[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GlobalFoundries
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, when I wrote and led passage of the
bipartisan Chips and Science Act, I often spoke about days in the not
too distant future when this legislation would bring manufacturing back
to the United States, strengthen our national security, and deliver big
for New York, particularly Upstate New York.
Today, I am proud to say, is precisely the kind of day I had in mind
when I helped write the bipartisan Chips and Science Act. Today,
semiconductor company GlobalFoundries finalized a $1.5 billion award--
that is $1.5 billion with a ``b''--to build a new, cutting-edge,
massive chip factory in Malta, NY, and expand production in the Capital
Region of New York. This award was made possible precisely because of
the law I wrote and passed.
This chips award is now locked in. The agreement is signed, sealed,
and delivered--in fact, ready to deliver a better future for Upstate
New York and for America. Importantly, this funding is protected for
years to come.
GlobalFoundries' announcement is exciting for several reasons. First,
it means thousands of new, good-paying manufacturing and union
construction jobs are on the way to the Capital Region, as
GlobalFoundries triples its production in Saratoga County. When we
wrote the Chips and Science law, we wanted to make sure that it was
union labor that built these factories.
Mr. President, the funds will also modernize a GlobalFoundries
facility in Vermont, you will be happy to know. These are jobs that
will help transform the region, jobs that even the children and
grandchildren of workers today will hold decades from now. When your
kid gets one of these jobs, you are not going to think, oh, it will be
gone in 5 years, because this is a growing, burgeoning industry.
Semiconductor chips are the future of our modern economy.
So it is a great thing for optimism for our future, for those ladders
up that we so believe in here in America.
Second, this funding will help create a strong domestic supply of
essential chips that America needs for our national and economic
security. The chips made by GlobalFoundries are critical to the auto
industry, to national defense, to artificial intelligence, all the way
down to our smartphones. If we want to keep prices low and prevent
shortages, one of the best things we can do is build chips here at
home. This funding will help make that happen.
Most importantly, as I said, the $1.5 billion award is cemented for
New York and for America as long as GlobalFoundries meets its project
milestones. Upstate New York, the Capital Region, can rest assured that
the funding announced today will be there in the years to come.
So today is a great day for the Capital Region, a great day for New
York, and a great day for American leadership in the global
semiconductor industry.