House Speaker Johnson says GOP may try to repeal CHIPS Act, then walks
it back
Send a link to a friend
[November 02, 2024] By
STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that
Republicans “probably will” try to repeal legislation that spurred U.S.
production of semiconductor chips, a statement he quickly tried to walk
back by saying he would like to instead “streamline” it.
Johnson made the initial comment while campaigning for a vulnerable New
York GOP congressman in a district that is anticipating a large new
Micron semiconductor manufacturing plant.
A reporter asked Johnson whether he would try to repeal the bipartisan
CHIPS and Science Act, which Republican presidential nominee Donald
Trump had disparaged last week. “I expect that we probably will, but we
haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet," Johnson replied.
Democrats quickly jumped on the Republican speaker’s comments, warning
that it showed how Johnson and Trump are pursuing an aggressive
conservative agenda bent on dismantling even popular government
programs. The White House has credited the CHIPS Act for spurring
hundreds of billions of dollars of investments as well as hundreds of
thousands of jobs. Vice President Kamala Harris has pointed to the
legislation on the campaign trail as proof that Democrats can be
entrusted with the U.S. economy.
Johnson, who voted against the legislation, later said in a statement
that the CHIPS Act, which poured $54 billion into the semiconductor
manufacturing industry, “is not on the agenda for repeal."
“To the contrary, there could be legislation to further streamline and
improve the primary purpose of the bill—to eliminate its costly
regulations and Green New Deal requirements,” the speaker's statement
said.
It wasn't the first recent comment Johnson has had to walk back. Earlier
this week he had to clean up comments he made saying he wanted to “take
a blow torch to the regulatory state” and make “massive” changes to the
Affordable Care Act. After facing political blowback, he said that
repealing the health care law was “not on the table.”
The incident was emblematic of Johnson's struggle working closely with
Trump and at the same time campaigning for his House colleagues,
especially those locked in tough reelection battles that are crucial to
Republicans holding a narrow majority. The speaker was campaigning for
Rep. Brandon Williams, a New York Republican who worked in the tech
industry before running for Congress and supported the CHIPS Act.
[to top of second column] |
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a campaign
event at the Lucas County Republican Party headquarters in Holland,
Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Williams said in a statement that he
spoke privately with Johnson after he suggested that the act could
be repealed.
“He apologized profusely, saying he misheard the question,” Williams
said.
Williams' district is anticipating a large new Micron semiconductor
manufacturing plant. The company has said it received grants of $6.1
billion from the CHIPS Act to support its plans.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday,
“Anyone threatening to repeal the CHIPS & Science Act is threatening
more than 50,000 good-paying jobs in Upstate New York and $231
billion worth of economic growth nationwide.”
Democrats are hoping that the comments give them a late boost as
they try to court working class voters in regions that depend on
factory jobs. Harris, during a campaign stop in Saginaw, Michigan
earlier this week, toured another semiconductor factory to bring
attention to the 2022 law.
In response to Johnson's comments Friday, a spokesperson for Harris'
campaign, Ammar Moussa, said, "Harris is running to bring
manufacturing jobs back to America and make us competitive globally.
The only way to guarantee these Republicans never get a chance to
repeal these laws that are creating jobs and saving Americans money
is to elect her president.”
As of August, the CHIPS and Science Act had provided $30 billion in
support for 23 projects in 15 states that would add 115,000
manufacturing and construction jobs, according to the Commerce
Department. That funding helped to draw in private capital and would
enable the United States to produce 30% of the world’s most advanced
computer chips, up from 0% when the Biden-Harris administration
succeeded Trump’s presidency.
Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, said, “Most politicians usually go to a community
promising to create jobs in the town they’re visiting… Mike Johnson,
ever the trendsetter, decided to visit a town and promise to kill
jobs in that town.”
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|