CHIPS Act clears Congress, ensuring $52 billion boost to US foundries

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

It might be cheaper and easier to buy popular tech products after Congress approved funding for domestic manufacturing.

The House passed the CHIPS and Science Act on Thursday. The Biden administration's priority is to encourage chip makers to build plants in the US.

The threat of chipmakers reconsidering plans to build US plants has been resolved after months of negotiations between the House and Senate. The ceremony for the Intel foundry was delayed earlier this month due to the funding not being approved.

The American people may not know it, but transistors are an important part of everyday life. They are used in consumer electronics and automobiles.

Businesses that make products that require Semiconductor chips were the most affected by the coronaviruses. As consumers grew accustomed to spending more time at home, demand for tech products, like laptops, consoles, and tablets, increased. There was a global shortage of chips due to the confluence of demand and supply chain disruptions.

Legislation was created to make it easier for chipmakers to hire American workers and build their products in the US. Semiconductor plants have shipped factories and jobs to countries like China in order to cut down on manufacturing and shipping costs. The Biden administration is betting that chipmakers will reverse course and build plants in the US.

For a long time, some experts said we should stop manufacturing in America. I didn't think that was true. President Joe Biden said that manufacturing jobs are back. This bill will allow us to have even more of them.

It is not clear when President Joe Biden will sign the measure into law.

The CHIPS and Science Act is the final version of an innovation bill that has undergone a lot of title and language changes. The first version of the bill was called the "Endless Frontier Act". The US Innovation and Competition Act, a newer version of the bill, was approved by the Senate in the summer of last year.

The CHIPS and Science Act, which trimmed down some of the former package's ambitions but included billions for domestic chipmaking, was passed with the help of the August recess.

Progressives became more confident in their opposition to the measure as the bill grew closer. The bill for serving as a "blank check" for profitable Semiconductor companies despite supporting the expansion of domestic microchip manufacturing was criticized by Sen.

The chip shortage is a serious threat to our nation. Why do so many in Congress want to pay this bribe?

It was thought that House Democrats could get enough votes to approve the bill. It was not clear how many members of the caucus would vote on the bill.

The bill gives the Commerce Department $10 billion to award states and localities grants to build out regional technology hubs. mini Silicon Valleys are meant to bring jobs and economic growth to areas hit by globalization. Billions of dollars are going to be given to the National Science Foundation for workforce development programs.