Senators Accuse Biden Admin of Sneaking Left-Wing Policies Into Semiconductor Bill

Through the passage of the CHIPS Act, the republican bill passed last year to increase domestic semiconductor production, Democratic lawmakers are accusing the Biden administration of pursuing liberal social policies.

A group of 14 Republican senators, led by Ted Cruz( Texas ), accused Raimondo of including onerous left-wing priorities in the requirements for companies to receive grants under the bill, undermining the legislation’s goal of making American businesses more competitive with China, in a letter sent last week to Commerce Secretary Gina.

The senators wrote in the letter that” many of the grant criteria… will have the same effect of Congress’s intent with the enactment of a CHIPS Act and therefore make domestic chip production more expensive, less aggressive, and rely on taxpayer subsidies over personalized investment.”

The Commerce Department’s Notice of Funding Opportunity ( NOFO ), which outlines the requirements for awarding grants to semiconductor companies, directs employers to hire individuals from groups that have” subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice ,” and gives priority to those who will advance the” environmental justice” agenda. The government must split any excess profits with applicants requesting more than$ 150 million.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Raimondo disputed the senators’ assertions, arguing that” public insurance” is not the NOFO’s goal.

Raimondo stated that” We have no desire to impose objectives on companies that are undesirable for the business.” She claimed that by addressing labor shortage issues and making the businesses appear more pleasing to employees, the requirements did increase the U.S. semiconductor industry.

In order to make more semiconductors and keep up with China’s tech field, Congress passed the$ 53 billion CHIPS Act with bipartisan support.

The letter comes in response to many claims that the administration is promoting liberal social and environmental policies through the CHIPS Act. A joint effort climate change research project between the University of Virginia and the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Tsinghua University received more than$ 130, 000 from President Joe Biden’s National Science Foundation, which was funded by the work, last year. The grant provides funding for” the transition to a low-carbon business” work.