My congressional district was named for the supplies that semiconductors are manufactured from — Silicon Valley. However though chips at the moment are present in every thing from smartwatches to fighter jets, few semiconductors are made within the valley or wherever in america.
Thirty years in the past, america manufactured practically 40% of all semiconductor chips, however at this time we produce solely 12%. The business’s provide chains are fragile, leaving our economic system and nationwide safety susceptible to disruption by adversarial overseas governments and provide chain shocks, and we skilled this firsthand all through the pandemic and over the previous few years with the shortage of the merchandise we depend on.
To revitalize our home semiconductor business, Congress handed the CHIPS and Science Act final yr, and final week, the Home of Representatives constructed on that funding by passing my bipartisan invoice, the Securing Semiconductor Provide Chains Act. This invoice will make sure that the federal government develops methods to draw funding in semiconductors right here in america to deliver our nation again to No. 1 on this planet in semiconductor manufacturing and to take care of our management in technological innovation.
Whereas these payments are wanted to cut back our reliance on overseas producers and increase home funding, chips are only one supply of vulnerability within the microelectronics provide chain. Chips sit on printed circuit boards (PCBs), crucial and sophisticated elements of virtually each piece of electronics used at this time. All chips are mounted on PCBs, which permit them to speak with the programs they energy. At the moment, as with semiconductors, China dominates PCB manufacturing, creating 45% of PCBs globally, whereas the U.S. market share is simply 4%.
From my close to decade of service on the Home Intelligence Committee, I do know firsthand the vulnerabilities of foreign-made merchandise in our provide chains and the dangers of foreign-made merchandise embedded within the expertise that powers every thing from the medical units that hold us wholesome to the navy gear our servicemembers depend on to guard our nation. This dependence on overseas suppliers provides our adversaries the chance to compromise our telephones, computer systems and different electronics by inserting malicious elements into PCBs.
That’s why I’m proud to paved the way on investing in PCBs and why I launched the bipartisan Defending Circuit Boards and Substrates Act. My invoice is modeled on the CHIPS program for semiconductors by offering incentives for the PCB and substrate industries to put money into home PCB manufacturing services. These new services will assist hundreds of high-quality jobs and assist prepare staff throughout the nation, all whereas bringing PCB manufacturing again to the U.S.
The passage of my Securing Semiconductor Provide Chains Act this Congress and the CHIPS and Science Act final Congress are essential achievements for america. I’m happy with that work. However we want investments throughout your complete microelectronics ecosystem. My Defending Circuit Boards Act is a crucial step on this course, and I’m dedicated to bringing this business again to our nation and again to the valley named after these merchandise.
Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, represents District 16 in america Home of Representatives.
