President Biden Announces $6.1 Billion Federal Assistance for Micron Technology

On Thursday, President Joe Biden will announce $6.1 billion in federal assistance for Micron Technology to enhance the production of sophisticated memory computer chips.

The funds will go toward the development of two new Micron plants in Clay, New York, and one in Boise, Idaho. On Thursday, the president will visit Syracuse, New York, to make the announcement. “This is a historic day, a historic investment, and a historic moment for Syracuse, upstate New York, and, really, for all of America,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a call with reporters on Wednesday to preview the news.

The federal funding supports Micron’s proposal to invest up to $125 billion in New York and Idaho over the next 20 years to boost semiconductor manufacturing. The White House stated that Micron’s anticipated spending is the greatest private investment in the history of both states and will result in tens of thousands of new job opportunities.

“Micron’s $125 billion investment will bring manufacturing of leading-edge memory chips back to the United States after decades of foreign dominance and mark a new chapter in U.S. semiconductor leadership,” White House National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said in a call on Wednesday.

The funding comes from Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act and is part of Biden’s bigger goal of bringing semiconductor production back to the United States from Asia.

On Wednesday’s conference, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian noted that semiconductors, which are used in everything from dishwashers to military systems, were invented in America. However, she claimed that over time, the United States fell from generating 40% of the world’s chips to only 10%. Currently, the United States does not make any of the world’s most advanced chips. Last month, the administration set a target for the United States to create 20% of the world’s cutting-edge semiconductors domestically by 2030.

Last month, Biden visited Chandler, Arizona, to announce $8.5 billion in support for Intel’s construction and expansion of semiconductor manufacturing facilities in four states. Earlier this month, the government announced a $6.4 billion deal with Samsung Electronics to establish a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.

The CHIPS and Science Act, approved by Congress with bipartisan support and signed by Biden in the summer of 2022, includes $52.7 billion in subsidies to boost domestic semiconductor production, as well as a 25% tax break on investments in domestic chip investments worth approximately $24 billion.

Schumer joined Biden in New York to promote Micron’s investment. The New York senator is slated to meet with the president again on Thursday. “Our country will be more economically secure because of Micron; our national security will be stronger because of Micron,” Schumer said in a statement. “And our country will once again have Syracuse and update New York at the heart of its manufacturing.”

On Thursday, Biden will also launch four new hubs to train and link individuals to jobs established by his major pieces of legislation, including the CHIPS and Science Acts. The new hubs will be located in upstate New York, Michigan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia, PA.