WASHINGTON – The Senate on Tuesday introduced a $280 billion bill designed to boost the semiconductor industry in the United States and accelerate high-tech research that supporters say is critical to the economy over the next decade.
The Senate needed 60 votes to advance the bill and the vote was 64-32. The bill is now in the Senate for a final decision, possibly today. The council is expected to take up the package this week.
The White House has led support for the legislation, along with industry leaders who say government subsidies are necessary to attract manufacturers spending billions of dollars to compete with other countries. The outbreak has exposed the dangers to the economy and national security of relying on foreign-made computer chips, he said.
The bill would provide about $52 billion in subsidies and other incentives to the semiconductor industry, as well as a 25% tax credit for companies that build chip plants or fabs in the U.S. The tax breaks are expected to cost about $24 billion. More than 10 years. The bill authorizes about $200 billion to improve scientific research over the same time frame.
The bill drew support from lawmakers from both parties, saying the investment is critical to American innovation and ahead of economic rivals China over the next decade.
“I strongly believe that passing this bill will be a turning point for American leadership this century,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.A. “The benefits of this legislation will reverberate across the country for years and decades to come.”
The Congressional Budget Office predicted the bill would increase the deficit by $79 billion over 10 years. Critics have argued that the spending requested in the bill is misguided or excessive.
“At a time when this country’s working families are falling apart, let’s get our priorities straight as the rich get richer,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell led a group of 17 Republican senators who voted to limit debate and advance the bill. While some Republicans expressed concern about the bill’s spending, others stressed the need to address national security vulnerabilities posed by the U.S. keeping advanced computer chips at plants in Taiwan and South Korea.
“We’re not used to offering these kinds of financial incentives to businesses, but when it costs 30% less to build these manufacturing facilities offshore in Asia, and access to our supply chain could be threatened by very real risks. So we can make the necessary investment,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. They said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Schumer said that if the federal government doesn’t invest in chip manufacturing and scientific research, “our economy is going to fizzle out.”
