President Biden Signs The CHIPS and Science Act Today

News -- August 9, 2022: The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which was signed by President Biden, aims to bring domestic semiconductor production onshore and significantly expand federal support 

for projects that advance science and technology, particularly networking and telecommunications.

The legislation allocates $82.5 billion in additional funding for research programs run by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, NIST, NASA, and the Department of Energy, in addition to $54.2 billion in total funding for CHIPS and Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation (also known as ORAN).

“Today, we’re sending a clear signal to the world that we are serious about rebuilding our domestic manufacturing industry and leading the world in science and innovation for decades to come. I’m excited to get to work doing exactly that,” stated U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. 

According to The Whitehouse:

The CHIPS and Science Act will:

Bolster U.S. leadership in semiconductors. The CHIPS and Science Act provides $52.7 billion for American semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development. This includes $39 billion in manufacturing incentives, including $2 billion for the legacy chips used in automobiles and defense systems, $13.2 billion in R&D and workforce development,and $500 million to provide for international information communications technology security and semiconductor supply chain activities. It also provides a 25 percent investment tax credit for capital expenses for manufacturing of semiconductors and related equipment. These incentives will secure domestic supply, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union construction jobs and thousands more high-skilled manufacturing jobs, and catalyze hundreds of billions more in private investment.
The bill requires recipients to demonstrate significant worker and community investments, including opportunities for small businesses and disadvantaged communities, ensuring semiconductor incentives support equitable economic growth and development.

These funds also come with strong guardrails, ensuring that recipients do not build certain facilities in China and other countries of concern, and preventing companies from using taxpayer funds for stock buybacks and shareholder dividends. It will also support good-paying, union construction jobs by requiring Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates for facilities built with CHIPS funding.

Promote U.S. innovation in wireless supply chains. The CHIPS and Science Act includes $1.5 billion for promoting and deploying wireless technologies that use open and interoperable radio access networks. This investment will boost U.S. leadership in wireless technologies and their supply chains.
Advance U.S. global leadership in the technologies of the future.  U.S. leadership in new technologies—from artificial intelligence to biotechnology to computing—is critical to both our future economic competitiveness and our national security. Public investments in R&D lay the foundation for the future breakthroughs that over time yield new businesses, new jobs, and more exports.

The CHIPS and Science Act will establish a technology, innovation, and partnerships directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to focus on fields like semiconductors and advanced computing, advanced communications technology, advanced energy technologies, quantum information technologies, and biotechnology. It will strengthen commercialization of research and technology, ensuring that what is invented in America is made in America. The Act will also reauthorize and expand fundamental and use-inspired research at the Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to sustain U.S. leadership in the sciences and engineering as the engine for American innovation.

Catalyze regional economic growth and development. The CHIPS and Science Act authorizes $10 billion to invest in regional innovation and technology hubs across the country, bringing together state and local governments, institutes of higher education, labor unions, businesses, and community-based organizations to create regional partnerships to develop technology, innovation, and manufacturing sectors.

These hubs will create jobs, spur regional economic development, and position communities throughout the country to lead in high-growth, high-wage sectors such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy technology. It also authorizes a $1 billion RECOMPETE pilot program at the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to alleviate persistent economic distress and support long-term comprehensive economic development and job creation in the most distressed communities.
Provide STEM opportunities to more of America to participate in good-paying skilled jobs. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development activities are critical to developing skills needed for taking on the highly-skilled jobs of the emerging industries built on technologies of the future. To ensure more people from all backgrounds and all regions and communities around the country, especially people from marginalized, under-served, and under-resourced communities, can benefit from and participate in STEM education and training opportunities, the CHIPS and Science Act authorizes new and expanded investments in STEM education and training from K-12 to community college, undergraduate and graduate education.

Drive opportunity and equity for all of America in STEM and innovation. The legislation authorizes investments to expand the geographic and institutional diversity of research institutions and the students and researchers they serve, including new initiatives to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions, and other academic institutions providing opportunities to historically-underserved students and communities, primarily through the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CHIPS and Science Act also broadens the geographic diversity of research and innovation funding to leverage the talent and ideas found all across America. The legislation also gives agencies and institutions the mission and the tools to combat sexual and gender-based harassment in the sciences, a demonstrated barrier to participation in STEM for too many Americans. Through these investments and initiatives, the bill would support learners, educators, and researchers at minority-serving and emerging research institutions and in rural communities, as well as broaden participation to include people of all backgrounds and experiences, driving the creation of a STEM ecosystem that looks like and benefits all of America.

WNCTIMES  by Marjorie Farrington