To advance U.S. semiconductor research and development initiatives, U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) on July 30 led a bipartisan bill that would expand the advanced manufacturing investment credit.
The Semiconductor Technology Advancement and Research (STAR) Act of 2024, H.R. 9183, which Rep. Moore sponsored alongside eight original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), John Moolenaar (R-MI), and Suzan DelBene (D-WA), would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to add qualified semiconductor design expenditures to the advanced manufacturing investment credit.
“Semiconductors are the lynchpin to the technologies of the future in countless sectors, from health care to defense to energy, and they are critical to U.S. national security and global competitiveness,” Rep. Moore said. “I am proud to introduce the STAR Act with a bipartisan group of colleagues to create an investment incentive to enhance U.S. leadership in chip design and maintain a secure value chain for these innovations.”
Semiconductor design is an R&D activity that improves how chips process information and enable modern technologies.
If enacted, H.R. 9813 would allow for a 25 percent tax credit for semiconductor design R&D expenditures, and would ensure semiconductor IP originates in the United States and is secure, according to Rep. Moore’s statement.
Rep. McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, called U.S. production of semiconductor chips “an economic and national security imperative.”
“The chip revolution is the greatest technological advancement since the Manhattan Project,” said Rep. McCaul, “and I look forward to cementing the United States as the global leader in semiconductor research and design.”
Rep. Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, thinks the bill will help America’s tech sector maintain its leading role.
“Our country is the best in the world in semiconductor innovation, and today’s bill will help level the playing field for American companies competing against the Chinese Communist Party’s state subsidies and theft of American intellectual property,” said Rep. Moolenaar.
Rep. DelBene added that H.R. 9183 will support further semiconductor research and workforce development, strengthen economic security, reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, and create good-paying jobs.
“Semiconductors are critical to our economy, powering everything from cars to cellphones,” said the congresswoman. “We need to continue investing in domestic chip production to ensure that America remains a global leader in this critical economic and national security technology.”