CHIPS Act

Would Austin have become the technology center it has without Dell Computer serving as the catalyst? Would the resulting wealth have spread to benefit the surrounding counties including Milam?

One new technology initiative will make a boom town out of Taylor similarly to how Dell transformed Austin and Round Rock throughout the 1990s during the personal computer boom to becoming a tech center that rivals Silicon Valley today.

The CHIPS Act was announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Samsung Electronics Co. and the DOC have reached a preliminary agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding under the “CHIPS and Science Act,” which provides resources for the programs to restore semiconductor manufacturing back on American soil.

“By investing in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, we are helping secure this vulnerable supply chain, boosting our national security and global competitiveness and creating new jobs for Texans,” Sen. John Cornyn said Monday. He touted both Samsung’s chip-making for this critical industry, as well as its substantial investments in research and development.

The stability provided by this funding helps any number of industries which use computer chips as part of their product menu. The Covid-19 pandemic taught us that supply chains are paramount to protecting consumer safety.

The entire automotive industry had limited access to chips and the industry suffered as it couldn’t get its new models to market. That also drove up the price for used vehicles, which saw a rise in demand.

The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act included $52 billion in assistance to build, expand or modernize domestic facilities and equipment for semiconductor fabrication, assembly, testing and advanced packaging. Samsung announced its huge new facility to be built in 2021 near Taylor. That project promises to transform that area like Dell did for the Capitol City and region.

When the supply chains were limited or shut down during the pandemic, the realization of how our national security was at stake became apparent, as so many domestic manufacturers had moved their production to China. Repatriating this manufacturing, in part through the CHIPS and Science Act, will provide security and stability in an industry that is far too important to be subjected to political whims.

Sen. John Cornyn touted the bill, which he and a handful of other Republicans supported. Texans will benefit from the bill, from the new plant, and the resulting business which will locate to the Texas tech hub that is Austin and the surrounding area.

Since the CHIPS and Science Act was introduced in 2020, more than 50 new U.S. semiconductor projects have been announced, totaling more than $210 billion, CNBC reported. And more than one-fifth of that investment will happen in Texas, with six projects expected to create more than 8,000 jobs.

Junior Texas Sen. Ted Cruz crowed on Monday about the benefits of the act, but his constituents should know he voted against it. Cruz, up for re-election again this fall, seems to want to take credit for the act which he initially dismissed as a federal handout to corporations.

Cornyn deserves credit for his support of this bill. And Texans are fortunate to have a senator who looks at the greater good for the state and nation and beyond simply the short-term political points. — K.E.C.