Senate OKs $280B tech bill; Schumer says it will bring jobs to LI
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivers remarks on the passage of the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act during a press conference in the Capitol in Washington. Credit: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/SHAWN THEW
WASHINGTON — A massive tech bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, and is poised for final passage in the House this week, could help usher in a new generation of technology jobs on Long Island, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Schumer, speaking to Newsday shortly after the Senate voted in favor of a sweeping $280 billion package aimed at boosting the domestic production of semiconductor chips and other emerging technologies, said the package will direct millions in federal funding to academic institutions, including the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
“Investments in science create the good-paying jobs, and with heavy investment in our Long Island scientific institutions, new companies are going to spring up and people are going to come here,” Schumer said. “People on Long Island who are now in their 50s, their grandchildren will have good paying jobs because of this legislation.”
The package — which has had various iterations and names over the past year — is meant to combat China’s growing influence in the tech industry and to address the shortage of microchips, largely made overseas, that led to the production slowdown of other American-made products, including cars and home appliances.
The measure passed the Senate with rare bipartisan support in a 64-33 vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in a letter to lawmakers last week, said she expected to bring the bill forward for a vote this week, noting there has been bipartisan support in the chamber.
President Joe Biden on Monday had urged Congress to deliver a bill to his desk “promptly.” On Wednesday he lauded the Senate passage of the “CHIPS and Science Act,” saying upon final passage “it will mean more resilient American supply chains, so we are never so reliant on foreign countries for the critical technologies that we need for American consumers and national security.”
Schumer said he “helped craft this bill with Long Island in mind,” noting the existing scientific research hubs and universities in the area.
“With Stony Brook [University] being one of the leading scientific research universities in the country, and Brookhaven only being one of the handful of Department of Energy labs, we are just well poised to get a good chunk of this money,” Schumer said.
Schumer’s office said the institutions will be eligible to apply for funding for different programs, including $14.7 billion that will be made available over the next five years to support the 17 Department of Energy National Laboratories across the country.
“This is a jobs bill as much as it is a critical investment in science that will mean new opportunity and sustained economic strength here on Long Island,” said Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, in a statement.
Richard Reeder, vice president for research for Stony Brook University, said in a statement that the measure “will help increase American competitiveness in semiconductor [research and development] and manufacturing while at the same time boosting New York companies and research universities like Stony Brook University.”
The measure did have its critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who voted against it, calling it “corporate welfare” in a Senate floor speech.
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
