COLUMBUS, Ohio — CHIPS Act Money is a hot political topic as the November election is just six days away.
Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday told reporters “I did reach out to the White House today to ask them to speed up the money going to Intel. This is something that’s been lingering for quite some time. It’s important to Ohio, it’s important to the future of this country."
The question is why hasn’t the government released the $8.5 billion that it approved for the chip giant?
To understand why you have to first understand what the CHIPS Act is and isn’t. The $39 billion taxpayer-funded program is not a handout. The US Department of Commerce says the program is a reimbursement fund. “I'm sure all these companies would prefer that we just back up the Brink's truck of taxpayer money into their parking lot and deposit it into their treasury. But I can't do that,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Intel, the Commerce Department says, knew of the restrictions with the funds, and the department needs to verify what it has done to deserve any taxpayer money.
“While the CHIPS program does not comment on active negotiations, I will reiterate our strong confidence in Intel's commitment to expanding in Ohio and support for Intel’s overall vision for manufacturing chips in the U.S. We continue to work closely with the company to finalize their award and will provide further updates as they become available,” said Mike Schmidt, CHIPS Program Office Director.
The CHIPS Act was championed by Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown. 10TV reached out to his office for comment on why the money has yet to be released.
‘“Ohio workers are ready to lead the world in semiconductor manufacturing, but they need federal investment from the CHIPS Act to keep this project moving forward. The Commerce Department and Intel must work together to immediately unlock the already-approved CHIPS investment for the New Albany project. This is a matter of national security as well as an economic opportunity – and there’s no reason for the administration to delay federal investment for this important project,” he said.
Browns challenger, Republican Bernie Moreno, was asked by 10TV on Monday if he would have voted for the CHIPS Act.
“Generally speaking I’m on the side of the tax incentives rather than government grants. The reason they've (Intel) got zero from the CHIPS Act is because it’s stuck in bureaucratic malaise,” he said.
Intel didn’t say a lack of funds would delay the opening of its two plants, but didn’t say it wouldn’t either.
“We’re proud to be building the Silicon Heartland. A project of this scale and complexity involves many moving parts and it’s not unusual for the timing of specific work orders to fluctuate. We are well on our way to establishing Ohio One as one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturing hubs and we are going to finish the job. Since the CHIPS Act was passed more than two years ago, Intel has already invested nearly $30 billion dollars to expand U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. We will continue to work with the Department of Commerce to accelerate and streamline the process to meet our collective goal to create a globally competitive U.S. semiconductor ecosystem,” said an Intel spokesperson.