A coalition of New York businesses, along with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), is making its case that the Empire State should be a prime beneficiary of federal funding for the domestic semiconductor industry. Congress’s push to pass funding for the U.S. chip industry remains stalled, notes Axios, but regions of the country are already trying to make their case for a share of the money.
Executives from IBM, GlobalFoundries, Analog Devices and Applied Materials, among dozens of other business and academic leaders, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo making the case for both passage of the stalled chip industry funding and for directing a big chunk of that money to New York.
“We have no time to waste,” according to the New York-area business leaders. “For the United States to retain its semiconductor leadership, we must act with speed and the [federal government] should use existing assets to produce results quickly.”
Schumer also made a plea for the New-York area. “As we work with the House to pass a final bill into law and as the administration begins planning for implementation of the semiconductor programs, I want to highlight for you the central role New York can play in quickly expanding domestic chip production and enhancing the nation’s R&D leadership,” the lawmaker wrote.
Axios reports there is support for such funding across party lines, but the bill has yet to pass Congress despite months of lobbying from tech leaders. The money is key as companies including Intel and Micron have said they’re ready to invest in U.S. chip manufacturing, but need federal funding to help even out the higher cost of making chips here versus in Asia.
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