Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Moving Forward Critical Legislation To Address The Chips Shortage
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the Senate vote later today to move forward on legislation to protect American security interests and strengthen our supply chains by addressing the chips shortage. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
Today is going to be an exceedingly busy and productive day on the Senate floor.
Later today, after months of hard work and countless rounds of talks, Senators will vote to move forward on legislation that our country desperately needs: a chips bill that will lower costs, boost American manufacturing, and protect American security interests.
Over the past twenty-four hours, both parties have continued working on the final details to the CHIPS package that we’ll vote on later today. We’ll see if members can come to an agreement on adding other provisions to the bill, but the bottom line is that we must come up with a package that is capable of passing this chamber without delay. We must act as soon as we can to make sure we bring chip manufacturing back to America because our nation’s security depends on it.
I urge my colleagues: if you want to fight inflation, if you want to create more good-paying jobs right here at home, if you want to keep America strong and competitive and innovative in the twenty-first century so that we can lead the economy as we did in the twentieth, then this chips bill is the way to go. It is a very important bill.
The chips shortage is one of the most damaging trends of the past few years: this technology – which originated, of course, right here in America – is the bedrock for much of modern life. Cars, refrigerators, cell phones, medical devices: they all depend on chips to function.
But when chips suddenly become scarce, as is the case today, the consequences are felt across the board: by companies, but by average Americans. Americans see higher prices and longer wait times for all sorts of consumer goods because of this chips shortage. It wasn’t always this way, but thanks to the pandemic, this crisis is now being felt across the country.
A quarter century ago, the United States was the undisputed leader in global chip production: in 1990, we produced nearly 40% of the world’s semiconductors. Today that figure is going down to 12%, and it’ll get even lower if we don’t pass this bill.
We have a chance of leading the way on chip manufacturing once again if we can pass this legislation.
As we speak, the country’s most important chip manufactures - these are American companies – are waiting on Congressional action – mostly American companies, not all – but they’re waiting on Congressional action before they decide where to invest in chip production. From Asia to Europe, other nations have copied the American playbook and have already invested billions of dollars to incentivize chip manufactures to come to them.
If we do not match the efforts of other countries to boost chip manufacturing, the consequences could be dire and long-lasting.
Countless good paying American jobs are on the line. Costs that Americans are now paying – higher costs, getting them lower – is now on the line. Billions of dollars in economic activity is on the line. And our national security is on the line.
As Secretary Austin and Secretary Raimondo told us last week, “Our economic and national security depends on our ability to invest in the technologies of today and tomorrow.”
If we allow other nations to lead the way on chips, the days of America leading the world in scientific innovation, the days of America being the leading economic and military power in the world, may actually be over. Nobody wants that – so vote for this bill.
That is a future none of us want to see. Again, vote for this bill. I urge my colleagues to move forward later today.
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