higher prices for automobiles, electronics and
medical devices. To show his administration
is addressing inlation concerns, Biden
highlighted the vote at a White House event
last Friday and reminded Americans of Intel’s
announcement two weeks ago that it would be
building two computer chip production plants
in Ohio.
Republicans, who for months have hammered
Democrats over rising inlation, panned the
measure as “toothless” and short of what is
needed to hold China accountable for a range
of economic and human rights actions. They
also said it would waste taxpayer dollars
on environmental initiatives and other
unnecessary programs.
“This bill is actually just a long list of
progressive dream policies that have nothing
to do with China at all,” said Rep. Michelle
Fischbach, R-Minn.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with
House Democratic lawmakers to discuss the
bill. She said the most “urgent need” in the bill
is the $52 billion for domestic chip production
because of the global chip shortage’s efect on
the economy, including the automotive sector,
and the national security implications of having
so many semiconductors made overseas.
“We just cannot wait anymore,” she told
reporters. “We are so far behind. We’re in such
a dangerous place as a matter of national
security just because of our reliance on Taiwan
for our most sophisticated, leading-edge chips.”
Big chipmakers like Intel and Samsung have
recently announced plans to build new
factories in the U.S., but Raimondo noted they