WASHINGTON, DC: Today, the House passed S. 2228, the Senate version of Congresswoman Jen Kiggans’ (VA-02) Building Chips in America Act (H.R. 4549). This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will help bring microchip manufacturing back to America while maintaining critical environmental protections in the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. 

Following the passage of the CHIPS Act, companies throughout the semiconductor supply chain announced plans to invest billions in new domestic manufacturing projects. However, existing requirements by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) threaten to delay projects that are already underway and are discouraging future investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The Building Chips in America Act would provide the Secretary of Commerce greater tools to more efficiently carry out federal environmental reviews for projects currently under construction and others that could be delayed, and ensure they are able to move forward in a timely manner.

By cutting red tape and implementing the CHIPS Act more effectively, this legislation will ensure the federal government can boost domestic microchip manufacturing, reduce our dangerous reliance on China, lower costs of this critical technology, and improve national security.  

“One of the greatest national security threats we face today is China’s chokehold on our defense industrial base,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “We cannot afford to let federal bureaucracy hold up critical chips projects while the Chinese Communist Party spends billions of dollars to become the world’s leading producer of advanced semiconductors. I’m proud to have introduced the Building Chips in America Act in the House and to have now voted for the Senate version. This bipartisan bill will ensure our domestic semiconductor projects can move forward in a timely fashion while still undergoing all the necessary permitting and environmental reviews at the state and local level. I urge President Biden to sign this legislation into law as soon as possible so that we can reshore chip manufacturing on American soil.”

The Building Chips in America Act was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Kiggans along with Congressman Scott Peters (CA-50), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10), Congressman Brandon Williams (NY-22), and Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32). It was introduced by Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Todd Young (R-IN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in the Senate. 

Click here to listen to Congresswoman Kiggans speak on the House floor in support of the Building Chips in America Act. Click here for a summary of the bill. Click here for the full bill text.  

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