Another major legislative victory for Democrats came Thursday when, in the face of Republican objections to “corporate welfare,” a bipartisan group in the House passed a bill that funds the nation’s science and technology industries with thousands million to boost domestic production of semiconductors and crucial chips. additional research and development.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 243 to 187 (with one “present” vote) despite pressure from GOP leadership against the legislation. Twenty-four Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure, which now heads to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.
One lawmaker, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., whose grandfather Irwin Jacobs founded semiconductor maker Qualcomm, voted “present.”
“If you want to know who hates this bill, who’s lobbying for it: the Chinese Communist Party. Why? Because they know it will help us compete against them,” Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas, the top Republican in the House, told reporters. House Foreign Affairs Committee and a key supporter of the package, while criticizing fellow Republicans for opposing the bill.
Rep. Frank Dean Lucas of Oklahoma, the ranking GOP member on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, took another view.
“Unfortunately, and it’s more unfortunate than you can imagine, I won’t be voting for [the chips bill],” he said. “This is one of those occasions when, as a statesman and responsible member of Congress, I must put aside my pride in the work of the science committee and cast the vote that represents the best interests of the North -Americans and, in particular, from the good people of Oklahoma’s Third District.”
Supporters of the $280 billion proposal point to the roughly $52 billion it provides to incentivize the creation of semiconductor facilities and thereby increase the industry’s competitiveness in the U.S. at a time when countries such as China dominates the sphere.
In this April 28, 2022 file photo, Representative Michael McCaul walks up the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, DC
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
There is a significant shortage of these chips, which serve as the “brains” of all kinds of technology in the US, from phones to appliances to cars and more.
Many House Republicans supported the bill as recently as Wednesday, before the surprise news of a deal between Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., on an expansionary spending bill. on democratic priorities such as climate, healthcare and corporate taxes.
Manchin had previously said he would not support climate and tax policies in the pending spending package, citing inflation. But Wednesday’s deal, he said, would reduce the government deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Republicans were not happy. Some had backed the microchip bill once they believed Manchin’s objections had killed Democrats’ spending plans. On Wednesday, shortly before Manchin publicly reversed course, the Senate passed the chip bill 64-33 after more than a year of gridlock.
Club for Growth, a Washington-based economic organization, has maintained its opposition to the bill and called on House Republicans to vote against it in light of the spending deal between Manchin and Schumer, which Democrats of the Senate they hope to approve before the August recess.
“House GOP should kill CHIPS now that Schumer and Manchin played 17 Senate Republicans on reconciliation,” wrote Club for Growth Vice President Scott T. Parkinson. Twitter Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 27, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
“I was a no last week, I was a no last night and I will be the first no on the board today,” House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on the floor Thursday , who called the measure “business welfare.”
The bill is also one of the White House’s top national security policies, with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, while briefing lawmakers earlier this month, calling its passage a “matter of urgency” and said the country was “out of time” to act.
Biden issued a statement about the legislation shortly after it passed the House, saying he “looks forward to this bill being signed.”
“The CHIPS and Science Act is exactly what we need to do to grow our economy right now. By making more semiconductors in America, this bill will increase domestic manufacturing and lower costs for families. And it will strengthen the our national security. making us less dependent on foreign sources of semiconductors,” he said.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
