President Biden signs CHIPS and Science Act to boost US competitiveness, security and domestic manufacturing

WASHINGTON- Today, Rep. Karen Bass issued the following statement after President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, bipartisan legislation that will strengthen the financial future of California families by ensuring our nation's scientific preeminence into the future. The new law will deliver a powerful investment in America's global competitiveness - creating jobs, slashing kitchen table costs, reducing dependence on foreign manufacturers, and increasing American innovation.

"The CHIPS and Science Act is a major victory for Los Angeles families and the California economy," said Rep. Bass. "Los Angeles has a long history of aerospace and technological innovation. This bold investment will create well-paying union jobs while ensuring America continues to compete and succeed on the world stage. This law's investments in research, innovation, and American manufacturing will bolster our leadership across the globe."

A nationwide shortage of semiconductor chips has severely disrupted American manufacturing - slowing down production, spiking prices, and increasing dependence on foreign nations. Only 12 percent of semiconductor chips are currently manufactured domestically - a dramatic drop from 37 percent in the 1990s - while foreign competitors are investing heavily to dominate this critical industry with national security implications. Other nations have also begun to outpace the United States' research advantage - threatening American primacy in technology and scientific innovation.

The CHIPS and Science Act contains landmark scientific research bills, including the NSF for the Future Act, the DOE Science for the Future Act, and the NIST for the Future Act, as well as a host of provisions intended to build and diversify America's STEM workforce. This new law:

• Lowers costs for American consumers- making more critical semiconductor components in America, helping to end the shortage of chips that have driven up the price of everything from cars to consumer goods.
• Creates 100,000 new good-paying jobs - with strong Davis-Bacon jobs building hi-tech manufacturing facilities here in America.
• Ends our dependence on foreign manufacturers - bringing critical semiconductor manufacturing back to America instead of overseas where it can be threatened by conflict or adversaries.
• Redoubles American R&D- powering America's preeminence in both basic research and next-generation technologies and ensuring that the technologies of the future are made here in America.

This legislation also includes strong guardrails to ensure that federal semiconductor investments go straight into California's economy - not corporate pockets or unfriendly nations. The CHIPS and Science Act will:

• Prohibit companies from using CHIPS funding for stock buybacks or dividend payments; and
• Bar recipients from expanding semiconductor manufacturing in countries of concern.

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