What Congress/Biden are negotiating on in bill to boost computer chip industry

[SaysWho?]

Congress seeks compromise to boost computer chip industry | AP News

APNEWS.COM

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A global computer chip shortage has made it harder for consumers to get their hands on cars, computers and other modern-day necessities, so Congress is looking to boost chip manufacturing and research in the United States with billions of dollars from the federal government.

 

Where they agree: chips funding

 

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The Senate and House bills allot more than $52 billion for semiconductor production and research. Grants and loans from the federal government would subsidize some of the cost of building or renovating semiconductor plants.

“The chips funding is absolutely the foundation of this bill — it’s a bipartisan foundation,” said Josh Teitelbaum, senior counsel at Akin Gump, a law and lobbying firm. “I think it is what is driving this toward the finish line.”

 

Where there's overlap:

 

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Both bills authorize a big boost in spending for the National Science Foundation, but they have different priorities for the research receiving funding.

 

The Senate bill provides $29 billion over five years to a new directorate focused on strengthening U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics and other cutting-edge technologies.

 

The House bill provides $13.3 billion over five years to a new directorate for science and engineering solutions. It lists climate change, environmental sustainability and social and economic inequality as part of the directorate’s focus.

 

The two sides will have to hammer out their competing visions for the National Science Foundation and the new tech directorate.

 

The two bills also establish regional technology hubs — with the Senate dedicating $10 billion to the program and the House dedicating $7 billion. The Senate bill calls for 20 such hubs, while the House bill authorizes at least 10.

 

The seed money would go to regional organizations seeking to advance a variety of economic and national security priorities.

 

The approach has bipartisan support from lawmakers with big rural and minority constituencies who want to ensure the money is not concentrated in universities or communities where a lot of tech research is already done.

 

Differences:

 

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One of the big-ticket items is a $45 billion program in the House bill to enhance supply chains in the U.S. There was no such provision in the Senate bill. The money would provide grants, loans or loan guarantees to companies, local governments and tribes trying to build or relocate manufacturing plants producing critical goods.

 

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Another stark difference is on trade. The House reauthorizes a program that provides training and financial assistance for those who lose their jobs or have their hours cut because of increased imports. The Senate has no such provision.

 

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Meanwhile, the Senate bill includes a trade provision that would exclude more products from tariffs the Trump administration put in place on goods imported from China. Those exclusions have almost all expired. The Senate bill reinstates them, a priority of business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

 

The House bill addresses immigration, while the Senate bill does not. It would create a new visa category for entrepreneurs and would allow those with an ownership interest in successful ventures to apply to become lawful permanent residents.

 

The House bill, unlike the Senate bill, also touches on climate change. It dedicates $8 billion to a fund that helps developing countries adjust to climate change. That could be a nonstarter for Republicans, who object to using U.S. taxpayer money for that purpose.

 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

43 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

The approach has bipartisan support from lawmakers with big rural and minority constituencies who want to ensure the money is not concentrated in universities or communities where a lot of tech research is already done.

As long as this means “don’t put it in CA and TX, but in other states” that’s fine (so probably excluding ID as well) but hopefully not some half cocked idea to put semiconductor manufacturing in mountaintop removal sites. 

[Guest]

Domestic chip manufacturing is another thing that is such a good idea that of course we won’t do it 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

6 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

Domestic chip manufacturing is another thing that is such a good idea that of course we won’t do it 

Anymore. 

[marioandsonic]

Will this mean I can finally get a new GPU?

[CitizenVectron]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

Domestic chip manufacturing is another thing that is such a good idea that of course we won’t do it 

 

1 hour ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

Anymore. 

 

Intel and AMD just need to put out some videos of sweaty, beefy men in coveralls pulling silicon wafers from vats of molten steel. That will trick the idiots into thinking it's a manly, 'merican manufacturing industry.

[Zaku3]

1 hour ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

 

Intel and AMD just need to put out some videos of sweaty, beefy men in coveralls pulling silicon wafers from vats of molten steel. That will trick the idiots into thinking it's a manly, 'merican manufacturing industry.

 

Beefy men making the silicon wafers by hand as well. Gotta get those hands dirty. Oo you can also hace them digging as well for silicon.

[CitizenVectron]

57 minutes ago, Zaku3 said:

 

Beefy men making the silicon wafers by hand as well. Gotta get those hands dirty. Oo you can also hace them digging as well for silicon.

 

• Scene of a wheat or corn field with an American flag flying, and a farmer adjusting his hat while looking proudly over it (background: patriotic music)
• "Times are changing, and everyone of us relies on technology more and more in our daily lives"
• Shot of advanced tractor or combine on the field
• "That's why here at Intel, we use only the finest, American silicon in our chips."
• Shot of a miner dusting off a fully-formed silicon wafer from a seam underground in a tunnel. The miner is dusty and has a headlamp.
• "We take pride in manufacturing all of our products in small town America."
• Shot of a big factory with a bunch of men pushing chips together by hand. One man stands behind another and reaches around to help push a chip, together. The men do a Predator handshake with glistening biceps.
• Shot of dockworkers loading bundles of chips (man-sized) onto trucks. The trucker in the cab tips his hat to the workers and pulls away.
• "You wouldn't have it any other way."
• Shot of the trucker handing a box of chips to a small-town mom-and-pop general store owner. Kids run by in the background holding sparklers and American flags. The farmer walks in and grabs a chip off the shelf.
• "Intel. Made for Americans, by Americans, the American way."