The House voted on Thursday to pass a bill to boost U.S. microchip production despite a last-minute rebellion by Republicans, CNN reports.
The House passed the bill 243-187, with 24 Republicans joining Democrats even though GOP leadership whipped votes against the bill.
The legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday in a 64-33 vote.
Though House progressives expressed displeasure over the bill, all voted in favor of the legislation on Thursday.
Biden said the bill is “exactly what we need to be doing to grow our economy right now.”
“Today, the House passed a bill that will make cars cheaper, appliances cheaper, and computers cheaper,” he said in a statement. “It will lower the costs of everyday goods. And, it will create high-paying manufacturing jobs across the country and strengthen U.S. leadership in the industries of the future at the same time.”
GOP rebellion:
The measure appeared to have solid Republican support but House GOP leaders urged members to oppose it after grousing over Joe Manchin’s reconciliation deal with Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.
Manchin said he would not support the reconciliation bill after Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said he would torpedo the chip bill if it moved forward. Manchin waited until hours after the Senate GOP approved the measure to announce his deal with Schumer.
Rep. Frank Lucas, the top Republican on the House Science Committee, admitted he would have voted differently “just 24 hours ago.”
“Regrettably, and it’s more regrettably than you can possibly imagine, I will not be casting my vote for the CHIPS and Science Act today,” Lucas said. “I want to emphasize that this is in no way a reflection of my feeling about the transformational research policies in this bill.”
Details:
The bill includes over $50 billion to incentive microchip manufacturers to build domestic plants to make chips, which are used in computers, phones, cars, and other equipment.
The bill also includes $100 billion for programs like the National Science Foundation’s work and to establish regional tech hubs to support start-ups in areas that have not drawn a lot of investment.
The bill would also ban companies that receive federal funding from building new chip manufacturing facilities in China or “any other foreign country of concern.”
