Schumer, in stop at STAMP, touts 3-prolonged push to develop high-tech site
Press Release, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer
BASOM – Standing with local officials at Genesee County’s STAMP Campus in the Town of Alabama today, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer unveiled his three-pronged push to jolt the U.S. semiconductor industry and the Upstate New York economy into high gear.
First, Schumer called for swift passage by Congress of the final Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in which the senator successfully included an amendment that will continue U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and revitalize innovation in the global microelectronics sector.
Second, Schumer announced his push for a $1 million Northern Border Regional Commission grant that STAMP needs to construct a new sewer line to complete STAMP’s wastewater system infrastructure. The sewer is the final piece of infrastructure that will make the 1,250-acre STAMP campus shovel-ready for manufacturing facility construction.
Third, Schumer will urge the Department of Defense to consider the STAMP campus as the agency looks to partner with industry to develop new domestic semiconductor fabs.
“The economic and national security risks posed by relying too heavily on foreign semiconductor suppliers cannot be ignored, and Upstate New York, especially the STAMP Campus here in Genesee, is the perfect place to grow this industry by leaps and bounds,” Schumer said. “We must continue to invest in our domestic semiconductor industry in order to keep good-paying, high-tech American manufacturing jobs here in Upstate New York. We need to ensure our domestic microelectronics industry can safely and securely supply our military, intelligence agencies, and other government needs. This is essential to American jobs, our national security and to U.S. leadership in this critical industry.”
Schumer noted that even though the U.S. revolutionized the microelectronic industry and invented nearly all of the key technology used to this day, competitors in Asia, especially China, have made huge investments into their microelectronics industries in recent years to challenge and undercut U.S. leadership.
In fact, Schumer pointed out, the U.S. has gone from producing 24% of the world’s semiconductors in 2000, to just 12% more recently. In contrast, China has gone from producing zero chips to 16% of the world’s supply in the same time frame. The senator warned that by 2030, Asia is projected to control 83% of the global semiconductor manufacturing supply while domestic production could be less than 10%, threatening U.S. reliance on foreign-made microelectronics, which could pose huge risks to U.S. national and economic security.
Therefore, Schumer argued, his three-pronged plan to revitalize the semiconductor industry and incentivize it to build new research and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. at sites like STAMP is vital to cement global U.S. leadership in the microelectronics industry and will ease U.S. reliance on foreign-made semiconductors, alleviating economic & national security risks.
“Senator Schumer’s leadership in the Senate’s passage of the American Foundries Act as a part of the National Defense Administrative Act will help put STAMP over the finish line as it will make available necessary funding to develop and construct the final pieces of infrastructure to stand up multiple semiconductor manufacturing fabs and along with it the creation of thousands of good paying, family-sustaining jobs to Genesee County and the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde. “Attracting semiconductor and similar industries at STAMP will result in as much as $10 billion to $15 billion of private sector investment all of which will be enabled by this game changing legislation.”
Secondly today, Schumer announced his push to secure the Northern Border Regional Commission grant to construct the last missing sewer line needed for STAMP to achieve shovel-ready status. Specifically, this funding is needed to complete STAMP’s sewer and wastewater system by constructing a 14,500 sq ft force main sewer line to support new businesses that locate at STAMP.
Lastly, Schumer called on the Department of Defense to consider STAMP as a location for next-generation semiconductor research and manufacturing facilities now that the DoD is in discussions with semiconductor manufactures to build new domestic chip manufacturing facilities to ensure U.S. leadership in the global microelectronics supply chain.
