Signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act is reportedly jampacked with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have severely impeded its rollout.
As previously reported, the bill earmarked $52.7 billion for the establishment of the CHIPS for America Fund, which is designed to support “private-sector investment in domestic research and manufacturing,” according to Fox News.
The problem is that to obtain funding, one must meet a whole host of DEI-related requirements.
“Our economy is literally the envy of the world.”
-Joe Biden, 03/07/2024Meanwhile:
“Commentators have noted that CHIPS and Science Act money has been sluggish. What they haven’t noticed is that it’s because the CHIPS Act is so loaded with DEI pork that it can’t move.” pic.twitter.com/KAcYa7iOiV— Laocoon of Troy (@LaocoonofTroy) March 11, 2024
“If you look through the notice of funding opportunity, which is the Commerce Department’s requirements in order to get funding, there’s literally the word diversity, equity and inclusion and DEI requirements littered throughout,” Chris Nicholson of Strive Asset Management (a company owned by Vivek Ramaswamy) told Fox News.
“Although this money is announced in some sense, it’s not even going to be given. That’s the key here. It’s not even going to be given unless [funding recipients], step by step, they meet, and they prove they’re meeting all of these DEI requirements,” he added.
One DEI requirement is that the company applying for money “develop an equity strategy” that describes “specific efforts to … promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
Applicants must also “have a plan to employ ex-convicts, expand employment opportunities for people with ‘limited English proficiency,’ hire more women for construction jobs, and produce a plan for contracting ‘diverse suppliers’ that are women- and minority-owned,” according to Fox News.
Applicants must further guarantee “affordable, accessible, reliable, and high quality” child care for all employees, including construction workers.
Lastly, applicants must submit a climate and environmental justice plan accounting for “climate-related risks that may occur over the lifetime of the facility,” with the purpose being to prioritize funding to applicants who operate the most off of “green” energy.
️9 pieces of key #STEM legislation, focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, became law in the U.S. as part of the CHIPS & Science Act in 2022. AGU contributed to the inclusion of these DEI bills as part of our strategic plan.
What 2022 AGU programs are you THANKFUL for? pic.twitter.com/uEtBZTwh3u
— AGU (American Geophysical Union) (@theAGU) December 10, 2022
“All you have to do is look at the nature of the requirements themselves, and you can see that they’re an enormous roadblock,” Nicholson said to Fox News about these steep requirements.
He previously penned a piece earlier this month alongside Matt Cole, also of Strive Asset Management, warning that DEI was killing the CHIPS Act.
As proof, the duo pointed to what happened after the Biden administration promised it would “loosen the purse strings” on the grant “to encourage semiconductor fabrication in the U.S.”
“[L]ess than a week later, Intel announced that it’s putting the brakes on its Columbus factory,” they reported. “The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has pushed back production at its second Arizona foundry. The remaining major chipmaker, Samsung, just delayed its first Texas fab.”
The two went on to describe other burdensome DEI requirements attached to the CHIPS Act.
“The law contains 19 sections aimed at helping minority groups, including one creating a Chief Diversity Officer at the National Science Foundation, and several prioritizing scientific cooperation with what it calls ‘minority-serving institutions,'” they wrote.
“A section called ‘Opportunity and Inclusion’ instructs the Department of Commerce to work with minority-owned businesses and make sure chipmakers ‘increase the participation of economically disadvantaged individuals in the semiconductor workforce,'” they added.
DEI killed the CHIPS Act https://t.co/VFUlhCNU4J
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 20, 2024
The DEI requirements are also affecting other countries’ interest in the CHIPS Act.
“Last year, South Korea’s then-minister of trade, industry and energy, Lee Chang-yang, expressed concern about ‘conditions attached to the act,’ specifically noting the Biden administration’s child care requirements, and added that investing in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain is ‘becoming less appealing,'” Fox News notes.
All this comes amid Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican, reportedly circulating a memo listing all of the act’s DEI requirements.
“Attempting to make America stronger and more prosperous, but also more woke, is self-defeating,” the congressman told Fox News. “A woker America is a weaker America.”
The White House did not take kindly to this attack.
“Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, companies from across the world are investing billions of dollars building factories across the country and training veterans, people from rural communities, and Americans from all walks of life for the well-paying jobs they’ll provide,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News.
“Shovels are in ground, facilities are already under construction, and Americans are already feeling the benefits of this President’s economic agenda. It’s sad that Congressman Jim Banks joined the CCP in opposing the landmark CHIPS and Science Act helping to keep manufacturing jobs here at home,” they added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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