Stabenow: "Need to bring our jobs home" to help prevent future chip shortages
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There needs to be more manufacturing and production of semiconductor chips in the United States to avoid a shortage in the future, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said at an Axios event on Wednesday.
Driving the news: The Department of Commerce is pushing Congress to pass the CHIPS act — a bill co-sponsored by Stabenow — to help combat the ongoing chip shortage and make sure it's not an issue again in the future.
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Stabenow explained that more than 50% of manufacturing chips made in the world come from Taiwan and pandemic lockdowns exasperated the chip shortage.
"If you're not making enough of those parts here in the United States," then the U.S. will continue to experience shortages, Stabenow explained.
"We need to bring our jobs home so that we now have the jobs, but we have the capacity, the resiliency to be able to make what we need from an economic and national defense standpoint," Stabenow added.
Between the lines: Chip manufacturing plants take several years to build, so Stabenow said that they were looking for other suppliers outside of Taiwan in the meantime to help deal with the shortage now.
"There are other folks in other countries, other facilities that are making these semiconducting parts. And so the Department of Commerce is working very hard with the automakers on identifying what's out there," Stabenow added.
What's next: In addition to the CHIPS Act, Stabenow is hoping that a 25% tax credit for plants will pass as part of the Build Back Better Act.
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