The U.S. House of Representatives has just passed a bill that would allocate hundreds of billions of dollars towards researching and producing semiconductors domestically.
On Friday, the House passed the 2,900-page American COMPETE Act of 2022, designed to bring America closer in competitiveness with China when it comes to manufacturing microchips amid the global shortage. Roughly $52 billion USD will be spent on manufacturing capabilities while another $300 billion USD will be used for research and development. Within the act is also an $8 billion USD contribution to the Green Climate Fund to mitigate the effects of climate change resulting from semiconductor production.
Having passed the House of Representatives, the bill will now need to be negotiated with the Senate, and President Joe Biden has urged Congress to act quickly on the matter. “I look forward to the House and Senate quickly coming together to find a path forward and putting a bill on my desk as soon as possible for my signature,” the President said, noting that the chip deficit can become an issue of national security. “America can’t afford to wait.”
Elsewhere in the tech world, Samsung will be repurposing fishing nets to manufacture Galaxy devices.