Shhh, apparently it’s a big secret. While legacy media is wailing about President Biden’s age and how they’re not sure he can do the job, he is actually… doing the job. And doing it well.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have come up with a way to take on China and protect our national security while also creating 10,000 good paying jobs, many of which will be union jobs.
WHAT
Today, the Biden-Harris administration is announcing the Department of Commerce’s preliminary agreement with GlobalFoundries, which will award approximately $1.5 billion to expand domestic production of semiconductors.
We learned all about how important semiconductors are – those crucial chips used in our cars, refrigerators, and phones — when the supply chain was so disrupted following the pandemic. According to J.P. Morgan, the chip shortages will continue through the end of 2023 into 2024.
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THANK THE VP
Does Vice President Harris do anything? We hear this asked all of the time, which is odd because she is working every day, but of course, the Vice President’s job is partly to work without being seen.
Here’s an example of what she’s up to:
“While in Singapore in August 2021, I convened CEOs and government leaders to make progress on global supply chain challenges,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA. “As part of that convening, I met with an executive from GlobalFoundries, and they committed to working with our administration to secure domestic supply chains. The preliminary agreement announced today will allow GlobalFoundries to create a new state of the art semiconductor production facility in Malta, NY, and will allow the company to expand existing operations in both New York and Vermont.”
STRENGTHENING THE COUNTRY
The U.S. Department of Commerce and GlobalFoundries have an agreement to provide approximately $1.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, which was passed to help make the U.S. a leader in semiconductor R&D and manufacturing.
There are only four companies outside of China that provide current and mature foundry capabilities at the scale of GlobalFoundries, and it is the only one with its headquarters here in the U.S. in Malta, New York. It also helps that GF has a deep relationship with U.S. defense and national security community.
Although Global is a global foundry in Europe, Singapore, and Malta, not all of its technologies are produced at all sites. Some of the important most critical for economic and national security are currently being made at other locations, so this investment will onshore these specialty technologies, including one that is used for things like satellite applications, Senior Administration Officials explained.
The core imperative is to use these investments to incentivize and activate private capital to ensure these projects are happening and successful in the U.S.
The chips will be sold around the world, becoming exports that will drive economic activity.
SHOULD BIDEN GET CREDIT?
We hear this brought up a lot about President Biden – should he get credit for the incredible economic recovery he oversaw? This is raised even though the economic policies he’s overseen all have his stamp of prioritizing American jobs and good pay.
Yes, he has been “instrumentally involved,” actually.
“The President has been instrumentally involved in caring about these issues,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on a call with reporters in which I took part. “He understood immediately when we talked to him about the Chips and Science Bill, how important it was for the future of America. But he also made sure that we kept our goals and didn’t dilute them for providing good paying jobs for so many 1000s of workers and keeping American dominance.”
JOBS
Good ones, too. Because of course there are.
This investment will create over 10,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing in New York and Vermont over the next decade, with many being union construction jobs.
Childcare is a big part of Biden-Harris administration supporting and building workforce, and Senior Administration Officials say Global has embraced that call and shared vision. They provide $1,000 childcare benefit, which they will be expanding to construction workers.
Yes, construction workers will be getting the same type of childcare benefit provided to traditionally higher pay workers, which also opens the door wider for workers from all walks of life, including single parents.
WHERE?
The approximately $1.5 billion in proposed CHIPS funding would be split across three projects, according to a WH announcement:
• Malta, New York – The construction of a new, large-scale 300 mm fabrication facility that is expected to produce high value technologies not currently available in the U.S. T
• Malta, New York – Capacity Expansion for Automotive: The proposed expansion of the existing Malta, New York fabrication facility, which includes a strategic agreement with General Motors, to secure a dedicated supply of essential semiconductor technologies. This project would also support America’s economic and national security by expanding domestic capacity for semiconductors that are used in the U.S. critical infrastructure base. This expansion, combined with the new 300 mm fabrication facility, is expected to triple the existing capacity of the Malta campus over the next 10+ years. These two projects are expected to increase wafer production to 1 million per year once all phases are complete.
• Burlington, Vermont – Fab Revitalization: The revitalization of an existing fabrication facility in Burlington, Vermont, to commercialize new 200 mm technologies, creating the first U.S. facility capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation Gallium Nitride on Silicon for use in electric vehicles, power grid, 5G and 6G smartphones, and other critical technologies. The site will apply industry-leading sustainability practices, including the use of 100% carbon-free neutral energy and the development of an onsite solar system to supply up to 9% of the site’s annual energy.
POLICY MATTERS
The economic recovery overseen by the Biden-Harris administration will be studied in years to come for its FDR type of influence over the long term, changing priorities to focus on creating a solid foundation for our economy with good jobs at all levels. This is most acutely felt in the working class, which has suffered for decades due to policy that didn’t prioritize them. Perhaps it’s not actually that hard to understand why legacy media ignores these policies, as they are about a fairer America, and do not cater to the elite.
The Biden-Harris administration is also pushing the U.S. to become strong again in manufacturing power, which it had ceded over decades to its own detriment, including to the point of harming our national security.
The Vice President pointed out that these types of investments “can have a multiplier effect in communities – driving small business growth, strengthening workforce pipelines, and helping more people access good jobs without having to leave their hometowns.”
“President Biden and I continue to be fully committed to growing our economy and creating opportunity in every part of America. Today’s announcement is another way in which we are delivering on that commitment in New York, Vermont, and communities throughout the country.”
If the slogan hadn’t already been sullied beyond all hope by an indicted sneaker salesman, I’d suggest Biden is actually making America great again.
Also, you now know more about what President Biden is doing for the economy than some New York Times reporters who cover the economy. That wasn’t hard, was it.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
