PHOENIX — Arizona officials are urging Congress to pass a bill with more than $50 billion in subsidies and tax credits for the growing semiconductor industry that could be voted on as early as this week.
Arizona leaders say the funding could have a big impact on the Grand Canyon State's economy, but as a vote lags, state leaders fear Arizona could lose out on major investments by companies that are counting on those federal funds.
The stripped-down China competition bill, called CHIPS for America Act, includes $52 billion in grants and loans and four-year 25% investment tax credits to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. amid a global semiconductor shortage. While a broader set of bills were passed last year to decrease reliance on other countries, a funding package has not been approved.
"This week is an incredibly important week for Congress," Chris Camacho, CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council, told the Business Journal. "Global competition around the world, specifically in China, South Korea, Japan, the EU — they've all advanced chips bills. The longer we don't do this, the longer there's going to be a level of uncertainty in the United States about how serious we are to protect and secure our own national defense and have these chips produced in the U.S."
