Bipartisan legislation offered by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) that would bolster federal efforts to expand domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips recently passed the U.S. Senate.
“The passage of this legislation in the U.S. Senate is a win for Tennessee manufacturers who rely on semiconductors to support local and global supply chains,” Sen. Blackburn said on Dec. 21, 2023.
The Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act of 2023, S. 229, which Sen. Blackburn cosponsored on Feb. 2, 2023, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), received Senate approval on Dec. 13, 2023. The Senate on Dec. 15, 2023, sent the measure back to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the identical H.R. 752 in July 2023.
The House is expected to pass the measure and forward it to the president for his signature to make it law.
“As long as the U.S. continues to depend on Communist China for semiconductor production, our supply chain, economy, and national security are all at risk,” said Sen. Blackburn. “We need to encourage economic development with local leaders in order to identify resource gaps and address challenges faced by businesses in meeting their bottom line.”
Sen. Peters pointed out that for America to remain a global economic powerhouse in the 21st century, the nation must boost U.S. production of semiconductor chips, which he said dictate the future of technology and innovation.
“My bipartisan bill would do just that by strengthening our efforts to attract investment in American semiconductor manufacturers as well as their suppliers, reducing our dependence on foreign producers for these critical technologies and creating good-paying jobs here at home,” he said.
The bill would require SelectUSA, a program of the U.S. Commerce Department established to coordinate federal efforts to attract and retain business investment in the United States, to solicit comments from state economic development organizations regarding federal efforts to increase foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production, according to the congressional record bill summary.
SelectUSA then would report to Congress on such comments and the strategies that it would employ to increase such investment and to secure the U.S. semiconductor supply chain, the summary says.