Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday laid out the Biden administration’s ambitious vision for the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act over the next decade.
The act was signed into law by President Joe Biden last summer and will allow the government to invest more than $200 billion over the next five years in a bid to help the United States regain a leading position in manufacturing semiconductor chips – a crucial component used in everything from cars to phones to health care devices to defense capabilities. The law is aimed at countering China’s growing economic influence, lowering the cost of goods, making the US less reliant on foreign manufacturing and mitigating supply chain disruptions.
In her speech on Thursday, Raimondo likened the administration’s long-term goals to implement the law to moments in American history that galvanized the science community into eras of innovation – comparing the CHIPS legislation to mass US investments in agriculture, nuclear security and space exploration.
“In the 1860s, President Lincoln made historic investments in agriculture and created a land-grant university system to ensure America’s food security. In the 1940s, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman invested in our nuclear security and pushed the boundaries of scientific innovation in the process. In 1961, President Kennedy united this entire country around his call to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. And by doing that, issuing that call to America, (it) … led to the creation of a generation of engineers, scientists, test pilots, and manufacturing workers who propelled this economy and our national security to lead the world – far ahead of the Soviet Union. We have a chance to do that again, ” Raimondo said in remarks at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
The CHIPS and Science Act, she added, “presents us with an…
Read the full article here