The Senate confirmed Gina Raimondo as commerce secretary Tuesday in a bipartisan 84-15 vote, as expected. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota were among the Republicans who backed Raimondo, after previously voting to advance her out of committee (see 2102030065). The 15 Republicans who opposed Raimondo on the floor included Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, both of whom complained she hadn’t unequivocally ruled out the Commerce Department rolling back restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese telecom and tech firms (see 2102010069). Cruz placed a hold on Raimondo, delaying confirmation (see 2102050064). “Nominees will never be more engaged, more transparent or more forthcoming than during their confirmation process,” so Raimondo's refusal “to be any of these speaks volumes to how she would act” if confirmed, Cruz said on the floor. “There has been a rush to embrace the worst elements of the Chinese Communist Party in the Biden administration, and that includes” Raimondo. “We’re just about six weeks into the Biden presidency,” and the administration “has already been keen on lifting the restrictions on Huawei since the very first week,” Cruz said. “Where will we be six months from now? A year from now? Prohibiting the use of platforms like Huawei and safeguarding American technology from being exploited by Chinese espionage infrastructure are commonsense measures to protect American national security.” Stakeholders congratulated Raimondo, including BSA|The Software Alliance, CTIA, MPA, TechNet and USTelecom.
The federal government should commit $35 billion over five years for semiconductor R&D, manufacturing and other artificial intelligence-related investments, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence urged Monday. It recommended $15 billion for federal microelectronics manufacturing grants, $12 billion for microelectronics R&D, $7 billion for microelectronics infrastructure and $500 million for DOD trusted and assured microelectronics. The Semiconductor Industry Association welcomed the report, noting its call for “a national microelectronics strategy, revitalizing domestic microelectronics fabrication, and ramping up microelectronics research.” President Joe Biden should follow the report’s recommendation to create a national AI strategy, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Center for Data Innovation policy analyst Hodan Omaar.
Consider including ISPs "in measures to address the chip shortage, support initiatives that will expand domestic innovation and investment in semiconductor development and manufacturing facilities for all industries and ensure coordination across government and with industry partners on supply chain matters,” four ISP groups urged President Joe Biden Thursday. Biden signed an executive order Wednesday, as expected (see 2102240065), that directs agencies do a 100-day comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains for semiconductors and three other products. It directs the Commerce Department to do a one-year review of the U.S. supply chain for information and communications technology. “Take a whole-of-government approach” in its review of U.S. supply chain issues “and leverage existing public-private partnerships addressing specific supply chain risks,” ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom wrote Biden. “Work with Congress to fully fund” the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. The measure passed in the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2101030002).
President Joe Biden was expected to have signed off Wednesday night on an executive order aimed at improving the resiliency of the supply chain for semiconductors and other “essential products.” The EO would direct federal agencies to conduct a 100-day comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains for semiconductors and three other products, the White House said. It would direct a one-year review of the U.S. supply chain for information and communications technology. Agencies should recommend ways to improve supply chain resiliency, the White House said. The Information Technology Industry Council and Semiconductor Industry Association praised the coming document. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and 11 other lawmakers met with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss supply chain resiliency. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters he focused on funding the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. The measure, which passed as part of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2101030002), authorizes federal incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing and public-sector investments in semiconductor R&D. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., another meeting participant, said in a statement that the U.S. must “bring home the manufacturing of advanced technologies, including for 5G infrastructure, in order to address potential shortages and vulnerabilities.”
Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier, both of California, led a letter Monday with 31 other House Democratic women urging President Joe Biden to name acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to the permanent spot. Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democratic lawmakers have been pressing Biden to move quickly to name a permanent FCC chair and fill a vacant seat to secure a 3-2 commission majority (see 2102050064). Rosenworcel “has spent years raising the important voices and unique needs of women that have been ignored for far too long in technology and telecommunications policy” and “is perfectly qualified” to be the first permanent chairwoman, Eshoo and the other lawmakers wrote White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Some Congressional Black Caucus members back Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wants a Latino commissioner (see 2102110043).
The administration should work with Congress to “reinvigorate” U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and increase semiconductor R&D by funding the initiatives in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act, the Semiconductor Industry Association, Information Technology Industry Council, CTIA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Telecommunications Industry Association and 11 other groups wrote President Joe Biden Thursday. “Strengthening the U.S. position in semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing is a national priority.” They seek “robust funding for these programs." The White House didn’t comment. The Chips Act is part of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2101030002).
The Biden administration should take more action on universal broadband access, trade groups wrote the White House Thursday. Reports about children doing their homework in parking lots due to a lack of broadband access are a "national tragedy," and the federal government should invest more in broadband and 5G infrastructure, per Incompas, NTCA and the Wireless Infrastructure Association. The groups asked the administration to increase "transparency and accountability by relying on verifiable maps that comply with Congress’ recently passed Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act." They support "any effort" to build on the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program.
President Joe Biden should take executive action to impose a federal moratorium on face scanning and other forms of biometric technology, wrote the American Civil Liberties Union and more than 40 organizations Wednesday. He should block states and local governments from using federal funds on the technology and support legislation codifying a federal moratorium, the ACLU wrote with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amnesty International and others. The technology “disproportionately misidentifies people of color, women, trans people, and other marginalized groups, but its ability to track our movements across space and time would be dangerous even if it worked perfectly,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane. The White House didn’t comment.
The global shortage of semiconductors is “one of the central motivations” for the executive order President Joe Biden will sign “in the coming weeks” to begin a “comprehensive review of supply chains for critical goods,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a media briefing Thursday. The review will focus on “identifying the immediate actions we can take, from improving the physical production of those items in the U.S. to working with allies to develop a coordinated response to the weaknesses and bottlenecks that are hurting American workers,” she said. The administration is “currently identifying potential choke points in the supply chain and actively working alongside key stakeholders in industry and with our trading partners to do more now,” said Psaki. Her disclosure of a coming EO on the semiconductor shortage came the same day top U.S. chipmakers wrote Biden urging his support for tax credits to fund U.S. manufacturing and R&D (see 2102110023). The Semiconductor Industry Association, which orchestrated the letter to the White House, didn’t comment Friday.
There's a “historic opportunity” to fund initiatives in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research, 21 Semiconductor Industry Association board members wrote President Joe Biden Thursday. “Include in your recovery and infrastructure plan substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research,” asked IBM, Intel, Qualcomm and other executives. The U.S. is “uncompetitive in attracting investments in new fab construction and our technology leadership is at risk," including for artificial intelligence and 5G/6G, they wrote. The White House didn’t comment.