Advocacy News – May 18, 2022
The Michigan Chamber called on Congress last week to act quickly on legislation to address the semiconductor shortage, which is hurting the Michigan economy, businesses and workers.
Over 200 chambers of commerce and business organizations, including the Michigan Chamber, joined together to urge Congress to work swiftly to complete negotiations on the Bipartisan Innovation Act. Doing so is critical to making funding available for the Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act and enhanced Facilitation American-Built Semiconductors (FABS) Act.
Semiconductors are essential to nearly every sector of the economy, including the auto, aerospace, communications, clean energy, information technology and medical devices industries. Unfortunately, demand for semiconductors has outstripped supply, partly due to shifts arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has created a global chip shortage and resulted in lost growth and jobs, in turn underscoring the need for increased domestic manufacturing capacity.
Congressional approval of funding provisions would help meet this long-term challenge by incentivizing semiconductor research, design and manufacturing in the United States. This will in turn strengthen the U.S. economy, national security and supply chain resilience and increase the supply of chips so important to our entire economy.
Please contact the Chamber team with questions at info@michamber.com.