WASHINGTON (AP) — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday called on the country to unite around a $52 billion effort to restore the U.S. as the world leader in advanced computer chips, saying it will require training of tens of thousands of workers.
“The research, innovation and manufacturing sparked by this law will enable us to be the technological superpower, securing our economic and national security future for the next generation,” Raimondo said in a speech at Georgetown University.
The government sees the funding as a launching pad to create two major semiconductor clusters inside the U.S. featuring a network of factories, research laboratories and other infrastructure.
But fulfilling that vision will be a multi-year challenge that requires job training and figuring out scientific breakthroughs to lower the cost of producing advanced chips. There is a level of cooperation that is needed among the federal government, state governments, local officials, CEOs, universities and school districts — the kind of joint effort that could be challenging in an era of divided politics.
The Biden administration is hopeful it can surmount political hurdles as Democrats and Republicans alike back the initiative.