Cemal Contessa | Bloomberg | Getty Images A bipartisan bill to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and boost U.S. competitiveness with China has cleared a key vote in the Senate, setting it up for a final floor vote in the coming days. The so-called override vote was originally set for Monday night, but was postponed until Tuesday morning after severe storms on the East Coast disrupted the travel plans of some senators. The vote passed 64-32. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he hopes lawmakers “can stay on track to get this legislation done as soon as possible.” The package, known as “CHIPS-plus,” includes about $52 billion in funding for U.S. companies that make computer chips and a provision that offers a tax credit for investments in chip manufacturing. It also provides funding to stimulate innovation and development of other US technologies. If it passes the Senate as expected, the House will approve the legislation. Supporters of the bill hope Congress will pass it and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature before the August recess, which begins in two weeks. The legislation, these advocates say, is vital to US economic interests and national security in a world increasingly dependent on technological progress. They also argue that the bill could help offset the effects of a global chip shortage caused by Covid and put the US on a more competitive footing with China, which has invested heavily in its own chip-making capabilities. “America invented the semiconductor. It’s time to bring it home,” Biden said during a meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon. The president, who tested positive for Covid last week, attended the meeting virtually. The legislation “will advance our nation’s competitiveness and our technological edge,” Biden said, calling on Congress to “pass this bill as soon as possible.” CHIPS-plus is a revamped version of broader legislation that has long been in the House and Senate. The larger measure was threatened by Republican leadership earlier this month. The slimmer bill passed an early procedural motion last week on a bipartisan vote of 64-34. The votes come as Sens. Joe Manchin, DW.V., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, separately announced Monday that they had tested positive for Covid. Both senators said they will work remotely and follow the CDC’s distancing guidelines, but Senate rules require them to vote in person. Their diagnoses aren’t expected to derail Senate efforts to pass CHIPS-plus, but could stymie other Democratic legislative goals before the August recess. The Biden administration, meanwhile, wants Congress to act now. In Monday’s meeting with Biden, national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned of enormous national security risks “we face right now, today” because of supply chain vulnerabilities exacerbated by the pandemic. America’s continued dependence on overseas semiconductor makers is “absolutely dangerous, and an interruption of our chip supply would be catastrophic,” Sullivan said. “The longer we wait, the more dangerous the disruption.” Executives from Lockheed Martin, jet engine maker Cummins and medical device maker Medtronic reiterated those national security arguments during the meeting. Chris Shelton of the major labor union Communications Workers of America told Biden, “There is no doubt that we need a comprehensive approach to compete and address China’s unfair trade practices.”
