Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to express my support for the Cornyn amendment, which would, among other things, authorize a Federal grant program to enable the leading global chip companies to manufacture in the United States. I want to commend a bipartisan group of Senators who have worked so hard on this issue: Senators Cotton, Cornyn, Schumer, and Warner. The semiconductor manufacturing story is similar to many other industries in America. The United States invented the technology and still leads in research and development, but the manufacture of the product itself has steadily migrated to Asia. Over time, not just the manufacturing expertise and capacity are lost but also the science and engineering necessary to invent the next generation of products. While this has happened to too many industries, the impact is particularly acute in electronics because electronics power the modern economy, fueling all the critical technologies on which our future prosperity depend. Asian nations--and, in particular, China, Taiwan, and South Korea-- have for decades pursued aggressive industrial policies to gain control of the electronics industry. These policies directed large subsidies and protections for fledgling companies that have now become global giants. While South Korea is an ally, and Taiwan is a partner, the plants in those countries that make the world's most advanced logic and memory semiconductors are highly vulnerable to disruption or destruction by China and/or North Korea.…”