The House voted in favor of legislation providing $280 billion in funding to help companies compete with China in innovation, including $52 billion to fund semiconductor factories in the United States.
The House voted 243 to 187 in favor of the legislation, a vote that was complicated by GOP anger over Senate Democrats unveiling a surprise agreement on major climate and healthcare legislation meant to pass without Republican votes. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had said that Republicans would block the semiconductor legislation if Democrats threatened to pass the partisan climate and healthcare spending bill. Two dozen Republicans voted in favor of the semiconductor measure. One Democrat voted “present.”
MANCHIN DEAL INCLUDES $369 BILLION FOR ‘ENERGY SECURITY’ AND CLIMATE PROGRAMS
“This legislation comes to the House precisely as Senate Democrats have allegedly struck a deal on their partisan reconciliation bill, pairing up a tone-deaf agenda that, on one hand, gives billions away in corporate handouts, and on the other hand undoes historic tax cuts implemented by Republicans,” Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) office wrote in a memo. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Scalise initially objected to the CHIPS Act but had not threatened to whip against it before Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he had reached a deal on reconciliation legislation with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) said on the House floor just before the vote that he was “voting against legislation I’ve long supported.” He cited the “deeply flawed” Schumer-Manchin reconciliation deal and “actions taken by Democratic leadership yesterday.”
Semiconductors are a crucial component for constructing electronics, but factories have struggled to keep up with market demand. This has led several manufacturers to delay their work. The semiconductor shortage has had severe effects on a multitude of industries, including computer production and automotive production. Toyota cut its car production quota by 50,000 in July 2022 due to a lack of semiconductors.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband Paul stirred up controversy after investing in multiple semiconductor companies before the CHIPs Act’s passage. Paul sold more than $4 million worth of shares in computer chip company Nvidia on Tuesday, the same day the Senate hosted a cloture vote on the semiconductor legislation. Paul’s sale of Nvidia shares came at a total loss of $341,365, according to publicly available financial disclosures. Nancy Pelosi stated in July that her husband had “absolutely not” made any stock trades based on information provided by her.
Some fiscal conservatives oppose the bill. “The answer to the Chinese Communist Party’s malevolent ambitions is not spending billions of dollars to help Fortune 500 companies, with no guarantee those dollars won’t end up supporting these companies’ business operations in China,” said Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a Friday appearance on Fox Business. “Additionally, the act’s $250 billion price tag will contribute to record inflation and increase the already historic cost of living for working- and middle-class Americans.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Intel announced Monday that it was taking the Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek as its first client for its semiconductor foundries, implying a sense of confidence in its production future.
