WASHINGTON, D.C. — A piece of legislation moving through Congress could decide the amount of money Intel invests in its planned computer chip factories in central Ohio, and several senior lawmakers from Ohio are directly involved in crafting it.
What You Need To Know
- Several senior lawmakers from Ohio are directly involved in negotiations over a sweeping innovation bill that could impact Intel’s investment in Licking County
- In interviews, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and Rob Portman (R) explained where talks over the Bipartisan Innovation Act stand
- President Joe Biden told Congress to “pass the damn bill” while visiting Cincinnati last month
- Cincinnati Republican Rep. Steve Chabot has expressed concerns about the legislation
When President Joe Biden visited Cincinnati last month, flanked by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and Rob Portman (R), he was there to deliver a direct message to them and their colleagues in Congress.
“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said.
Since taking office, Biden has focused on trying to bring manufacturing jobs back to America.
A bill now called the Bipartisan Innovation Act would do just that.
It’s a sweeping piece of legislation that would aim to make the U.S. more competitive with China by investing billions in building computer chips here at home and protecting U.S. research abroad.
When the head of Intel came to Ohio earlier this year to announce plans to build two chip factories in Licking County, he said the investment could grow from $20 billion to $100 billion if Congress could reach a deal on the bill.
The House and Senate passed their own versions of it already, so now senators and House members in both parties are meeting in a conference committee to hash out a final plan.
Brown and Portman both serve on that committee and say progress is being made.
“It’s true that Intel’s made a commitment to the Columbus area, but frankly, when you have countries like Germany and other EU countries providing huge incentives right now for them to go there, when you have countries in Asia providing huge incentives and lower costs, it’s going to be challenging for us to get back on our feet,” Portman told Spectrum News in an interview last week.
Brown said he’s hopeful a final deal can be reached in a matter of weeks.
“We know, for years, American corporations have scoured the world — it’s almost a scavenger hunt for cheap labor,” Brown said last week. “They’ve sold us out as workers and as communities in Ohio. And it’s one of the big reasons China’s as powerful as they are now. And we’ve got to roll that back and that’s what this bill does.”
But not everyone is on board.
Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, OH-1, also serves on the conference committee and raised concerns that the bill doesn’t do enough for research security or putting in place rules for what America exports.
“While there are worthwhile provisions such as the CHIPS funding, which I strongly support, neither chamber’s legislation really does the hard things that we need to do if we honestly believe our own rhetoric,” Chabot said in a May 12 meeting.
If the legislation ultimately becomes law, it will be a huge win for Ohio, as well as a big political win for Biden, who will be able to celebrate a bipartisan jobs bill as he continues to deal with inflation and supply chain troubles.
