As the CHIPS-plus bill is scheduled to pass this week, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday (25th) that a procedural vote originally scheduled for Monday was postponed to Tuesday due to continued heavy thunderstorms on the East Coast. President Biden attended a video conference on the same day to discuss the chip bill, and exchanged views with top U.S. business leaders and labor representatives.
Schumer said that due to heavy thunderstorms disrupting many senators’ outings, the vote on the chip-lite bill (CHIPS-plus) was postponed from its original schedule on Monday night to 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday (11 p.m. Tuesday in Taiwan).
Despite being thwarted by weather issues, Schumer said, “I’m still hopeful that the bill will be finalized as soon as possible.”
The Senate passed the first hurdle of procedural votes on the bill last week. It was originally scheduled to clear another important procedural hurdle on Monday and enter a final resolution on Tuesday or Wednesday, before sending it to the House for a vote. House Democratic leaders hope to schedule a vote as soon as possible to pass the bill before the House adjourns and send it to President Biden for signature.
The House and Senate will adjourn on July 29 and August 5, respectively.
The Lite Chip Act includes $52 billion in subsidies for the semiconductor industry, providing tax breaks for companies that manufacture semiconductors in the United States to attract investment from the chip industry. A number of chip makers have said that if the U.S. legislation delays, they will cancel the establishment of factories and investment.
Biden meets with corporate executives, labor representatives
Biden, who was diagnosed last week but was in good health, met with a number of U.S. business executives and labor representatives by video conference on Monday to gain more support for the bill.
Biden said at the meeting: “The United States is the inventor of the semiconductor, and now is the time to bring it to the United States. (Congress) to pass the bill as soon as possible.”
The top U.S. corporate executives who met with Biden on the same day included Lockheed Martin (Lockheed Martin).LMT-US), jet engine maker Cummins (CMI-US), medical device maker Medtronic (MDT-US), they all agree that the US’ over-reliance on overseas semiconductors brings national security concerns.
In response to the chip disconnection, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the epidemic has worsened the fragile supply chain situation in the United States and exposed the United States to many national security risks. “The longer you wait, the problem of (chip supply) interruption will be. more dangerous.”
The bill is regarding to be voted on, and two senators announced Monday that they had tested positive, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Lisa Murkowski.
The two cases are not expected to affect the chip bill vote, but might make it difficult for Democrats to achieve other legislative goals ahead of a two-week recess in August.
