Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On GlobalFoundries Finalizing A $1.5 Billion Award To Expand Semiconductor Manufacturing In Upstate New York Thanks To The Bipartisan Chips And Science Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on GlobalFoundries finalizing a $1.5 billion award, enabling them to expand manufacturing and create high paying jobs, thanks to the bipartisan Chips and Science Act. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

When I wrote and led the passage of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, I often spoke about days in the not-too-distant future when this legislation would bring manufacturing back to the U.S., strengthen our national security, and deliver big for New York, particularly Upstate New York.

Today, I’m proud to say, is precisely the kind of day I had in mind when I helped write the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.

Today, semiconductor company GlobalFoundries finalized a $1.5 billion award – that’s $1.5 billion, with a B – to build a new, cutting-edge, massive chip factory in Malta, New York, and expand production in the Capital Region of New York. This award was made possible precisely because of the law I wrote and passed.

This CHIPS Award is now locked in. The agreement is signed, sealed, and ready to deliver a better future for Upstate New York and for America. Importantly, this funding is protected for years to come.

GlobalFoundries’ announcement is exciting for several reasons.

First, it means thousands of new, good-paying manufacturing and union construction jobs are on the way to the Capital Region, as GlobalFoundries triples its production in Saratoga County. When we wrote the CHIPS and Science Law, we wanted to make sure that it was union labor that built these factories.

The funds will also modernize a GlobalFoundries facility in Vermont.

These are jobs that will help transform the region – jobs that even the children and grandchildren of workers today will hold decades from now. When your kid gets one of these jobs, you're not going to think it will be gone in five years because this is a growing, burgeoning industry. Semiconductor chips are the future of our modern economy. So, it's a great thing for optimism, for a future, for those ladders up that we so believe in here in America.

Second, this funding will help create a strong domestic supply of essential chips that America needs for our national and economic security.

The chips made by GlobalFoundries are critical to the auto industry, to national defense, to artificial intelligence, all the way down to our smartphones. If we want to keep prices low and prevent shortages, one of the best things we can do is build chips here at home. This funding will help make that happen.

Most importantly, as I said, the $1.5 billion award is cemented for New York and for America, as long as GlobalFoundries meets its project milestones. Upstate New York – the Capital Region – can rest assured that the funding announced today will be there in the years to come.  

So, today is a great day for the Capital Region, a great day for New York, a great day for American leadership in the global semiconductor industry.

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