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.