 China time
Senate passes key bill to compete with China, would provide $280 billion for domestic chipmaking R&D
The U.S. Senate took it a step further by passing the Chips Acts (CHIPs) Wednesday (July 27) by a 64-33 vote. Lawmakers in both parties see the bill as critical in tackling economic competition with China.
The $280 billion bill would provide $52 billion in grants and financial incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturers. Chips are key components in many products, but many are usually made abroad.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday before the final vote: "Today is a great day for the American people to step into the future of our country. I firmly believe that, once signed into law, this bill will reawaken the discovery of America. and the spirit of innovation that has made America the envy of the world.” The
bill would also provide $200 billion in funding for scientific research over the next decade.
"America is no longer dependent on offshore for something," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week during a meeting with the United Auto Workers in the Midwestern manufacturing state of Michigan. These things will be created here, made in America, invented here. We will create jobs here again.”
The Chip Act is the result of a bipartisan compromise. Lawmakers had previously spent nearly a year and a half trying to agree on a more ambitious bill to compete with China. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat, said Wednesday's vote was a good start to tackling strategic competition overseas.
"This appropriation sends a message that the United States is investing huge amounts of money to maintain an edge in the global tech race and to prevent global supply chains from being used as weapons against us or our allies," he said during a discussion in the Senate floor on Tuesday. Over the years, China has continued to increase investment in domestic industries, especially in areas that can have long-term strategic impact."
At a time when Americans worry about a weak economy and high inflation, some conservatives have criticized the bill, which is expected to let the bill over the next decade. The U.S. national debt increased by $79 billion. Senator Bernie Sanders, who typically votes with Democrats, said it was wealthy businesses that benefited from the bill.
Sanders, an independent, said Tuesday in the Senate floor: "The reason for this crisis is that this industry stopped producing in the U.S. and moved abroad. What we're doing today is instead telling them, we'll give you A blank check written at will to undo the damage you have done."
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a written statement Wednesday that the version of the bill passed by the Senate removes appropriations important security measures.
"We need to support American manufacturing of semiconductors, but we need to do so in a way that benefits our country and our workers," he said. "Corporate interests deprive the program of meaningful safeguards and prevent consideration of other interests. If we later hear that Beijing stole American technology funded by this act, or that taxpayer-funded companies are instead producing more chips in China.”
But in the end 17 Republicans remained Voting in favor of the appropriations bill, they mentioned that they are concerned about the strategic competition between the United States and China.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday: "It's about national security, it's about making sure there's an adequate supply of things that are absolutely indispensable to us. I'm hoping the cost will be lower, In this particular scenario, though, the cost couldn't be lower." The
House will vote on the bill before the six-week summer recess. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law next week.
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