For an MP3 soundbite, click HERE.
Sinema spoke in a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about implementing investments from the law efficiently and effectively
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema highlighted the historic investments her bipartisan CHIPS and Science law makes in domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing, national security, and economic opportunities during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing focused on implementation and oversight of the law.
The Senator questioned witnesses – U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan – about the continued rollout of investments to boost innovation, research, and competitiveness through semiconductor manufacturing incentives, regional innovation programs, and other science programs for Arizona established under the law.
“I am proud to have played a central role in ensuring the historic CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law. A year later, the positive impact on our economy and national security is clear – and nowhere is this more evident than my home state of Arizona,” said Sinema, negotiator of the CHIPS and Science law.
Sinema – a key dealmaker of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science law – highlighted how, since 2020, Arizona has led the nation in semiconductor research, investment, and production. Most recently, the Department of Defense selected Arizona State University’s Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub as the first and largest allocation from the law to continue its work accelerating microelectronic research and development.
The Senator noted how the workforce provisions of the law, including the Chips for America Workforce Education Fund, are essential to building a healthy economy and fueling rewarding careers. Sinema asked NSF Director Dr. Panchanathan for an update on how the NSF funding has helped deliver resources to where they are needed to bolster the needed workforce.
Sinema’s CHIPS and Science law provides more than $52 billion to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, reduce reliance on foreign countries like China, and enhance the United States’ global competitiveness. The sweeping legislation created thousands of Arizona jobs and authorized significant funds to federal agencies engaged in research and development – like the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce.