Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo pushed lawmakers at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday to advance legislation to boost U.S. chip manufacturing. She explained the Commerce Department will work with states to streamline broadband infrastructure permitting.
The administration’s FY2023 budget request includes $11.7 billion for the Commerce Department, an 18 percent increase above the fiscal year 2022 enacted level, according to her testimony. Raimondo said the document calls for $97 million to strengthen domestic supply chains and help small and medium-sized manufacturers improve their competitiveness. It also proposes $16.1 million to augment the Commerce Department’s data tools and expertise to support more secure and diversified supply chains.
She thanked lawmakers for their work to advance the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which would spur domestic semiconductor manufacturing, make commitments to R&D, and help counter competition from China.
Speaking specifically about chip funding, Raimondo testified, “There is an urgency to act. Other countries are not slowing down. Existing fabs are operating at 90 percent capacity while demand is running 17 percent above pre-pandemic levels.”
“Chip manufacturers have made clear that they are going to build more facilities,” said Raimondo. “The question is whether they build those facilities in the U.S., or in other countries that have already been able to offer them incentives.”
Raimondo also emphasized tenets of the Commerce department’s plan to deploy broadband infrastructure funding from the Infrastructure Law, stating that the department will not overbuild existing infrastructure. The department’s telecom agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is tasked with distributing $42.5 billion in broadband infrastructure funds to the states.
In addition to clearing infrastructure obstacles, Raimondo explained that NTIA will work with states to provide more access to poles as well as dig-once provisions to make available ready-made buried conduits.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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