Kelly, Cruz Encouraged by Announced House Vote on Bipartisan Chips Permitting Reform Bill

Senators urge House colleagues to adopt Senate measure that speeds up construction of microchip projects

U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) released the following joint statement after the House of Representatives announced it would vote next week on the Kelly-Cruz legislation to expedite the building of new microchip projects. The bill passed the Senate unanimously earlier this session of Congress.    

Cruz and Kelly said:

“Manufacturing semiconductors in the United States is vital for our economy and national defense. When fully constructed, microchip manufacturing plants will create thousands of good-paying jobs all across the country. But duplicative permitting reviews saddle these projects with uncertainty and cause avoidable delays. Our bipartisan legislation clarifying the scope of environmental permitting reviews, which the Senate has twice approved unanimously, is critical to preventing risks to our economic and national security. We are grateful that leaders in the House have scheduled the Kelly-Cruz legislation for a vote next week, and we will urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this bill to ensure swift completion of semiconductor manufacturing projects nationwide.”

In December, the Senate unanimously passed Kelly and Cruz’s bipartisan chips permitting bill, which was cosponsored by Senators. Todd Young (R-IN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). This legislation had also previously passed the Senate in July of 2023 as part of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).   

In October 2023, during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the importance of a strong U.S. chip manufacturing industry, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo highlighted how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other permitting laws could significantly delay the implementation of CHIPS funding. She urged Congress to pass Sens. Kelly and Cruz’s legislation.