IN THE NEWS: Senate Passes Sen. Kelly’s Microchip Manufacturing Bill

After a year-long push, yesterday, the United States Senate passed Arizona Senator Mark Kelly’s microchip manufacturing plan as part of the CHIPS Act of 2022, a bipartisan bill that will create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in Arizona, fix supply chains, lower costs, strengthen our national security, and reinvigorate U.S. efforts to lead the world in research, development, and innovation. The House is expected to vote on the bill today. 

For over a year, Kelly championed the three pieces of legislation that form the backbone of the Senate-passed CHIPS Act of 2022 – serving as a chief negotiator of the bill’s $52 billion plan to boost domestic microchip manufacturing, originally cosponsoring the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, and leading the FABS Act. This legislation will help establish Arizona as a global hub for microelectronics research, development, testing, manufacturing, and packaging.  

See highlights in the news below:

Arizona Republic: Senate OKs semiconductor chip bill, which Sen. Mark Kelly says will lower prices, bring jobs

[…] “It means lower costs for everyday products that depend on microchips,” Kelly, D-Ariz., said Tuesday at a Capitol Hill news conference. “It means we can stay ahead of China, and that we won’t rely on them or other countries for our microchip supply. And finally, it means tens of thousands of jobs in places like Arizona.”

[…] Kelly visited the construction site several weeks ago. And he’s spent the last few weeks shepherding the legislation over the line, holding talks with congressional partners and business leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook and SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell. When operational, engineers at the plant will produce the “most advanced microchip ever made in the United States,” Kelly said. 

It would go beyond the TSMC plant. Arizona State University President Michael Crow, on a media call with Kelly hours after the vote in Congress, said the bill would make the greater-Phoenix area “the manufacturing center of the planet.” The supply-chain industry buildup to support microchip production would touch the entire sun corridor region, Crow said, from Tucson all the way through Pinal County and up to Phoenix. […]

12News: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly discusses semiconductor production on Today in AZ

[…] This is about a choice: do we want these companies to be in Europe, Japan, South Korea, or even China? Or do we want them here in the United States? And this is not only about bringing down costs. This is also about our national security. You know, our pacing threat, our biggest adversary out there is China. They’re trying to attract these companies, they’re trying to build the best semiconductor chips in the world — they can’t yet. We can’t allow them to be in a situation where they can be the leader in this technology. It needs to be here in the United States. We created the semiconductor chip, we created microchips and should get back our leadership in this technology. 

AZ Family: U.S. Senate moves forward on bill to boost semiconductor production; could bring more jobs to Arizona

U.S. Senators advanced a bill to boost semiconductor production by offering various incentives for manufacturers by offering more than $50 billion dollars. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is one of the lead negotiators of the deal. In the Valley, producers such as Intel have already been creating semiconductors. […]

The Senate needed 60 votes to advance the bill and the vote was 64-32. Giles also praised Senator Kelly’s sponsorship of the CHIPS for America Act and his leadership moving forward with the act. The House of Representatives is also expected to take up the package this week.

Phoenix Business Journal: State leaders say Arizona will emerge as a leading science and technology center thanks to Chips bill

[…] While the bill waits a final vote from the U.S. House of Representatives, it will take time for the Arizona Department of Commerce to assign and distribute funds from the bill. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, said the legislation will lower costs for everyday goods and strengthen Arizona’s position as a leader in the production of manufacturing of semiconductors.

“It does appear to me that Arizona will benefit as much as any other state, if not more, with TSMC and Intel and the possibility of other chip companies and all the other ancillary companies coming here, we’re very well positioned to benefit from this legislation,” Kelly said Wednesday.

The Hill: Senate passes chips and science bill aimed at better competing with China

[…] The bill, which is expected to have enough votes to pass the House, would be one of the biggest legislative accomplishments of the Congress and would be a boon to the nation’s high-tech manufacturing industry. […]

“We renegotiated the grant money and where the spending is going to be for chips,” said Kelly, noting the differences between the legislation and what was introduced before he got to Congress. […]

Bloomberg: Chipmakers Get $52 Billion in Senate Bill in Big Win for Biden

[…] A bipartisan group of senators — led by Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia and Mark Kelly of Arizona and Republicans John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas — then succeeded in adding the $52 billion in emergency appropriations for the semiconductor industry, allocating funding for a measure that had previously been enacted as part of the 2021 defense bill.

Reuters: U.S. Senate passes bill to boost chip manufacturing, compete with China

[…] Senator Mark Kelly said if the U.S. lost access to chips made in Taiwan it could shrink U.S. Gross Domestic Product by 10% and cripple auto production. […]