House passes CHIPS Act, clearing way for Intel to move to Ohio

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday passed a A $280 billion package to raise semiconductor industry and scientific research in an attempt to create more high-tech jobs in the United States and help it better compete with international rivals, namely China.

The House approved the bill by a solid margin of 243-187, sending the measure to the President Joe Biden will be signed into law and provide the White House with a major victory in domestic politics. About two dozen Republicans voted for the law.

“I ask to leave politics aside. Do it,” Biden said before the vote, adding that it would give the U.S. “an opportunity not only to compete with China for the future, but to lead the world and win the economic competition between the 21st century.”

Gov. Mike DeWine called the move the right move for the nation and the state as Intel committed $20 billion to build two semiconductor manufacturing plants in Ohio.

“This $52 billion investment in domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing on American soil will strengthen our national security, help spur economic growth and make Ohio a nation-wide semiconductor manufacturing hub. As Intel begins construction in Licking County to bring its state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facilities to our state, Ohio is well on its way to becoming an indispensable player in the semiconductor industry,” DeWine said in a release.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company is excited to begin construction in Licking County.

A stone laying ceremony was scheduled for July but was postponed due to delays in passing the bill. An Intel spokesman said the scale of the company’s expansion into Ohio is largely dependent on the passage of the CHIPS Act.

Some Republicans argued that the government should not spend billions on subsidize the semiconductor industry and House GOP leadership recommended voting against the bill, telling members the plan would provide huge subsidies and tax breaks to “a particular industry that doesn’t need additional government handouts.”

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pennsylvania, said the way to help the industry would be by cutting taxes and loosening federal regulations “rather than picking winners and losers” with subsidies — an approach that Rep. Joseph Morrell, DN.Y. , said was too narrow.

“It affects every industry in the United States,” Morel said. — Take, for example, General Motors, which announced that they have 95,000 cars waiting for chips. So you want to increase the supply of goods to the people and help reduce inflation? of increasing the supply of goods throughout the United States in every particular branch.’

Some Republicans saw the passage of the law as important for national security. Representative Mike McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was important to protect semiconductor capacity in the U.S., which he said is too dependent on Taiwan for the most advanced chips. This could prove a major vulnerability if China tries to seize the self-governing island, which Beijing views as a self-governing province

“I have a unique understanding of this. I am receiving a secret briefing. Not all of these members do that,” McCall said. “This is vital to our national security.”

The bill provides more than $52 billion in grants and other incentives for the semiconductor industry, as well as a 25% tax break for those companies that invest in US chip manufacturing. more than 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

A late event in the Senate — Progress announced Wednesday night by Democrats on $739 billion in health care and climate change — threatened to make it harder for supporters to push the semiconductor bill through the finish line because of concerns about government spending.

Rep. Frank Lucas, D-Oklahoma, said he was “disgusted” by the turn of events on Capitol Hill.

Despite bipartisan support for research initiatives, “unfortunately, and it’s more unfortunate than you can imagine, I will not be voting for chips and science today.”

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