Legislation exempts chips construction from NEPA and other federal delays
On Wednesday, President Biden signed the Building Chips in America Act, bipartisan legislation that would streamline federal permitting requirements to prevent regulatory delays for chip fabs under construction. Today’s legislation supports projects receiving funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, which made a historic investment in bolstering domestic manufacturing of semiconductors to strengthen the U.S. supply chain.
“This is a win for the whole economy – it’s step one of permitting reform,” said ARI Senior VP of Government Affairs Satya Thallam. “Chip shortages mean higher prices for cars, fridges, phones, and everything down to your coffee maker. If lawmakers want to tackle inflation and jumpstart the economy at the same time, our next step should be tackling energy costs through permitting reform in that entire sector. If we want to outcompete foreign adversaries, then we have to stop hamstringing the development of our own critical infrastructure.”
Access to advanced chips is critical to the development of AI systems, and ARI supports export controls that reduce foreign adversaries’ access to the semiconductor supply chain.
Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at responsibleinnovation.org.