Tech Companies Urge Congress to Move Forward on Semiconductor Bills
More than 50 technology and auto companies urged congressional leaders to fund the CHIPS for America Act and pass a “strengthened version” of the Facilitating American Built Semiconductors Act, saying they would provide a much-needed boost to the U.S. semiconductor industry amid the global chip shortage. The companies -- including Apple, Microsoft, Ford, IBM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) -- said chip demand has “outstripped supply, creating a global chip shortage and resulting in lost growth and jobs in the economy.” It has also “exposed vulnerabilities in the semiconductor supply chain,” they said, which has highlighted the need for a more robust chip manufacturing base in the U.S.
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Both acts will help by “incentivizing semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing in the U.S., thereby strengthening the U.S. economy, national security, supply chain resilience, and increasing the supply of chips,” the companies wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “We ask you to prioritize actions to help strengthen the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem.”
Pelosi and Schumer recently agreed to go to conference on the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act, which includes funding for the CHIPS Act (see 2111300052). The FABS Act was introduced in June (see 2106180019). The Semiconductor Industry Association said Congress is considering separate legislation with a modified version of the FABS Act that would give an investment tax credit to incentivize semiconductor manufacturing.