Arizona getting outsized investments in semiconductors under Biden agenda – The Arizona Republic
Arizona has leveraged public funding under President Joe Biden’s “investing in America” agenda more than any other state except Texas, according to figures released by the White House Monday.
Arizona has received or is slated to get $15.4 billion in federal funding under announcements made as of April under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the American Rescue Plan, ranking 7th among the states in federal grants.
Spurred by these public commitments, corporations and other businesses have made or pledged $120.9 billion in related investments in Arizona, second only to Texas’ $150 billion, according to the White House.
Most of those investments derive from semiconductor manufacturing facilities, including Intel’s pledge to invest $20 billion in Chandler and the $65 billion construction of three semiconductor factories or fabs by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in north Phoenix — the largest corporate investment in the state’s history.
The federal funding initiatives under the “investing in America” and other programs, while helping to revive important industries, reduce pollution, rebuild infrastructure and support other objectives, are adding to a federal deficit now estimated at more than $34 trillion and rising.
And while the potential economic benefits for states such as Arizona are huge, critics worry about side issues such as labor relations, pollution and high water use.
“We are concerned about massive subsidies involving taxpayer dollars that are going to an industry with a track record of exploiting workers and damaging the environment,” said Judith Barish of Chips Communities United, a group seeking a responsible and equitable implementation of the CHIPS Act. She urges semiconductor companies to sit down with local community groups “to find solutions that benefit everybody.”
Biden campaign:targets Trump in Arizona over Affordable Care Act. Here’s what to know
Intel is in line to receive $8.5 billion in direct federal grants, as Biden announced in March, and TSMC could receive $6.6 billion. Both companies could also get several billions of dollars worth of low-rate loans.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, speaking May 4 in Mesa, alluded to Arizona’s outsized role as a semiconductor-industry beneficiary, predicting the $121 billion in private-sector announcements tied largely to the CHIPS Act will spur employment gains here.
“Growth in these new industries means a need for new skills, from wind-turbine technicians to solar photovoltaic installers to roles in the semiconductor and electronic-component manufacturing industries,” Yellen said.
As noted, Texas also is receiving major public and private funding commitments in the domestic semiconductor industry, which the White House has pledged to rejuvenate under the CHIPS and Science Act. Under all of Biden’s “investing in America” agenda, Texas could get $33.2 billion in federal grants, second only to California’s $45.1 billion, plus a nation-leading $150 billion in private-sector investments for Texas.
At an industry forum May 1 in Tempe, Sean Fogarty of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council talked of an emerging regional belt linking Texas, Arizona and California, the home of Silicon Valley and several of the world’s biggest technology corporations.
“Arizona is the buckle of this technology belt,” he said.
Semiconductors and related equipment power electronic devices in a range of items from computers and cellphones to electric vehicles, medical equipment, aircraft and advanced military weapons. America founded the industry but has lost leadership in producing the fastest, smallest and otherwise most advanced chips — a scenario Biden hopes to reverse.
A White House discussion with the media regarding the “investing in America” agenda largely overlooked the semiconductor investments under the federal legislation, focusing instead on projects such as highway improvements, replacing toxic lead pipes, expanding passenger-rail service, installing high-speed internet service and cleaning up pollution.
The White House pointed to more than 56,000 announced projects and $454 billion in funding to date just under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The administration also cited more than $866 billion in private-sector investments or pledges motivated by the “investing in America” legislation, largely in technology and clean energy. The top three states — Texas, Arizona and New York — are in line to get $366 billion of that, or more than 40% of the total. The White House said more announcements will be forthcoming for federal grants and related private-sector investments.
According to the White House, highlights for Arizona under the “investing in America” agenda include $1 billion to provide clean water and improve water infrastructure, $2.1 billion for “affordable, reliable high-speed internet” for everyone in the state and $4.7 billion for various roads, bridges, public-transportation projects and related programs including electric school buses.
That’s in addition to $8.6 billion in private-sector commitments for electric vehicles and batteries, along with the massive planned corporate investments in semiconductors and electronics.
One Arizona project highlighted by the Administration is an irrigation upgrade on Gila River Indian Community land south of metro Phoenix that will pipe in reclaimed water for farming. The Department of Interior is providing $118 million in funding for that project. The White House also called out a $158 million federal investment in a 1.5-mile northwest extension of the Valley’s light-rail project, completed earlier this year and designed to serve 2 million passengers annually.
That’s in addition to a federal award of $95 million to widen 10 miles of Interstate 10 southeast of Phoenix, $65 million to reduce flooding risks in the Winslow area and more than $200 million to modernize and expand the San Luis Port of Entry on Arizona’s border with Mexico.
Reach the writer at [email protected].