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u.s. news Dialuna 25 Juli 2022

Semiconductor bill unites Sanders, the right — in opposition

(AP) — A bill to boost trough.
semiconductor produc- Sanders said he doesn't hear
tion in the United States from people about the need
has managed to do nearly to help the semiconductor
the unthinkable — unite industry. Voters talk to him
the democratic socialist about climate change, gun
Sen. Bernie Sanders and safety, preserving a wom-
the fiscally conservative an's right to an abortion and
right. boosting Social Security ben-
efits, to name just a few.
The bill making its way "Not too many people that
through the Senate is a top I can recall — I have been
priority of the Biden admin- all over this country — say:
istration. It would add about 'Bernie, you go back there
$79 billion to the deficit over and you get the job done, and
10 years, mostly as a result you give enormously profit-
of new grants and tax breaks able corporations, which pay
that would subsidize the cost outrageous compensation
that computer chip manufac- packages to their CEOs, bil-
turers incur when building lions and billions of dollars in
or expanding chip plants in corporate welfare,'" Sanders
the United States. said.
Supporters say that countries Sanders voted against the
all over the world are spend- original semiconductor and
ing billons of dollars to lure research bill that passed the
chipmakers. The U.S. must Senate last year. He was the
do the same or risk losing a only senator who caucuses
secure supply of the semi- with the Democrats to op-
conductors that power the pose the measure, joining
nation's automobiles, com- with 31 Republicans.
puters, appliances and some While Sanders would like
of the military's most ad- the see the spending directed as The Wall Street Journal's help from Republicans to through the House is nar-
vanced weapons systems. elsewhere, several GOP sen- editorial board, the Heritage get a bill over the finish line. row if progressives join with
Sanders, I-Vt., and a wide ators just want the spending Foundation and the tea par- Support from at least 11 Re- Sanders and if most Repub-
range of conservative law- stopped, period. Sen. Mike ty aligned group Freedom- publican senators will be licans line up in opposition
makers, think tanks and me- Lee, R-Utah, said the spend- Works have also come out needed to overcome a filibus- based on fiscal concerns.
dia outlets have a different ing would help fuel inflation against the bill. "Giving tax- ter. A final vote on the bill is The White House says the
take. To them, it's "corporate that is hurting the poor and payer money away to rich expected in the coming week. bill needs to pass by the end
welfare." It's just the latest middle class. corporations is not compet- Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, of the month because com-
example of how spending "The poorer you are, the ing with China," said Wal- is among the likely Repub- panies are making decisions
taxpayer dollars to help the more you suffer. Even people ter Lohman, director of the lican supporters. Asked now about where to build.
private sector can scramble well-entrenched in the mid- Heritage Foundation's Asian about the Sanders' argument Two key congressional
the usual partisan lines, creat- dle class get gouged consider- Studies Center. against the bill, Romney said groups, the Problem Solvers
ing allies on the left and right ably. Why we would want to The opposition from the far that when other countries caucus and the New Demo-
who agree on little else. They take money away from them left and the far right means subsidize the manufacturing crat Coalition, have endorsed
are positioning themselves and give it to the wealthy is that Senate Majority Leader of high technology chips, the the measure in recent days,
as defenders of the little guy beyond my ability to fath- Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., U.S. must join the club. The Problem Solvers caucus
against powerful interest om," Lee said. and House Speaker Nancy "If you don't play like they is made up members from
groups lining up at the public Conservative mainstays such Pelosi, D-Calif., will need play, then you are not going both parties. Rep. Brian Fitz-
to be manufacturing high patrick of Pennsylvania, the
technology chips, and they group's Republican co-chair,
are essential for our national said Intel Corp. wants to
defense as well as our econo- build its chip capacity in the
my," Romney said. United States, but much of
The most common reason that capacity will go to Eu-
that lawmakers give for sub- rope if Congress doesn't pass
sidizing the semiconductor the bill.
industry is the risk to na- "If a semiconductor-related
tional security from relying bill is brought to the floor, it
on foreign suppliers, particu- will pass," Fitzpatrick said.
larly after the supply chain Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash.,
problems of the pandemic. said he believes the legisla-
Nearly four-fifths of global tion checks a lot of boxes for
fabrication capacity is in Asia, his constituents, including
according to the Congressio- on the front-burner issue of
nal Research Service, broken the day, inflation.
down by South Korea at 28%, "This is about reducing infla-
Taiwan at 22%, Japan, 16%, tion. If you look at inflation,
and China, 12%. one-third of the inflation in
"My fear is that more and the last quarter was automo-
more companies will locate biles, and it's because there's
their manufacturing facili- a shortage of chips," Kilmer
ties in other countries and said. "So this is about, one,
that we will be increasingly making sure that we're mak-
vulnerable," said Sen. Susan ing things in the United
Collins, R-Maine. States, and two, about reduc-
Supporters are confident the ing costs."
bill will pass the Senate. The
window for passing the bill