Today, Congress took a vital step to support America’s economy, our workers, and our global competitiveness by finally providing funds to address our semiconductor shortage.

This journey started more than two years ago when a group of bipartisan lawmakers came together to propose a federal program to create a secure supply of semiconductors here in the United States. Those semiconductors are the lynchpin of our economic and national security, and today, we celebrate finally funding that program.  

I want to thank House and Senate leadership, along with all of the members – both Democrat and Republican – who supported the CHIPS Act.

And I want to thank President Biden for his tremendous leadership in getting this bill over the finish line.

The CHIPS Act is a historic investment that will help us fulfill the Biden Administration’s goal of revitalizing our domestic manufacturing economy.

And it couldn’t come at a more urgent moment.

The COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other global events are bringing new and unprecedented challenges to our industries, causing short supply and high demand.

That’s especially true of our semiconductor supply chain, which is far too dependent on conditions in other countries half a world away.

Our lack of a vibrant domestic semiconductor industry is both an economic and national security vulnerability. It is impossible to have a strong economy and a strong country if we don’t make things in America anymore.

And it’s fundamentally a question of whether we want good-paying manufacturing jobs here in America, or somewhere else.

As Secretary of Commerce, I want those jobs here – in the United States.

That’s why I’m thrilled that the CHIPS Act is investing $52 billion in domestic semiconductor production.

We’re going to use this funding to create the jobs of the future, rebuild American manufacturing, and strengthen our supply chain for decades to come.

Thank you again to everyone who worked so hard to make the CHIPS Act a reality.

I’m excited to get to work.