In August 2022, America went on offense against the Chinese Communist Party when legislation I worked on for years to out-innovate and outcompete China was signed into law. The legislation went by many titles – the Endless Frontier Act, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, and finally the CHIPS and Science Act. No matter its name, this law is a win for Indiana, makes a bold investment in our country’s national security, and will ensure America continues to lead the world in technological innovation.
More on the CHIPS and Science Act can be found here.
Below you’ll find more information on key components of the CHIPS and Science Act.
Emerging Technologies
To outcompete our rivals like China, we must invest in next generation technology like synthetic biology, artifical intelligence, quantum computing, and more. The CHIPS and Science Act makes significant investments in these technologies, unleashing American innovation, bolstering our national security, and securing our economic future.
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Before the CHIPS and Science Act, the United States relied on other countries for 90 percent of semiconductor chips that are essential to everything from high tech weapons to the cell phone in your pocket. Thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, more semiconductors will be built in America, including in Indiana.
Tech Hubs
To spur economic growth acorss the country, the CHIPS and Science Act creates Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs. Tech Hub designations will help different geographic regions attract private sector investment and R&D in key technology areas. Indiana’s Heartland Bioworks proposal won one of these Tech Hub program designations, and a number of Indiana entities were included in other Tech Hub awards.
Education
To ensure Hoosiers have the skills to fill the jobs of tomorrow, the CHIPS and Science Act invests heavily in workforce training. From GED to Ph.D., the CHIPS and Science Act will give our citizens an opportunity to get the skills they need.
Indiana Wins
- SK hynix announced plans to build an advanced chip packaging facility in West Lafayette. More than $3.8 billion will be invested, which will create more than 1,000 new jobs.
- Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane Division is managing the $238 million Microelectronics (ME) Commons program to research and produce semiconductors for the Department of Defense. Indiana’s Silicon Crossroads ME Commons Hub received an initial award of nearly $33 million.
- Indiana’s Heartland BioWorks Tech Hub received a designation in Phase One and was one of only 12 Tech Hubs to receive a funding award in Phase Two. Heartland BioWorks will receive approximately $51 million for biotech manufacturing programs, which is estimated to help create 9,000 new jobs and to generate $2.6 billion in annual economic output once it is fully up and running.
- Northwest Indiana is part of Chicago’s designated Tech Hub known as The Bloch, which focuses on end-to-end quantum solutions.
- A consortium led by the University of Notre Dame received a Tech Hub strategy development grant to further plans for a Midwest Wireless Innovation Hub.
- A Kentucky-based consortium, including partners in Southern Indiana, was also awarded a Tech Hub strategy development grant to focus on energy innovation.
Below you’ll find more information about the CHIPS and Science Act.
Videos
- VIDEO: Young Discusses His China Competitiveness Legislation on the Senate Floor Ahead of Final Vote
- VIDEO: Young Discusses His China Competitiveness Legislation on Bloomberg TV
- VIDEO: Young Discusses His China Competitiveness Legislation on CNBC’s Squawk Box
- VIDEO: Young Joins Bloomberg to Discuss China Competitiveness Bill, Baby Formula Shortage
- VIDEO: Young Joins Commerce Secretary, Bipartisan National Security Experts for Discussion on Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing, USICA
Media Coverage
- Bloomberg: The U.S. Gets Serious About Catching Up to China in R&D
- National Review: Countering China’s Technology Offensive
- The President of MIT: Is the ‘endless frontier’ at an end?
- Chicago Tribune: The US must not stop investing in scientific research
- Forbes: Wake Up America! Our Innovation Agenda Needs A Tune Up. The Endless Frontier Act Tells Us How
- Science Magazine: U.S. lawmakers unveil bold $100 billion plan to remake NSF
- George Will Op-ed: Subsidizing America’s most important product: Innovation
- Robert Atkinson: Why Federal R&D Policy Needs to Prioritize Productivity
- Council on Foreign Relations: Innovation and National Security: Keeping Our Edge
- CNAS Rising to the China Challenge: Renewing American Competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific
