Biden Inks Executive Order To Kickstart $280B CHIPS Act

The historic funding and incentives in the CHIPS Act are aimed at rebuilding the nation’s supply chains, manufacturing and infrastructure.

In the final step to boost chip production in the U.S., President Biden signed an executive order to implement the $280 billion spending package for the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the White House said Thursday.

The measure is the result of more than a year of work by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the White House to fill acute semiconductor shortages and build more resilient semiconductor supply chains.

The historic funding and incentives in the law aim to rebuild the nation’s supply chains, manufacturing and infrastructure.

For Kent Tibbils, vice president of marketing at ASI, a Fremont, Calif.-based national distributor of IT hardware and software products, the CHIPS Act is a good thing.

[RELATED: INTEL VP: CHIPS ACT WILL ACCELERATE SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING IN THE U.S.]

“It’s important for the U.S. to be investing in that area,” he said. “All the other governments are doing the same thing. It’s obviously great for jobs and not just for people that will be working in those facilities but building everything that goes along with it.”

Biden said the executive order reflects a desire to quickly increase production of semiconductors, strengthen research and design leadership, and grow a diverse semiconductor workforce to give the U.S. a competitive edge globally.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched CHIPS.gov, which pledges to be a key way it will communicate with the public about CHIPS’ program initiatives.