Jul 27, 2022 - Technology

Senate passes major chip funding bill

Margaret Harding McGill

Illustration of a US flag made of semiconductor chips. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

The Senate voted 64-33 Wednesday to approve a $280 billion package meant to spur U.S. chip manufacturing, a major victory for the Biden administration and chip-makers.

Why it matters: The bill aims to reverse a long-term decline in domestic manufacturing of the computer chips that go into cars, computers, appliances and a range of other everyday items, after the pandemic exposed the fragility of the international supply chain.

Driving the news: The bill, which has gone through many names (most recently the Chips and Science bill), includes $52 billion in funding for domestic production of semiconductors.

Intel and other chipmakers have aggressively lobbied for the subsidy, arguing the U.S. government needs to incentivize chip production on American soil to catch up to other countries.
The legislation also authorizes (but does not fund) about $200 billion for scientific research, including $81 billion for the National Science Foundation for a technology directorate aimed at translating basic research into commercial products made in the U.S.

Between the lines: The funding won wide bipartisan support, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opposed the legislation as a "blank check" for the profitable microchip industry without guardrails.

What's next: The bill heads to the House, which previously passed a broader version of the legislation.

Go deeper: How the Senate's CHIPS-plus bill ballooned by billions

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Senate passes major chip funding bill

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