Biden signs bill boosting US chip manufacturing as he begins victory lap

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The CHIPS and scientific law will invest more than $200 billion over the next five years to help the United States regain a leadership position in semiconductor chip manufacturing. It aims to reduce the cost of goods, make the United States less dependent on foreign manufacturing, and mitigate supply chain disruptions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Biden on Tuesday described the law as a “unique investment in America itself.”

“Today America is delivering, delivering, and I honestly believe before God that in 50, 75, 100 years, people who look back on this week, will know that we met in this moment,” Biden said during of an event on the South Lawn of the White House.

The president, recently released from solitary confinement after a rebound case of Covid-19, coughed throughout his speech.

The event brought together labor leaders, executives from companies such as HP and Intel, congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle, and state elected officials. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo also spoke at the event.

According to the White House, companies this week announced nearly $50 billion in additional investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing as a result of recently passed legislation.

“Micron is announcing a $40 billion investment in the manufacture of memory chips, essential for computers and electronic devices, which will create up to 40,000 new jobs” in construction and manufacturing, says a fact sheet from Micron. the White House. “This investment alone will increase the US market share of memory chip production from 2% to 10%.”

Additionally, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries announce a new partnership that includes $4.2 billion to manufacture chips.

Later today, Biden will sign Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership ratification. The addition of the two traditionally neutral countries to the alliance represented a major foreign policy achievement for Biden during a trip to Europe for summits in June.

And on Wednesday, the President will sign the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promises to Treat Toxic Substances Complete (PACT) Act of 2022. The legislation expands health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic combustion fireplaces during their military service.
The bill dramatically expands health care resources and benefits for people exposed to fireplaces and could cover up to 3.5 million eligible veterans. It adds conditions related to burn pit and toxic exposure, including hypertension, to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ list of illnesses that were contracted or exacerbated during military service. Biden has long speculated that fireplaces played a role in the cancer that killed her son, Beau, in 2015.
The signings of bills – as well as other related achievements such as the recent targeted murder of Osama bin Laden’s successor and continued drop in gas prices — equates to the possibility of Biden getting the boost Democrats were hoping for before midterm.

With the 2022 midterm elections less than 100 days away and as Americans have grown unhappy in a summer of major economic and political change, Biden’s political standing among the public has diminished.

A CNN poll published in mid-July found that nearly 7 in 10 Americans said Biden hadn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most pressing issues. The president’s approval rating in the poll was 38%. And at the end of July, another CNN poll found that 75% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters wanted the party to nominate someone other than Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
The events come after the president isolated himself at the White House while treating a rebound case of Covid-19. Biden, who is at increased risk of contracting a more serious case of Covid-19 due to his age, was erased coming out of solitary confinement on Sunday following a second negative Covid-19 test.

Before the end of the month, Biden could have other major opportunities to score political victories.

Biden faces real prospect of signing law soon Inflation Reduction Act – a version of his landmark climate change and health care bill.

The sweeping bill passed the Senate along party lines and the House is expected to vote later this week.

The legislation would represent the largest climate investment in U.S. history and make major changes to health policy by giving Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs and extending the expiring health care subsidies. The legislation would reduce the deficit, be paid for by new taxes – including a minimum 15% tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buybacks – and strengthen the collection capacity of the Internal Revenue Service. .

It would generate more than $700 billion in government revenue over 10 years and spend more than $430 billion to reduce carbon emissions and expand health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and use the rest new revenue to reduce the deficit.

Before the end of the month, the president will also have to make a decision on whether to extend the mass forbearance of ongoing federal student loans in the country.

The president is also considering the possibility of canceling some student loans. It’s an issue that’s sharply split across partisan and generational lines, but could be another political boon for some voters as the country continues to battle inflation that raises the cost of everyday goods and services.

CNN’s Kristin Wilson, Clare Foran, Melanie Zanona, Jessica Dean, Ali Zazlav and Alex Rogers contributed to this report.

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