WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ (MI) first bills introduced in the new Congress aim to help expand American manufacturing and strengthen support for Michigan manufacturers and workers.
“Michigan has long excelled at high-precision, advanced manufacturing. Making things in Michigan not only creates more good-paying jobs for people in our state, it boosts our nation’s overall economic competitiveness on the world stage,” said Senator Peters.“Making critical technologies like semiconductors here in Michigan also strengthens our national security by reducing our reliance on China and other foreign competitors who are actively working to undermine our businesses and workers. I’m committed to passing these bipartisan, commonsense bills into law to support our state’s robust manufacturing industry and workforce.”
Peters reintroduced his bipartisan Strengthening Support for American Manufacturing Act – which he is again leading introduced with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – to strengthen federal efforts to boost domestic manufacturing and support Michigan workers. The bill would authorize a study by the independent National Academy of Public Administration on how to maximize effectiveness across the U.S. Department of Commerce’s various manufacturing programs. The bill – which previously passed the Senatewith unanimous support – would also then require recommendations to Congress on ways to improve coordination among the programs to better serve manufacturers – many of which are small businesses.
“We work with small and mid-size manufacturers every day,” said Ingrid Tighe, President of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. “And the message is clear: they are proud of what they do, they are vital to strengthening Michigan’s economy, and they need to stay competitive in a global economy. Increasing opportunities for manufacturers to access state and federal resources focused on reshoring and upskilling the manufacturing workforce, is critical to their continued success. This bill will further support manufacturers and American workers alike.”
Peters also reintroduced his Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act – which he is again leading introduced with U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) – to strengthen federal efforts to expand domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips. The bill 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 also previously passed the Senate with unanimous support – would help address the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor technologies that has disrupted a range of industries in recent years including manufacturers and automakers in Michigan.
“We appreciate Senator Peters’ continued commitment to strengthening our national security and economic resilience by building up the semiconductor industry and supply chain here in America," said Quentin Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “As technology evolves and integrates further into every aspect of our lives, this industry remains poised for growth. Senator Peters’ understands that it is imperative we continue to collaborate in a bipartisan manner at the state, regional, and federal level on behalf of American workers, and especially future generations of innovative Michiganders.”
“American Automakers are grateful to Senator Peters for his leadership on this bipartisan legislation, which will boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen our nation’s supply chains,” said Governor Matt Blunt, President of the American Automotive Policy Council. “This legislation is vital for U.S. automakers and their supplier partners, helping to foster economic growth throughout the U.S. auto sector.”
Peters has made expanding domestic manufacturing and strengthening U.S. supply chains a top priority. Peters helped craft and pass into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes a provision Peters secured funding to support the domestic production of mature semiconductor technologies and ensure that projects supporting critical manufacturing industries, such as the auto industry, are given priority status. This funding was 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 ensures federal incentives to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing include U.S. suppliers that produce the materials and manufacturing equipment that enable semiconductor manufacturing. Peters’ provision directly supports Michigan manufacturers like Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) in Hemlock, Michigan which was recently awarded up to $325 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding to build a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The project will allow the company to expand production of hyper-pure polysilicon needed to manufacture semiconductor chips and is expected to create 180 good-paying manufacturing jobs, as well as thousands of construction jobs, in Michigan.
Peters additionally supported and helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will strengthen domestic manufacturing, onshore our supply chains, combat the climate crisis and create millions of American jobs.
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