As the Commerce Department continues to roll out the CHIPS and Science Act incentive grants, we’re watching the federal government award billions of taxpayer dollars to some of the world’s largest, most powerful, and most highly capitalized corporations. The CHIPS Program Office has announced 14 awards so far, adding up to $30.4376 billion, plus up to $25.3 billion in loans. (Under the CHIPS Act, semiconductor manufacturers are also eligible for refundable tax credits worth 25% of their expenditures on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which could add another $65 billion to the public subsidy for these 14 firms.)
Upto this point, none of the money has actually been handed out: each of the announced awards is in the due diligence phase, as Commerce and the chip-makers negotiate around the terms of the final contract. CHIPS Communities United calls on the Biden-Harris administration to make sure the contracts protect the rights of workers and the well-being of local communities.
With this new blog, we’ll be commenting in real time on the news and providing analysis and insight from across our coalition. We welcome guest bloggers, so let us know if you’d like to contribute a blog post. Email your suggestions or comments to Judith Barish at info@chipscommunitiesunited.org.
