The CHIPS Act Makes It Through Congress Despite Late GOP Opposition
Good morning. We’re looking forward to the weekend, but first, the House will consider an assault weapons ban and potentially a bill limiting ownership of big cats (no more Tiger Kings, lawmakers hope) today.
China Competition Bill Passes
Congress approved more than $52 billion in subsidies to the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry this week—the culmination of over a year of work—but not without new partisan fallout that sparked broad Republican opposition to a bill many of them had previously backed.
The CHIPS and Science Act is aimed at shoring up critical supply chains and boosting American scientific research, including through direct funding and tax breaks. It’s a sweeping package many national security experts and government officials have pushed Congress to approve for months. (Read thoughts on it from The Current’s Klon Kitchen here, and a different view from Capitolism’s Scott Lincicome here.)
The competition bill passed the Senate earlier this week with a vote of 64-33, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to support it. It was on track to pass with broad support in the House, and it might have become a common line on the campaign trail to tout lawmakers’ bipartisan collaborative successes. But now the situation is a bit messier.
