$52 Billion Semiconductor Bill Passes Senate Amid National Shortage

Representative Salud Carbajal met with business owners and members of the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Chambers of Commerce on Monday, July 25, to discuss several solutions for inflation, including the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act.

The CHIPS for America Act is a $52 billion bill geared to incentivize the production of semiconductors in the United States, which is currently experiencing a shortage due to production and supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic. The shortage has played a major role in the slow production of everything from automobiles to video game consoles and has also fueled inflation. 

The CHIPS for America Act that passed the Senate 64-32 on Tuesday, July 26, would provide more than $52 billion for the production of semiconductor chips, including subsidiaries and tax incentives for semiconductor manufacturers to move operations to America, and $11 billion for workforce development, such as education programs.

According to the United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the U.S. only makes about 12 percent of semiconductor chips. Proponents of the CHIPS Act include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called this a national security concern due to America’s reliance on other nations to produce a vital technology. Currently, China is the world’s leading semiconductor producer.

In the most recent version of the CHIPS Act, the semiconductor industry is projected to need an additional 90,000 workers by the year 2025. The bill will be brought to the House of Representatives on Thursday, July 28, and is likely to pass due to the extensive bipartisan support.

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