Peters Reintroduces Bipartisan Legislation To Strengthen Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would strengthen federal efforts to expand domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips.
The Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act – which Peters reintroduced with U.S. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – would direct the U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA program, in collaboration with other federal agencies and state economic development organizations, to develop strategies that would attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains. Peters’ bill – which previously passed the Senate last year – would help to address the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor technologies that has disrupted a range of industries in recent years – including manufacturers and automakers in Michigan. Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Greg Pence (R-IN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
“We need to build on the CHIPS and Science Act to continue advancing efforts that will lower the cost of goods and strengthen our economic competitiveness, supply chains and national security,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “That’s why I’m reintroducing this bipartisan bill that would do just that by encouraging investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers as well as their suppliers – lessening our dependence on foreign producers for these critical technologies and creating good-paying jobs here at home.”
“Over the past two years, Michigan has continued to step up and make progress when it comes to adopting innovative solutions to bring our critical supply chains and accompanying job creating investment opportunities home,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). “Thanks to the leadership of Senator Peters and his colleagues in the Senate, we remain confident that Team U.S.A. – and especially Team Michigan – will continue reclaiming its position as the home for semiconductor industry investments in 2023 and many years ahead.”
“Thank you to Senator Peters for his leadership in reintroducing this legislation that will grow domestic semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen our supply chains,” said Governor Matt Blunt, President of the American Automotive Policy Council. “This legislation is critical to auto manufacturers, and promotes economic growth in the U.S. auto sector.”
The SelectUSA program was established by President Obama in 2011 to improve federal efforts that attract job-creating business investments in the United States, and that support U.S. firms. Peters put forward this bipartisan bill after the Biden Administration issued a report emphasizing that the SelectUSA program could be further leveraged to strengthen private sector investments across the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, in particular.
The Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act would direct the SelectUSA program to engage with state-level economic development organizations about how they are attracting foreign direct investment to onshore activities related to semiconductor manufacturing, and identify what resource gaps or other challenges they face in achieving that goal. SelectUSA would then be required to develop strategies to increase investments in semiconductor manufacturing.
Peters has worked to address the semiconductor shortage crisis that has stymied automotive innovation in recent years and has impacted consumers, workers and industries across the country – including the Michigan auto industry. Peters secured multiple provisions in the CHIPS and Science Act that was signed into law to bolster U.S. semiconductor production, including a provision he championed with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI) to create a $2 billion supplemental incentive fund to support the domestic production of mature semiconductor technologies and ensure that projects supporting critical manufacturing industries are given priority status, which would include the automotive sector. This is in addition to $50 billion already in the bill to incentivize the production of semiconductors of all kinds in the U.S. – for a total of $52 billion.
The CHIPS and Science Act also included Peters’ bipartisan Investing in Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing Act, which will ensure federal incentives to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing include U.S. suppliers that produce the materials and manufacturing equipment that enable semiconductor manufacturing – bolstering semiconductors supply chains and Michigan manufacturers. The CHIPS and Science Act also authorized increased funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, which has been a priority for Peters. In the government funding bill signed into law last month, Peters secured an additional $188 million for MEPs like Michigan’s Manufacturing Technology Center – which provide technical assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturers on business operations, advanced technologies, workforce and skills development, cybersecurity and more.
Last March, Peters convened a field hearing in Detroit to examine how Congress can help bolster U.S. innovation for electric and autonomous vehicles by increasing domestic production of semiconductor chips and other technologies, while also delivering economic, environmental, and safety benefits for the American people. Peters has additionally raised the issue of supply chain disruptions seen in recent years with numerous Biden Administration officials in conversations both before and after President Biden took office – including during a roundtable discussion with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Michigan.
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