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Gov. Abbott pushes for CHIPS Act in Congress, saying it would be great for Texas

The CHIPS Act of 2022 would invest $50 billion into manufacturing of SEMI-conductors in the U.S., many of them here in Texas.

TAYLOR, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott proposed in a statement Thursday that Congress should pass the CHIPS Act of 2022, which would invest $50 billion into companies that manufacture semiconductors, or the chips inside IPhones, cars and computers.

Abbott says Samsung is ready to build 11 semiconductor factories between Austin and Taylor.

Tech expert, Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies, said investing in the already existing manufacturers would help the area expand, creating a hub for business.

"Texas is now in the position of having enough silicon industry so that it kind of has a momentum of its own," Kay said. "In Central Texas they have land, and they have people that know what's up."

Because Texas is central in the U.S., Kay added that Central Texas is a prime spot for manufacturing and shipping in America. He said the cost of shipping is less since manufactures don't have to send goods across the county.

"This has been a two-year long project of mine, a bipartisan project, recognizing after COVID-19, many of the vulnerability of our supply chains," U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said.

Cornyn added that 90% of semi-conductor chips were manufactured overseas.

"The reason for that is it's 30% cheaper to build a manufacturing lab in Asia than it is in the U.S.," he said.

Cornyn went on and said this is so important because when you consider the consequences of natural disasters, pandemics or conflict between China and Taiwan, the risk is just unacceptable. 

Kay noted that more business and jobs will come to the Central Texas area if manufacturing of semiconductors expends outside of Austin.

"So if AMD lays them off, Samsung will pick them up," he said.

The only thing Kay worries about is that big companies will come to Texas because not many regulations are put on manufacturers.

"A relaxed regulatory regime may not pay attention to how those materials are managed but they ought to," he said.

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