Ron Johnson votes against bipartisan legislation to ramp up production of U.S.-made semiconductor chips

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson was among 33 senators to oppose bipartisan legislation that would put tens of billions of dollars toward the domestic production of semiconductor chips, dismissing the effort as “corporate welfare.”

The measure, a priority for President Joe Biden that supporters say would promote economic and national security and create jobs in states like Wisconsin, passed the Senate Wednesday on a 64-33 vote.

Seventeen Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined the majority of Democrats in supporting the bill. Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the funding.

Now called the “Chips and Science” bill, the legislation would, in part, allocate more than $50 billion toward chip manufacturing and provide tax credits to companies that make the semiconductor chips, which are used for everything from cellphones and refrigerators to military and agricultural equipment. A shortage of such chips recently led to a slowdown in automobile manufacturing.

Subscribe to our On Wisconsin Politics newsletter for the week's political news explained.

It also includes billions of dollars for scientific research, including funding for the National Science Foundation.

Johnson on Tuesday called the package “more corporate welfare” for the semiconductor industry and indicated the funding would “fuel the flames of inflation.”

“It makes no sense whatsoever,” Johnson said in the interview on Fox Business. “We have more than enough money sloshed around the economy to invest in semiconductor manufacturing here. It’s about aligning the incentives properly. We’re not looking at that at all. We’re just throwing more money at the problem, which is what Washington does.”

Still, bipartisan supporters of the legislation indicated the funding would boost job growth and reduce national security risks by helping the country compete with other nations like China, which has ramped up semiconductor manufacturing.

“If access to those chips were cut off or restricted, we would be up a creek without a paddle,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who sponsored a version of the legislation, said on the Senate floor this week. He called domestic production of semiconductor chips a “key national security priority.”

The Chips and Science bill is similar to the Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, co-sponsored by Wisconsin’s Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. That bill also sought to provide funds for domestic semiconductor manufacturing to stabilize supply chains and took aim at China through sanctions. It passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House.

Baldwin during a talk on the bill last month pointed to the supply issues Americans experienced during the pandemic as examples of what could happen when key products are not made in the U.S.

“If it concerns our nation's security, safety or public health,” Baldwin said, “we have got to be able to stand on our own two feet and produce it here.”

And some in Wisconsin see the bill as a boon to the state’s manufacturing industry.

Baldwin has contended such legislation would encourage Made in Wisconsin manufacturing, strengthen supply chains and create more jobs in the state.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a Milwaukee-based trade association representing construction and agricultural equipment manufacturers, said the funding “stands to benefit Wisconsin and its 187,000 equipment manufacturing jobs.”

“This bill will reassert American leadership in microelectronic innovation and manufacturing, and we encourage Congress to move quickly and send this bill to President Biden’s desk,” said Kip Eideberg, AEM’s senior vice president of government and industry relations.

The package next goes to the House, where it is expected to receive a vote before August recess begins next week.

Contact Lawrence Andrea at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson votes no on measure to boost U.S.-made semiconductor chips