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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today is going to be an exceedingly busy and productive day on the Senate floor.

Later today, after months of hard work and countless rounds of talks, Senators will vote to move forward on legislation that our country desperately needs--a chips bill that will lower costs, boost American manufacturing, and protect American security interests.

Over the past 24 hours, both parties have continued working on the final details to the chips package that we will vote on later today. We will see if Members can come to an agreement on adding other provisions to the bill, but the bottom line is that we must come up with a package that is capable of passing this Chamber without delay. We must act as soon as we can to make sure we bring chip manufacturing back to America because our Nation's security depends on it.

I urge my colleagues, if you want to fight inflation, if you want to create more good-paying jobs right here at home, if you want to keep America strong and competitive and innovative in the 21st century so that we can lead the economy as we did in the 20th, then this chips bill is the way to go. It is a very important bill.

The chips shortage is one of the most damaging trends over the past few years. This technology, which originated, of course, right here in America, is the bedrock for much of modern life. Cars, refrigerators, cell phones, medical devices--they all depend on chips to function. But when chips suddenly become scarce, as is the case today, the consequences are felt across the board by companies but also by average Americans. Americans see higher prices and longer wait times for all sorts of consumer goods because of this chip shortage.

It wasn't always this way, but thanks to the pandemic, this crisis is now being felt across the country.

A quarter century ago, the United States was the undisputed leader in global chip production. In 1990, we produced 40 percent--nearly 40 percent--of the world's semiconductors. Today, that figure is going down to 12 percent and will get even lower if we don't pass this bill. We have a chance of leading the way on chip manufacturing once again if we pass this legislation.

As we speak, the country's most important chip manufacturers--these are American companies--are waiting on congressional action--mostly American companies, not all. But they are waiting on congressional action before they decide where to invest in chip production. From Asia to Europe, other nations have copied the American playbook and have already invested billions of dollars to incentivize chip manufacturers to come to them. If we do not match the efforts of other countries to boost chip manufacturing, the consequences could be dire and long- lasting. Countless good-paying American jobs are on the line. Costs that Americans are now paying--higher costs--getting them lowered is now on the line. Billions of dollars in economic activity is on the line, and our national security is on the line.

As Secretary Austin and Secretary Raimondo told us last week, our economic and national security depends on our ability to invest in the technologies of today and tomorrow.

If we allow other nations to lead the way on chips, the days of America leading the world in scientific innovation, the days of America being the leading economic and military power in the world may actually be over. Nobody wants that. So vote for this bill. This is a future none of us wants to see.

Again, vote for this bill. I urge my colleagues to move forward later today.

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