U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and chief architect of the CHIPS and Science Act, applauded the announcement that the Department of Commerce is expected to award up to $8.5 billion in direct funding to Intel under the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the U.S. supply chain and re-establish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, including investing in the Pacific Northwest.

“Today’s announcement is a huge investment in the future and growth potential of the Pacific Northwest’s Silicon Forest, including supporting jobs and innovation in Southwest Washington,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Leveraging private sector investments to boost and secure our domestic chip supply chain are exactly the kind of investments the CHIPS and Science Act was designed to spur in order to secure America’s national security and economic prosperity.”

According to the Administration, over the course of the next five years, Intel expects its investments in the United States to exceed $100 billion, as it expands capacity and capabilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon, estimated to directly create over 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs.

Sen. Cantwell was the chief architect and key negotiator of the CHIPS and Science Act, which funds $39 billion in manufacturing incentives for chip producers to invest in the United States. She was instrumental in securing the science R&D funding authorizations in the 11th hour of negotiations. Leading up to the bill passage, Sen. Cantwell held a hearing with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on the importance of investing in America’s semiconductor manufacturing and she organized multiple classified briefings on the impact of the chip shortage on national security.

Read the Department of Commerce press release HERE.

Read Intel’s press release HERE and Intel’s fact sheet on Southwest Washington/Portland, Oregon region HERE.