Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s every day e-newsletter that retains readers up to the mark on essentially the most important Texas information.
WASHINGTON — Texas officers need their state to be the middle of the worldwide semiconductor revolution, and members of Congress from throughout the political spectrum are pushing to make it occur.
A brand new measure led by a various group of Texans — together with Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and one in every of his 2024 challengers, Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred — are in search of to streamline environmental evaluate necessities for brand new investments within the state’s semiconductor business, a transfer that business backers say would drastically enhance competitiveness. Cruz and his Senate companions not too long ago added the measure into the higher chamber’s annual protection invoice.
“This language will assist Texas, already the nation’s main chip producer, proceed to develop this burgeoning business and produce extra jobs to the Lone Star State whereas boosting America’s financial and nationwide safety,” Cruz stated in a press release.
The transfer follows the CHIPS and Science Act signed into law last year, additionally shepherded by a coterie of Texans keen to spice up the business within the state. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was a key chief on the laws, which created federal grants to advertise home semiconductor manufacturing.
As competitors between america and China escalates, Congress has been working since final 12 months to shore up technological competitiveness to permit the U.S. to develop into the middle of the worldwide semiconductor business. Semiconductors are important for an unlimited array of know-how, from cellphones to electrical autos, however the business is dominated by Taiwanese, South Korean and Chinese language producers.
Though he supported efforts to spice up the state’s semiconductor business, Cruz voted towards the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, expressing concern that sending grants on to corporations may invite “cronyism and corruption.” All Texas Republicans within the Home additionally voted towards the invoice aside from U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul of Austin and Kay Granger of Fort Value. Each are protection hawks who’ve repeatedly warned about rising technological competitors with China.
The most recent measure, launched because the Constructing Chips in America Act, would exempt some tasks receiving CHIPS Act funding from having to endure sure environmental evaluations below the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act. It additionally would put the Commerce Division in command of environmental evaluations for different tasks and streamline evaluations by avoiding the necessity for duplicate research from different federal companies.
Environmental evaluations below the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act, generally referred to as NEPA, require thorough documentation of presidency tasks for potential environmental impacts — together with a examine of alternate tasks that would have much less influence on the surroundings. The evaluations embody public remark durations and will require an evaluation by different companies affected by the tasks.
Members of each events have criticized NEPA’s environmental evaluations, which may take months or years, for holding up crucial infrastructure, with many Republicans criticizing the hurdles as stifling forms that chokes off new oil and gasoline tasks.
Many Democrats say the evaluations can delay the strong improvement of renewable vitality that’s wanted to achieve the Biden administration’s local weather and infrastructure targets.
“This bipartisan invoice is a common sense change that may be sure that the CHIPS Act delivers on its promise and these crucial tasks can get accepted,” Allred stated in a press release.
However environmentalists are uncomfortable watering down NEPA evaluations. Practically 80 Democrats within the U.S. Home wrote to party leaders and President Joe Biden in May to oppose allowing reform that may have shortened NEPA evaluate durations.
Allred and McCaul joined a number of different members of each events to introduce the Constructing Chips in America Act within the Home. Allred is making bipartisanship and moderation a spotlight of his marketing campaign to unseat Cruz within the 2024 Senate race, in distinction to Cruz’s regularly aggressive partisan type.
However on this subject, Cruz and Allred have put aside virtually polar-opposite politics, illustrating the significance of the semiconductor business to Texas.
Already, companies together with Texas Devices, Samsung, X-FAB and NXP Semiconductors have announced billions of dollars in projects within the state. Texas Devices introduced a brand new $30 billion fabrication plant in Sherman, and Samsung plans to construct a $17 billion plant in Taylor.
Of the $200 billion in investments introduced because the CHIPS and Science Act was handed, greater than $61 billion is sure for Texas, probably creating greater than 8,000 jobs, according to CNBC and the Semiconductor Business Affiliation.
Cruz joined Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, to push for the Constructing Chips in America Act to be tacked on to the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act as half of a giant bundle of amendments. The $886 billion protection invoice handed the Senate simply earlier than Congress broke for its monthlong August recess. Kelly launched the invoice within the Senate.
The U.S. Home additionally handed its model of the protection act in July however added a number of right-wing priorities, together with limiting gender-affirming care and banning service members from being reimbursed for abortion-related journey. Home and Senate negotiators will work to resolve variations within the two payments in September.
The protection coverage invoice has historically been among the many most bipartisan items of laws Congress addresses yearly. The Senate’s model of the invoice handed easily on a extensively bipartisan foundation, however the Home model acquired solely 4 Democratic votes.
Disclosure: Texas Devices has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full list of them here.
Greater than 200 audio system are actually confirmed for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in downtown Austin from Sept. 21-23. Annually, the Competition engages, challenges and surprises attendees with surprising expertise mashups, must-see interviews and extra, curated by the award-winning journalists at The Texas Tribune. See the lineup and get tickets today.
