[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 116 (Thursday, July 16, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4123-S4124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Intel

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I have a friend in Louisiana. He is the 
former State speaker of the house. And Charlie invented a new word in 
English. The word is ``winky-doo.'' When the then-speaker of the 
statehouse wanted to describe someone acting dishonestly or denigrating 
your position or double-crossing you, the speaker would say: He tried 
to winky-doo me. He tried to winky-doo me.
  I have always loved that word.
  Intel, a fine American company, may be trying to winky-doo the 
American taxpayer. Last year--and let me say that again. Intel is a 
fine company. They have to compete in the market to manufacture chips 
like everybody else. I believe in free enterprise. I don't believe in 
state-supported capitalism, government-run capitalism.
  But Intel was not doing a very good job competing, and so the Federal 
Government decided to bail them out. The Federal Government--the 
Department of Commerce--gave Intel $8.9 billion cash, bought 10 percent 
of the company--not $8.9 million, $8.9 billion cash.
  Now, a fairminded person, when the Department of Commerce did this, 
could have said: Well, why Intel? Why not some other company?
  So that gave me pause. Fair point. I didn't like seeing the Federal 
Government picking and choosing among American companies about which 
should get $8.9 billion of American taxpayer money. I didn't like that. 
I still don't like it. If there is a fair competition, fine. And I get 
that manufacturing chips are important to America. I get all that. But 
the government is still playing favorites.
  When the government buys 10 percent of a company--$8.9 billion. Did I 
mention that is how much money Intel got? When the Federal Government 
takes a 10-percent equity position in a company, you can bet that the 
politicians, of which I include myself, are going to give a whole lot 
of advice to Intel--or any other company they buy the stock in. 
Sometimes that will be sound business advice, but sometimes it will 
just be raw gut politics. I don't like it. I don't like it.
  I know the new thing is neosocialism. I have watched new Members of 
Congress get elected, all of whom can--they all know the words to the 
Cuban national anthem, and they are all for socialism. I would ask them 
to take a look at the history of Cuba and the former USSR and China and 
Argentina and Venezuela--and I could continue going--and they should 
try to show me a country where socialism has worked. They can't.
  But I digress. The reason I didn't like this idea of buying 10 
percent of the stock of Intel was because, as far as I was concerned, 
it was in the foothills of socialism. If a company needs help and 
we decide as a government that company is vital to America, God made 
these things called loans that are

[[Page S4124]]

collateralized so that the company has to pay it back. But my wishes 
were not followed. The Department of Commerce gave Intel $8.9 billion 
cash in return for 10 percent of the company.

  Well, here is why I think Intel might have winky-dooed us. Intel just 
announced they were taking $5 billion of that, and do you know what 
they are doing with it? They are building a chip manufacturing plant in 
Ireland--in Ireland. I mean, I don't get it. And I know Intel is going 
to say: Oh, it wasn't the $8.9 billion that the American taxpayers gave 
us that we took and helped the Irish economy.
  Money is fungible, folks. Money is fungible. And they can say all 
they want ``Oh, it wasn't American taxpayer money; it came from a 
different pot of money.''
  Now, if this is true--and I saw it announced publicly that they are 
building a $5 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ireland--after $8.9 
billion of American taxpayer money was given to them, as far as I am 
concerned, this deal is a breech birth; it is a total cockup. And 
somebody from the Department of Commerce or from Intel needs to explain 
this to the American people, because I don't like it.
  I didn't like it when we started giving money to particular companies 
going: Yeah, we like you, but we don't like you. You don't get any 
money, but you get money.
  If that decision will be made, it ought to be made by Congress, 
folks--your elected representatives. But it was done.
  But right after we did it, Intel took the money and invested it in 
Ireland. It triggers my gag reflex. I hope I am wrong.
  Intel, if you are listening, I hope you will explain all of this.
  Department of Commerce, if you are listening, I hope you will explain 
all of this.
  The Department of Commerce, I think, is going to say: Oh, Intel has 
outside investors in building this plant.
  That, to me, is a distinction without a difference. As far as I am 
concerned, the way it looks to me right now, we gave them $8.9 billion 
of American taxpayer money, and they said ``Thank you very much'' and 
went and decided to spend it in Ireland. And where I come from, we call 
that a three-wheeled shopping cart.
  So Intel needs to build that manufacturing plant in America or they 
need to give the American people their money back, and they need to do 
it now. And they need to explain it to the American people.
  Mr. President, we have to vote, but I have still got 5 minutes. That 
is a dangerous combination, but I am going to do it in 5 minutes.