Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined eight other governors to urge Congressional leadership to approve legislation that would turbocharge semiconductor production in the U.S.
The Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors for American Act includes the “mature node” chips that are crucial to automakers and parts suppliers, and strengthen Michigan’s supply chain.
“The global auto chip shortage has hit Michigan and states across the country hard, idling plants and slowing production, threatening thousands of auto-related jobs up and down the supply chain,” Whitmer said. “With no end in sight, it’s clear we have no time to lose if we’re going to protect jobs and maintain our competitive edge. I am grateful for our Michigan Congressional delegation’s tireless work to address this crisis and fund these incentives and hope that Congress can follow suit and come together quickly to get this done. I will continue to use all the tools and resources I have to fight for every job in Michigan.”
The bipartisan, Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) included, as Whitmer details, funding for the CHIPS Act reshoring provisions, specifically $52 billion in incentives to boost domestic semiconductor production and research, $2 billion of which would be dedicated to incentivizing the production of the “mature node” semiconductors used by automakers and parts suppliers.
These chips are also a key component for other manufacturing sectors such as medical devices, agricultural machinery, and radiation-proof chips used by national defense industrial base.
Production at auto plants across the country is idling and impacting more than 575,000 auto-related American jobs due to the global chip shortage, Whitmer states. This year, automakers in North America lost an estimated 2.2 million vehicles, equaling more than 3,000 days of work.
The CHIPS Act will not only help address the shortage, it will also create and protect hundreds of thousands of jobs, grow Michigan’s economy, and strengthen national security by creating a domestic semiconductor supply chain, Whitmer said.
Whitmer as well as Gov. Evers (WI), Gov. Cooper (NC), Gov. Beshear (KY), Gov. Wolf (PA), Gov. Ivey (AL), Gov. Kelly (KS), Gov. Pritzker (IL), and Gov. Newsom (CA), sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging swift action.
“The CHIPS Act incentive provisions have garnered broad, bipartisan support, as reflected in the Senate, which passed USICA earlier this year by a vote of 68-32. While we understand that the House of Representatives has its own priorities with respect to the policies and programs included in USICA, we hope the two chambers will now come together quickly to find common ground with respect to this legislation, including full funding for the CHIPS Act re-shoring provisions, as soon as possible,” the governors wrote.
