Letter to the Hon. Mark Esper, Secretary of the Dept. of Defense - On the heels of his successful push to include game-changing semiconductor amendment in defense bill, Schumer announces plan to jolt U.S. semiconductor industry & WNY economy into high gear, bring critical federal investment to Genesee's stamp campus, & create thousands of new jobs

Letter

Dear Secretary Esper,

As the Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to expand the domestic production of semiconductors to ensure U.S. leadership in the global microelectronics supply chain, I wanted to draw your attention to a unique and pre-eminent U.S. location well suited for the domestic production of next-generation semiconductor development and manufacturing: the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in Genesee County, New York. While Upstate New York is already home to a handful of chip fabs and semiconductor industry R&D and manufacturing operations, STAMP, which is expansive at over 1,250 acres and is New York State's largest available "mega" site, offers many advantages to help jump-start development of any new semiconductor foundry that DoD may develop in partnership with industry.

STAMP is specifically designed for development of large scale semiconductor manufacturing with the ability to accommodate up to 3 semiconductor fabs on the North part of the campus. It offers exceptional cost and infrastructure advantages with proximity to transportation networks, industrial infrastructure, and available low-cost power and water. Located just five miles from I-90, the site is traversed by high-capacity electric transmission lines and a large-scale, high-pressure gas line providing robust utility capacity, redundancy, and reliability. Notably, it is within the New York Power Authority's Niagara Hydropower low-cost electric zone, which provides some of the lowest cost electric in North America. Moreover, STAMP is situated between the Rochester and Buffalo, New York's 2nd and 3rd largest metropolitan centers offering easy access to international airports, active customs sites, along with a 2.1 million workforce population making it yet another ideal mega site in Upstate New York.

STAMP leverages the region's robust world-class university centers that include SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, University at Buffalo, University of Rochester, and Cornell University that are leaders in research, commercialization, workforce development, and collaboration. Several of these nearby university centers have active engineering programs with disciplines focused on training and R&D activities related to semiconductors.

I would appreciate an opportunity for the DoD to learn more about STAMP by making an appropriate representative(s) available to participate in a teleconference with my office and officials with the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC), the local government economic development organization that is developing this site.

I strongly support and appreciate your efforts to protect and expand the domestic microelectronics supply chain, including efforts to support cutting-edge domestic semiconductor manufacturing development, and thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to sharing more information about STAMP as a potential location for next-generation semiconductor research and manufacturing facilities as the Department continues its conversations with the industry on building new domestic chip manufacturing capacity.

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