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July 28, 2022 

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ICYMI: Reverend Warnock Leads CHIPS Bill, Legislation To Lower Costs, Protect Georgia Jobs, Through Senate

Reverend Warnock: “This bill is really about three things: jobs, jobs and jobs. It’s about jobs right now and jobs well into the future.” 

Atlanta, GA – Yesterday, after a year-long push led by Reverend Warnock, the Senate passed the CHIPS and Science bill, bipartisan legislation that will boost Georgia’s  semiconductor manufacturing capacity, spur scientific innovation, and reduce reliance on foreign nations like China. 

Warnock, who has been calling for passage of legislation to boost U.S. chip production to support facilities like Kia in West Point, told Fox 5: “This bill is really about three things: jobs, jobs and jobs. It’s about jobs right now and jobs well into the future.”

Here’s what Georgians are seeing as this groundbreaking legislation moves forward: 

Watch Fox5

Sharon Lawson: “The Senate passed the bill yesterday. Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock served on the conference committee that hammered out the bill. He says the legislation will help improve the supply chain issues that surfaced during the pandemic. Most of the chips used in products from cell phones to cars are currently made in Asia.” 

Reverend Warnock: “The Kia plant in West Point, Georgia, for example, had to shut down last year on a couple of occasions and the workers had to stay home missing money out of their paychecks, not because of the lack of customers but because of a lack of microchips.” 

Sharon Lawson: “Senator Warnock says the bill will not only help the economy but also improve national security, as many military weapons systems rely on chip technology.” 

Fox5 Atlanta — US Senate passes bill to increase microchip production

• The U.S. Senate approved a bill Wednesday aimed at increasing domestic production of semiconductors and computer chips.  

• “This bill is really about three things: jobs, jobs and jobs. It’s about jobs right now and jobs well into the future,” said Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia.

• In April, Sen. Warnock was assigned to the conference committee tasked with hammering out a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.

• Sen. Warnock said it will help address some supply chain issues the country has experienced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because most of the world’s microchips are currently produced in Asia.

• “The Kia plant in West Point, Ga., for example, had to shut down last year on a couple of occasions and the workers had to stay home missing money out of their paychecks not because of a lack of customers, but a lack of microchips,” Sen. Warnock said.  

• “Investments in HBCUs, investments in some of our smaller universities like Middle Georgia State, like Columbus State where they’re very bright, young people, but they often don’t have access to the kinds of investments in STEM that make for a future in a STEM career,” explained Sen. Warnock. 

• Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, spoke against the bill Wednesday.

• Warnock, however, said he was grateful to have played a part in getting the legislation passed.

• “This is an investment in our people, and it’s an investment in the future workplace, and I’m proud that we’re able to get this done on a bipartisan basis,” said Sen. Warnock. “Think about how seldom that happens here in Washington.”

Watch WALB

Jamie Worsley: “Supporters argue that making microchips here at home will help the United States stay competitive with China. It will also be critical to the U.S. national security if chips are used as weapons or military equipment. One of the package’s supporters is Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. He talked about why the bill is so important.”
 

Reverend Warnock: “This bill is great news for Georgia. A signaled place of focus for the bill is the incentivizing of domestic production of semiconductors, what we call chips. And chips are in everything. Everything from our cell phones to vacuum cleaners to automobiles.” 

Watch WRDW

Nick Proto: “A tiny chip that could mean billions of dollars for the computer industry, plus money and jobs for Augusta. We talked to Senator Raphael Warnock, who cosponsored a 52-billion-dollar bill that allocates funding for cyber security research. He says this bill will create more opportunities for the Augusta area and that it will lead to the creation of jobs and make existing technology jobs even easier. Cyber security experts at the Georgia Cyber Center tell us why this is important for accomplishing these goals.”

Gagan Argwal, Cyber Security Expert: “The research funding allows us to recruit more PhD students, train more people, and that all helps feed national defense.”

Nick Proto: “This bill’s funding will also help cyber companies struggling with supply chain issues. The non-partisan bill totals more than 52-billion dollars and passed in the Senate. Warnock says they were thrilled to see it go through after months of working on it.” 

Watch WRDW

Maria Sellars: “We spoke to Senator Raphael Warnock just moments before the vote. He says this bill will be crucial for our area.” 

Reverend Warnock: “With Fort Gordon, being right there, with Augusta University being right there and the need to invest in cyber security, this bodes well with our opportunity right there in the Augusta area.”

Maria Sellars: “Cyber security is not its sole focus.”

Reverend Warnock: “This means investments in innovation, in microchips which we see in every aspect of our economy.” 

Maria Sellars: “This is helpful for businesses like Cyber City Circuits who was hit hard by supply chain impacts.” 

Cyber City Circuits: “What used to cost 20 dollars to get something shipped was costing 60 dollars, and it used to take 3-5 days to get stuff from overseas and then it went to three weeks.”

Maria Sellars: “More funding going towards these products could help prevent that in the future.”

Cyber City Circuits: “The hope with bringing semiconductor and passive component manufacturing back to the United States is that we won’t have major supply chain issues like we had during the pandemic.” 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON REVEREND WARNOCK’S LEADERSHIP

• On July 15th, Reverend Warnock sent a letter calling on Senate leadership to put partisan bickering aside to swiftly pass bipartisan CHIPS legislation to address the semiconductor shortage and other supply chain issues while also boosting American research and innovation.  

• In the letter he wrote: “This historic bipartisan legislation is too vital to be used to score political points, and employing tactics to derail this critical and overwhelmingly bipartisan bill is shameful.”
   

• Reverend Warnock was a lead negotiator on the jobs and competition bill and secured the bill’s provision to increase semiconductor production—bipartisan legislation that would become the CHIPS and Science bill that will protect and save Georgia jobs, lower costs, and reduce reliance on foreign nations like China.

• Last year, the Kia facility in West Point, Georgia, shutdown for two days in the wake of a semiconductor shortage—an issue that Reverend Warnock met with Kia officials about and raised in a Commerce Committee hearing.

• The bill will reduce the nation’s reliance on semiconductors made in other countries like China, and instead manufacture those key materials in the United States, creating jobs and also helping with supply chain issues that have impacted American businesses.

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