The CHIPS Act is supposedly losing support among primarily Republican politicians. The CHIPS Act is a law meant to stimulate manufacturing and research of semiconductors inside the United States. The law allows for up to $280 billion in funding with almost $40 billion in direct funding.
The CHIPS Act is apparently losing support with some Republicans with Speaker Mike Johnson saying…
“I expect that we probably will, but we haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet,” Johnson said in response to a reporter asking whether the GOP would try to repeal the law.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/02/harris-critcizes-speaker-johnson-republicans-repeal-chips-act.html
That is absolutely asinine.
First off repealing the CHIPS Act would help destroy Intel which is in essence THE American manufacturer of semiconductors. Intel needs the direct funding that the Federal Government has offered. It is doing very poorly and absolutely needs the CHIPS Act to survive. If anything it needs EVEN MORE money from the Federal Government. Allowing Intel to die would be devastating from both a social and a military point of view. Lets not forget Intel was awarded the Secure Enclave money to manufacture chips for the military. America depends on Intel.
Socially, you would lose the high paying jobs, the technological research, and overall benefits high technology brings to the United States. Militarily you would lose access to your semiconductor supply the second China feels like blockading Taiwan. Taiwan has over 40% of the worlds fab capacity. Allowing Intel to fail makes America weaker across the board.
But wait, there’s more… repealing the CHIPS Act would also hurt a wide range of midsize semiconductor researchers and manufacturers who are depending on that money to fund American expansion. Repealing CHIPS would harm manufacturing at exactly the time that the Republicans are proclaiming how much they love American factories and jobs.
But it’s not just manufacturing hypocrisy that Republicans are engaging in, it’s also contrary to the claims by Republicans that China is an enemy of the United States. China absolutely wants Taiwan back. It is rapidly expanding its military and technological prowess. It can and will blockade Taiwan into submission and may even engage in an invasion of the island. Taiwan has 40% of the world’s fab capacity, as I just mentioned. China is a direct threat to the entire way of life of the entire world in this digital age. So why would you repeal a law that begins the process of addressing our dependence on an island that is going to go back to communist China?
Repealing the chips act strengthens China’s hand and increases the concentration of semiconductor manufacturing on the island of Taiwan. It actively HARMS the United States.
It is absolutely asinine to suggest the repeal of the CHIPS Act and Republican politicians are horribly mistaken in their beliefs and actions.