Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The CHIPS And Science Law Driving Historic Investment In New York And Across The Country

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the $6.1 billion to be awarded to Micron to help build three megafabs, two of which will be in New York. This was made possible through the CHIPS and Science law, which Leader Schumer helped author and led to passage. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday I shared that Micron, one of the most important chip manufactures in the United States and the world, is receiving over $6 billion from my CHIPS and Science law to help build two megafabs in Central New York, and one in Idaho. This is a monumental step forward for Syracuse, Upstate New York, and for the country.

This is one of the largest single direct federal investments ever for upstate New York. We’ve had a number of CHIPS funding announcements recently, but this is the very first one specifically for memory chips, which will become especially important as technologies like AI boost demand for these chips.

Best of all, this award will lead to 50,000 new good paying jobs. And it will help Micron reach its goal of investing well over $100 billion to make advanced memory chips here in the United States.

So I will say it again, because it is truly good news: with the CHIPS and Science law, we are rebuilding upstate New York with good-paying, middle class jobs, one microchip at a time! And we are rebuilding not just New York but communities from Ohio to Texas to Arizona and beyond. And the benefits in those states will spread as subcontractors and other suppliers around the country are called upon.

Most importantly, the investments being made by CHIPS and Science will mean lower costs for American consumers in the long run. We’ll be less vulnerable to supply chain disruptions like the one we saw in COVID, which sent prices skyrocketing on all sorts of electronic devices. By bringing chip production back here to the US, we can avoid this in the future. 

This is precisely what I envisioned when I led the way on CHIPS and Science, working closely with bipartisan members in the Senate and with President Biden and Secretary Raimondo. And let me thank the President and Secretary Raimondo for helping make these investments possible. With their vision and their leadership, we’re bringing manufacturing back to the US. We’re revitalizing middle class families. We’re giving communities that have been left behind a second chance with new investments, new jobs, and new opportunity.

Getting Chips and Science was not easy. It took a lot of convincing and persistence. But today we’re starting to see why the effort was worth it: one announcement at a time, America is securing its place as the leader in the global semiconductor industry in this century.

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