The fate of a law that would streamline environmental review requirements for semiconductor manufacturing is on hold during Congress’ August recess.
Each chamber passed a different version of the Building Chips in America Act in July, which is expected to be folded into Congress’ renewal of the National Defense Authorization Act. The House version, however, has a measure that would prohibit taxpayer subsidization of travel for service members seeking out-of-state abortions.
According to Fox News, which obtained a letter from anti-abortion organizations to Republican members of Congress, the anti-abortion coalition said the Department of Defense’s abortion policy “us[es] taxpayer funds to pay for time off, lodging and travel for elective abortions.” The coalition claimed that the policy was the result of political pressure from President Joe Biden following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
It is unclear which version of the bill, if any, could be agreed upon by both chambers of Congress. Still, some bipartisanship appetite exists for increasing semiconductor production in the United States.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) — who will likely face off against each other in 2024 — both expressed support for the Building Chips in America Act, seeing an opportunity to boost Texas’ footprint in the industry.
“In order to take full advantage of the incentives in the CHIPS Act to grow the semiconductor industry and create jobs in Texas and across the country, we must ensure these projects can get approved in a timely manner,” said Allred in a joint press release with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY).
“Texas is a leader in semiconductor chip research and manufacturing, and that’s why I was proud to support the CHIPS Act. This bipartisan bill is a common-sense change that will ensure that the CHIPS Act delivers on its promise and these critical projects can get approved,” Allred added.
Cruz also voiced his support for the act in a statement, saying that he is glad to help get rid of “burdensome environmental permitting review hurdles for CHIP manufacturing plants.”
“This language will help Texas, already the nation’s leading chip producer, continue to grow this burgeoning industry and bring more jobs to the Lone Star State while boosting America’s economic and national security,” Cruz said.
Rep. McCaul, who introduced the bill in the House last month, said a major motivating factor for him had to do with China’s aggressive posturing over Taiwan.
“With Communist China ramping up its aggression around Taiwan — which currently produces over 90 percent of the world’s advanced chips — there’s no time to waste in boosting domestic chip production. I’m proud to join my colleagues on this legislation to maximize the potential of my CHIPS for America Act by cutting red tape and accelerating crucial chips projects across the nation,” said McCaul in the joint press release.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. produces roughly 50% of the semiconductors used across the world, according to World Population Review.
Such concerns over the vulnerability of the semiconductor industry prompted President Joe Biden to sign an executive order restricting American investments in certain parts of the Chinese tech sector, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.