SIA Applauds Senate’s Procedural Vote to Advance CHIPS Act, Urges Final Passage

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The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released the following statement from President and CEO John Neuffer applauding the Senate’s bipartisan cloture vote to advance the CHIPS Act (H.R. 4346), legislation that would provide $52 billion for semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research investments. The legislation also includes an investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing.

“Today’s bipartisan vote is a vital step toward enactment of legislation that will strengthen American chip production and innovation, economic growth and job creation, and national security. We thank the bipartisan group of congressional champions for their leadership in advancing the CHIPS Act, applaud today’s Senate vote, and urge swift final passage in both the Senate and House. America has an historic opportunity to re-invigorate domestic chip manufacturing, design, and research, and Congress should seize it before it’s too late.”

The Senate CHIPS Act includes $79.344 billion in government spending over 10 years, according to the official scorekeeper for Congress, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). These investments will create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, spur hundreds of billions of dollars in chip company investments in the U.S., and ensure more resilient chip supply chains for key manufacturing industries in the U.S. and for the national security community.

The share of modern semiconductor manufacturing capacity located in the U.S. has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. This decline is largely due to substantial manufacturing incentives offered by the governments of our global competitors, placing the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage in attracting new construction of semiconductor manufacturing facilities, or “fabs.” Additionally, federal investment in semiconductor research has been flat as a share of GDP, while other governments have invested substantially in research initiatives to strengthen their own semiconductor capabilities, and existing U.S. tax incentives for R&D lag those of other countries.