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Raimondo said at an event outside a Micron Technology Inc chip
factory that she anticipated the government funding would
generate "$150 billion-plus" in investment in chip production
and research - including contributions from state and federal
governments and private-sector firms.
"We just need the federal money ... to unlock private capital,"
Raimondo said, adding, "it could be seven, could be eight, could
be nine, could be 10 new factories in America by the time we're
done."
She said she expected states will compete for federal funding
for chip facilities and that the Commerce department would have
a transparent process for awarding funding.
A global shortage of seminconductor chips, caused by factors
including a rise in demand for electronic devices during the
pandemic, has affected automakers and other industries.
Automakers including General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Toyota
Motor Corp have cut production this year due to the shortage.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, said at Monday's event he
thought the funds could result in "seven to 10" new fabrication
plants. "This is not going to solve this overnight," Warner
said. "It will take years for the Commerce Department to make
these investments."
Last week, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled
revised bipartisan legislation to spend $52 billion for U.S.
semiconductor chip production and research over five years.
Supporters of funding note the United States had a 37% share of
semiconductors and microelectronics production in 1990; today
just 12% of semiconductors are manufactured in the United
States.
As first reported by Reuters, the bill includes $39 billion in
production and R&D incentives and $10.5 billion to implement
programs including the National Semiconductor Technology Center,
National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program and other R&D
programs.
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who also took part in
the joint event, has filed an amendment to remove prevailing
wage provisions from the bill and said he wanted a vote on his
amendment, saying the wage issue was jeopardizing Republican
support.
"I don't expect this is going to stop our achieving what we want
to achieve," Cornyn told Reuters, referring to the wage issue.
"It's important but I think getting the Chips for America Act
passed is essential."
He said China had left the United States no option but to make
such investments. "This is a vulnerability we must fix."
Last month, Ford Motor warned the chip shortage might slash its
second-quarter production by half, costing it about $2.5 billion
and about 1.1 million units of lost production in 2021.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Manassas, Va.; Editing by
Matthew Lewis)
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