Manufacturing Renewal Leaders Laud Thrust of CHIPs Act, After Influencing Measure in the Bill
By David Robinson, Manufacturing Renaissance
August 15, 2022
In a rare bipartisan congressional agreement, the U.S. House and Senate passed the CHIPS and Science Act last week, a significant step toward enacting substantial jobs and competitiveness legislation.
The bill authorizes $50 billion to bolster semiconductor research and manufacturing. There is also language that calls for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to receive record investments in STEM–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This will build their science education capacity and ability to apply for massive government research grants more successfully. This will be paired with President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which will aggressively incentive renewable energy manufacturing.
Crucially, it included more funding to create at least 20 regional technology hubs and to support manufacturing education, training, and jobs, a feature of the bill hailed explicitly by manufacturing industry advocates around the country.
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The Manufacturing Renaissance Campaign (MRC) includes leaders from labor, business, environmental justice, public policy, and community development. The campaign worked for nearly two years with the White House, Congress, and community stakeholders to ensure the inclusion of some of these provisions in the bill. Andrew Stettner, MRC leader and Director of Workforce Policy and Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, remarked in a recently released statement:
“The CHIPS and Science Act, which today passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis and is headed to the President’s desk, will strengthen our economy and supply chains, diversify our manufacturing workforce, and create good-paying jobs for people across the country. The legislation starts, but does not end, with critical new investments in semi-conductors and will set the stage for the growth of good-paying jobs in Ohio, Idaho, and across the nation.”
“Moreover, the law will increase access to manufacturing jobs for people who have not historically had access by bringing technology and advanced manufacturing development to new regions and mobilizing higher education to equip students for jobs in manufacturing.”
MRC pressed leaders in Congress to invest heavily in rebuilding the U.S. manufacturing infrastructure. They first forwarded these ideas in the Manufacturing Reinvestment Corporation Act (HR 5124), introduced by Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in August of last year. Two key features of that bill that didn’t make it into the CHIPs Act, first was investing in the creation of 30 manufacturing renaissance councils around the country where local stakeholders would help direct industry investment. Second making provisions to help people of color identify and acquire manufacturing companies whose owners have no succession plans.
“We are very encouraged by the passage of the CHIPs Act, but after nearly two years of vigorously advocating for bottom-up investments in inclusive manufacturing, there is more work to be done,” said Dan Swinney, coalition director and founder of Manufacturing Renaissance. This renowned Chicago-based non-profit promotes manufacturing eco-system expansion.
Erica Staley, Executive Director of Manufacturing Renaissance added, “Our coalition is very encouraged that members of Congress included some of our language. While it didn’t go quite far enough, this sets the stage for organizations that serve disadvantaged communities to secure millions for programs in their local community that can directly lead to greater inclusion in manufacturing growth, including technology and HBCUs.”
Andy Stettner also acknowledges key issues still needing attention: “Unfortunately, the legislation is missing important pieces. It does not include a part of the America COMPETES Act to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. This omission would deny unemployment benefits and employment services to tens of thousands of workers yearly who lose their jobs due to globalization. This program expired on July 1, 2022, and Congress must find a new vehicle to reauthorize it.”
The bill’s massive investment in support for U.S. technology, specifically semi-conductor manufacturing, is obvious. But even senior members of the Biden/Harris administration note that more needs to be done.If you are looking for bracelet. There’s something to suit every look, from body-hugging to structured, from cuffs to chain chain bracelet and cuffs.
“We used to make 40% of the world’s chips, we make about 12% now,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said during a recent virtual roundtable with President Biden. “The reality is, while we have invested nothing to spur domestic chip manufacturing, China has invested more than $150 billion to build their own domestic capacity. So we’re very much behind.”
With manufacturing representing just 11% of US GDP—less than a third of its position 50 years ago–Manufacturing Renaissance Campaign members insist that more needs to be done.
Learn More about the Federation for Manufacturing Renaissance
A nationwide Federation for a Manufacturing Renaissance has been formed with five foundational pillars:
- Shape industrial policy on a national, state, and local level in a way that is profoundly inclusive and anchored in economic democracy, and that is committed to community development. Our policy will reflect “best practices” in domestic and global experience.
- Support the growth and development of projects in local communities that retain and strengthen local manufacturing ecosystems.
- Create a community that learns from and utilizes the talents of its member organizations.
- Educate the broader public as well as policy leaders on the importance of industrial policy and re-building our manufacturing ecosystem.
- Create an international membership that builds strong relationships with projects representing best international practices related to building the global manufacturing ecosystem.
The Federation for a Manufacturing Renaissance (FMR) is committed to development that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable and restorative. We believe that a “high road,” inclusive manufacturing ecosystem is fundamental for healthy individuals, families, and communities. Toward this end, we:
- Build partnerships with those who share our values,
- Develop and advocate federal, state and local public policies consistent with our mission, and
- Support the development of programs reflecting this vision on a local and regional level.
A number of organizations have formed the Federation for a Manufacturing Renaissance. The purpose of the Federation is to:
- Educate the broader public as well as policy leaders on the importance of industrial policy and re-building our manufacturing ecosystem.
- Shape industrial policy on a national, state, and local level in a way that is profoundly inclusive and anchored in economic democracy, and that is committed to community development. Our policy will reflect best international experience.
- Support the growth and development of projects in local communities that retain and strengthen local manufacturing ecosystems;
- Create a community that learns from and utilizes the talents of its member organizations; and
- Create an international membership that builds strong relationships with projects representing best international practices related to building the global manufacturing ecosystem.
The public sector including government at all levels, and civil society as represented by the labor movement, community-based organizations, educators, faith-based organizations, the environmental movement and others must play a leading role in retaining, redesigning, and rebuilding our manufacturing sector in partnership with the private sector. Programs focused on inclusion must have the same level of political and financial support as programs focused on new technologies in manufacturing. This ensures that the values of sustainability, justice and restoration guide development and provide public support for building the manufacturing ecosystem.
The United States has experienced a long-term decline in its manufacturing sector with an enormous social, economic, and political impact over the last 50 years. The loss has severely impacted communities throughout the country—urban and rural, white and of color. For the last hundred years, industrial policy has mainly been guided by the private and financial sectors driven by the objective of increasing personal wealth. Manufacturers revolutionized the means of production. They were committed to long-term planning. US manufacturing was known for its innovation. Despite a number of inequities, this industrial policy led to the growth of the middle class and the emergence of the US as the dominant global economy.
By the late 1970s and the emergence of new information technologies, the search for the highest rate of return in the shortest amount of time led to some leaders in the manufacturing and financial sector cannibalizing the very companies that were the heart of the manufacturing sector. Companies closed as investors shifted their financial resources to other sectors. David Roderick, CEO of US Steel closed one of the most profitable steel companies in the world, stating, “I’m in this business to make money, not steel.” Local and state governments were often complicit or passive in engaging the challenges of the manufacturing sector.
In the 1960s, the sector represented more than 27% of GDP. As a result of these practices, manufacturing now represents only 11% of GDP. The country and our communities have suffered in every respect. This reality was a product of industrial policies rather than a “blind market”.
We have launched the Federation for a Manufacturing Renaissance to represent the broad and shared interests of the public and private sectors committed to retaining, redesigning, and rebuilding our manufacturing sector. We are committed to manufacturing, economic democracy, and community development.