Raimondo: If Congress Doesn't Pass Chips Act, US Will Be "Big Loser"

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has called on Congress to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act as the private sector becomes increasingly concerned that the bill will fail to become law.

• The White House released a statement today praising a USD$5billion investment from Taiwan-based GlobalWafers: "The investment underscores the importance passing the Bipartisan Innovation Act by this summer, which would provide USD$52 billion to expand the research, development and domestic production of semiconductors."
• Raimondo: "Either the United States is going to be a big winner in that we'll be able to attract a number of companies. Or, if Congress doesn't pass the Chips Act in the next few weeks, then the United States will be a big loser because these companies will go to other countries."
• Raimondo tweeted earlier: "We need to provide more chip companies the certainty they need to move forward with investments."
• Yesterday she said: "We are far too dependent on foreign chip manufacturers. Every day we wait is another day we fall further behind. Congress must pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act & pass it quickly. It's a matter of national security."
• Intel wrote in a statement following postponement of USD$20 billion Ohio facility last week: “As we said in our January announcement, the scope and pace of our expansion in Ohio will depend heavily on funding from the CHIPS Act. Unfortunately, CHIPS Act funding has moved more slowly than we expected and we still don’t know when it will get done."
• Washington Post: "The process of combining the House and Senate bills has been bogged down over disputes about elements of the legislation unrelated to chips, including climate provisions and trade with China."