SCHUMER LAUNCHES EFFORT TO SECURE HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN DOMESTIC SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY AND PROTECTION OF AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS, AS GLOBALFOUNDRIES ANNOUNCES THEY ARE MOVING THEIR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS TO SARATOGA COUNTY

Schumer Says U.S. Must Maintain Its Global Leadership In Semiconductor Manufacturing, R&D, & Other Critical Tech Innovation; Investment Means More Chip Fabs & Jobs In The U.S.A. – At Sites Like GlobalFoundries – Cementing U.S. Leadership In Semiconductor Industry 

Schumer Says Super-Charged Federal Support Will Allow GlobalFoundries To Grow & Reduce Dangerous U.S. Reliance On Foreign-Made Semiconductors, Create Jobs, And Boost Local Economy

Schumer: Historic Proposal Is A Win-Win, Jolting U.S. Semiconductor Industry & Capital Region Economy

Following his successful push to include major federal support for the U.S. semiconductor industry in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Senate Majority Leader stood with GlobalFoundries CEO, Tom Caulfield, in Malta, to announce his effort to secure full funding to implement the federal semiconductor manufacturing and R&D incentives as part of a package of legislation he plans to bring to the Senate floor in the weeks ahead. Central to that legislative package is Schumer’s bipartisan, bicameral Endless Frontiers Act (EFA), which will deliver massive investment in science and tech innovation, strengthen economic and national security, and keep the U.S. strategically competitive with other countries across key technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, and advanced energy.

Schumer explained that the EFA will deliver essential support for manufacturing, research and development, and job-training programs in critical technology. The senator said he is working to pass EFA out of the Senate Commerce Committee and will bring that and other similar pieces of legislation to the floor as a package to invest in U.S. competitiveness. Schumer is making it a priority to include in this package upwards of $50 billion in emergency spending to fully implement the bipartisan federal semiconductor manufacturing an R&D incentives he passed into law as part of last year’s defense authorization. This new federal funding for the domestic semiconductor industry could support further expansion of New York’s semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, including the potential for hundreds and even thousands of new jobs in Saratoga County and across Upstate New York, and have wide-ranging benefits throughout the regional economy for countless industries, communities, and working families.

Schumer and Caulfield also announced that GlobalFoundries is moving their headquarters from Silicon Valley in California to Saratoga County. With federal support from the programs Schumer is working to fund, GlobalFoundries is considering expanding their Malta facilities which would create construction jobs and support even more semiconductor-related jobs in the future.

“The economic and national security risks posed by relying too heavily on foreign semiconductor suppliers cannot be ignored, and Upstate New York, especially the Capital Region, which has a robust semiconductor manufacturing and R&D presence, is the perfect place to grow this industry by leaps and bounds,” said Senator Schumer. “Historic investments like what I am fighting for to stand-up the new federal semiconductor programs and what I am proposing across critical technologies with my bipartisan Endless Frontiers Act will help ensure continued U.S. global leadership in semiconductors and other technologies and keep good-paying, high-tech American manufacturing jobs here in Upstate New York. I am making it a top priority for the Senate to swiftly pass the necessary funding to implement the semiconductor incentives we passed into law last year and my Endless Frontier Act to strengthen our economic and national security and ensure growth in high-tech R&D, manufacturing, and jobs across Upstate New York.”

Schumer added, “I am also proud to announce here today that GlobalFoundries will officially move their headquarters right here to Saratoga County. GlobalFoundries is an essential thread in the fabric that is the Capital Region, and their continued growth in the community means doubling down on good-paying jobs, support for the entire regional economy, and Upstate New York’s leadership in the semiconductor industry.”

“I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his steadfast support for GF over the years and his tireless leadership in forging a bipartisan coalition in Congress that together with the Administration fully appreciates the need for a secure and resilient domestic semiconductor supply chain,” said GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield. “The time for the Endless Frontier Act is now, and once approved by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, GF stands ready to do our part by expanding in upstate New York and creating many more high-paying American jobs. Our ambitious goal is to double our capacity at this site in the years to come in partnership with our customers, local, state and federal governments. We can do this.”

Schumer noted that even though the U.S. revolutionized the microelectronics industry, including semiconductors, and invented nearly all of the key technology used to this day, competitors in Asia, especially China, have made huge investments into their microelectronics industries in recent years to challenge and undercut U.S. leadership. In fact, Schumer pointed out, the U.S. has gone from producing 24% of the world’s semiconductors in 2000, to just 12% more recently. In contrast, China has gone from producing zero chips to 16% of the world’s supply in the same time frame. The senator warned that by 2030, Asia is projected to control 83% of the global semiconductor manufacturing supply while domestic production could be less than 10%, threatening U.S. reliance on foreign-made microelectronics, which could pose huge risks to U.S. national and economic security.

Schumer has long-championed increased efforts to expand the domestic semiconductor industry, showing strong support for companies like GlobalFoundries, which houses their most advanced ‘Fab 8’ manufacturing facility in Malta. With New York home to multiple major companies and research institutions in the semiconductor industry, the state is positioned to securely supply the U.S. government with critical technologies and maintain U.S. leadership in this technology, offering a tremendous opportunity for New York’s semiconductor and other high-tech companies to expand operations, create more jobs in Upstate New York, and help the U.S. reduce its reliance on foreign manufacturing across critical technologies.

Details on Schumer’s Endless Frontiers Act can be found below. The senator introduced the legislation last week in the Senate, along with Senator Young (R-IN) and 12 other bipartisan Senators.

• The Endless Frontier Act proposes an expansion of the National Science Foundation (NSF) with the establishment of a new Technology and Innovation Directorate within NSF to advance research and development in 10 key technology focus areas, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, advanced communications, biotechnology, and advanced energy.
• The newly-established Technology and Innovation Directorate would receive $100 billion over five years to invest in basic and advanced research, commercialization, and education and training programs in technology areas critical to national leadership.
• An additional $10 billion would be authorized at the Department of Commerce to support regional technology strategies and to designate at least 10 regional technology hubs, awarding funds for comprehensive investment initiatives that position regions across the country as global centers for the research, development, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing of new key technologies.
• The Endless Frontier Act also establishes a new Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Response Program with the national security mission of strengthening critical technology supply chains in the U.S. and with global allies and partners.
• Additionally, the bill invests in U.S. manufacturing innovation and competitiveness with over $2.4 billion in funding to enhance and expand the Manufacturing USA network to ensure global leadership in the manufacturing of key technologies.
• To support the country’s national security capabilities, the bill mandates a strategy on national competitiveness and ingenuity in science, research, and manufacturing to support the national security strategy.

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