Thank you to President Biden for inviting me to join you today.

This is an exciting day for our country.

Let me thank Pat Gelsinger and Intel for making this massive investment right here in America.

From day one, President Biden has recognized that if we want to compete globally, we need to invest domestically.

He has prioritized the revitalization of our manufacturing economy and has given those of us on his team a clear mission to bring those jobs back from overseas.

Thanks to his leadership, the economy added 6.4 million jobs in 2021, the most in any year in U.S. history. The unemployment rate dropped nearly 70% in the last year.

The economy is strong by nearly any measure.

But last year alone, automakers made nearly 8 million fewer cars than they could have, simply because they don’t have enough chips. 

The auto industry supports 7 million American jobs.

Electric vehicles—for which President Biden has set ambitious goals of 50% of new car sales by the end of the decade—are the future of auto manufacturing.

And each electric vehicle requires more than 2000 chips—more than twice as many as a traditional engine.

That’s why I’m thrilled about today’s announcement from Intel.

Semiconductors produced right here in America will allow us to shore up our supply chains, bring down costs, keep manufacturing facilities up and running, and create more American jobs.

But if we really want to end the chip shortage and ensure our global competitiveness, we need to do much more.

Today, our semiconductor supply chain is far too dependent on conditions in other countries half a world away.

A COVID disruption, a typhoon, or even political instability in another country has the potential to shut down an auto facility and harm America’s families in places like Ohio.

The semiconductor industry was created in America it is time for us to lead again.

This is an economic vulnerability and it is a national security vulnerability.

Right now there is a bill before Congress that would invest $52 billion in domestic semiconductor production.

We urgently need Congress to pass that bill and help us revitalize America’s domestic manufacturing.

Passing chips funding will be a win for our workers, our businesses, our supply chain, and our economy.

So again, thank you, President Biden, for your leadership, and thank you to Intel for choosing to invest on American soil.

At Intel, Pat Gelsinger has been a global leader in the semiconductor industry.

Intel’s announcement, which will create nearly 12,000 jobs in total, is a perfect example of what we can do if we invest in America’s manufacturing industry again.

With this chips funding, I know it will be just the first of many similar announcements throughout the semiconductor industry.

With that, I’ll turn it over to Pat.