U.S. Senate passes Schumer bill to boost U.S. computer-chip production

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed the CHIPS bill, which would provide $50 billion in federal incentives to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. and perhaps in upstate New York.

The final vote was 64-33, per an article on the topic on the website of CBS News. The legislation officially called the CHIPS for America Act, short for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, CBS News reported.

In a mid-afternoon teleconference with reporters, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) called it an “amazingly great day” for American and upstate New York.

He noted that the bill passed the Senate “by a large margin and will pass the [U.S] House [of Representatives] overwhelmingly.”

“It is so important because it’s going to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, not letting them go to China,” Schumer said on the teleconference. “It’s going to lower the cost for families. Everyone knows how important chips are … in our cars and in our appliances and phones and the shortage of them has raised those prices.”

The Democrat contends upstate New York is “most suited” to get chip manufacturing plants, citing “shovel ready sites” in the Syracuse area, Albany, and Western New York that big tech companies are already looking at for new chip fabrication plants, or chip fabs.

A spokesman for the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon confirms to CNYBJ that “at least two companies” are considering the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant.

The spokesman also noted that the companies could make their decision “within weeks” if the CHIPS bill becomes law. The measure would provide incentives to build the factories.

“It’s time to build our future in Syracuse, not Shanghai; in Buffalo, not Beijing,” Schumer said.

CenterState CEO reaction

CenterState CEO “applauds” members of the U.S. Senate for passing the CHIPS for America Act and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

“This is an important step forward, as these are two critical tools that CenterState CEO has vocally advocated for to increase our global competitiveness in the semiconductor industry,” Simpson said. “Restoring American production of these devices will enable an unprecedented opportunity to create jobs and economic prosperity in our country and community.”

Simpson also noted that both pieces of legislation now go to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote where they’ll receive support from the bill’s co-sponsor, U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus).

“In this critical moment, we call on Congress vote to approve CHIPS and ITC,” Simpson said.