Representatives Blake Moore and Raja Krishnamoorthi Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Bring Electronics Manufacturing to America and Strengthen Supply Chains
WASHINGTON – Reps. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to bolster domestic printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit substrate production, which will strengthen U.S. supply chain security in a critical technology sector. The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act will encourage domestic PCB manufacturing and R&D to reduce supply chain disruptions, address national security concerns related to foreign PCB production, and further enhance America’s economic leadership.
“There has never been a more important time for Congress to get to work on reshoring our manufacturing and strengthening our critical supply chains,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “The Chinese government’s open willingness to withhold access to technology and rare earth minerals proves that we are in a race against Beijing at all levels of the microelectronics ecosystem. This bill provides a tried-and-true approach to incentivizing American companies to produce printed circuit boards here at home: it will maintain the integrity of military and national security commercial materials, boost our economy and workforce, and usher in a new era of American manufacturing. I am grateful to reintroduce this bill with Congressman Krishnamoorthi and am hopeful this bipartisan effort will successfully move through the legislative process.”
“While we’ve made real progress in domestic chip production, microchips can’t function without printed circuit boards – 90% of which are made in Asia, including half in the People’s Republic of China,” said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. “Our bipartisan bill reduces that dangerous dependence by rebuilding U.S. manufacturing, strengthening supply chains, and supporting American workers.”
“The PCBs Act addresses a critical and long-overlooked weakness in America’s electronics supply chain,” said John W. Mitchell, IPC President and CEO. “Every electronic device relies on PCBs and substrates, but the U.S. no longer has the capabilities or capacity to meet current demand, much less address future technology requirements. This bill is a vital step toward rebuilding the nation’s ability to manufacture electronics from silicon to systems—an essential foundation for innovation, security, and economic strength.”
"Remember, chips don’t float. They need printed circuit boards and substrates to connect to any electronic device. With production of American-made semiconductors ramping up, we need to do the same for PCBs. Without a concurrent increase in support for PCBs and substrates, those new American-made chips travel to Asia to be packaged with Asian-made PCBs and substrates,” said Shane Whiteside, Chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) and CEO of Summit Interconnect. “We need to end our over reliance on Asia through public and private investment. This bill will set that in motion.”
“From F-35s to F-150s, the modern world is built on printed circuit boards, and we need to make more of them in America,” said David Schild, Executive Director of PCBAA. “This bill will lead to new factories, high paying jobs and an ecosystem to support the work being done by our colleagues in the semiconductor industry."
Background
PCBs are the material on which semiconductors sit (often the green-colored surface in images of chips) and are a critical part of the supply chain. An assessment from the departments of Commerce and Homeland Security called for domestic investment and production of key information and communications technology products such as PCBs.
The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act does the following to incentivize domestic PCB manufacturing and R&D:
- Provides a 25% tax credit for the purchase or acquisition of American-made PCBs;
- Establishes a financial assistance program, modeled on the CHIPS for America Act, for American facilities manufacturing or researching PCBs;
- Requires a Presidential determination for single financial awards over $150 million;
- Provides for delay and technology clawbacks of award funds in the event that funding is not used efficiently or in a manner that raises national security concerns;
- Authorizes appropriations of $3 billion to carry out the program.
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