HYDE-SMITH VOTES AGAINST CHIPS ACT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today said that while she understands the need to ramp up American semiconductor production and to fortify the nation’s competitive edge, she does not believe faulty legislation that relies on deficit spending is the smart way to reach those goals, particularly without sufficient assurances that adversaries like China wouldn’t ultimately benefit from its measures.
Hyde-Smith voted against the CHIPS Act (HR.4346), which was approved on a 64-33 vote. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to be approved and cleared for consideration by the President.
“I fully understand the need for the United States to strengthen our competitive edge for economic and security reasons. Our industries, our economy, and the American people are hurting because we can’t produce more chips on our own,” Hyde-Smith said.
“The massive CHIPS Act has good provisions, but it perpetuates more deficit spending to support profitable industries that already plan to expand without taxpayer subsidies,” she said. “I just think Congress should pay more attention to fiscal responsibility even when considering important legislation intended to spur greater American innovation.”
The CHIPS Act, a more than 1,000-page bill, would provide $52 billion in subsidies and $24.3 billion in investment tax credits for U.S. chip manufacturing over the next 10 years. A Congressional Budget Office estimate indicated this portion of the bill would add $79.3 billion to the debt.
The measure also includes a $102 billion authorization over five years to increase research and development investments by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Commerce Department, and other federal agencies.
The Senate Budget Committee also determined, among other things, provisions in the bill would exempt certain CHIPS Act spending from statutory pay-go scorekeeping and future budget enforcement sequestrations.
The measure has also been criticized for lacking sufficient safeguards to ensure it does not benefit China or companies, universities, and others with links to the Chinese Communist Party. The Senate also didn’t consider amendments to prevent CHIPS Act investments from shifting to Asia where U.S. manufacturers maintain supply and production facilities.
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