Davids Highlights One-Year Anniversary of Law to Reshore Manufacturing Jobs, Tackle Inflation

OVERLAND PARK, KS - Today, on the one-year anniversary of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act being signed into law, Representative Sharice Davids hosted a roundtable discussion with local elected officials, manufacturers, and researchers to discuss how semiconductor manufacturing investments are bringing jobs to Kansas, lowering costs for consumers, and supporting workforce development. The law, forwhich Davids served as a key negotiator, also includes support for small- and medium-sized manufacturers, a Davids-led priority to ensure funding is distributed beyond large corporations.

Semiconductors, or chips, are necessary components of many everyday items including cars, smartphones, and medical devices, but only 12 percent are currently manufactured domestically - down from 37 percent in the 1990s. This lack of domestic manufacturing of chips proved harmful during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a chips shortage and raising prices on necessary goods.

“The chips shortages we saw over the past few years have demonstrated even further our need to make more chips here at home, ensuring Kansans aren’t bearing the financial burden of supply chain disruptions,” said Davids. “The bipartisan chips manufacturing legislation, for which I served as a key negotiator alongside Senator Jerry Moran, has prompted multiple private companies to invest in our local community. Kansas is ready to be a national leader in manufacturing, and this law will help us get there, all while strengthening our families’ financial future.”

“The CHIPS Act provides resources so the manufacturing ecosystem in Kansas, including Kansas Manufacturing Solutions, can assist our great manufacturers in boosting their manufacturing capacity, said Tiffany Stovall, Chief Executive Officer, Kansas Manufacturing Solutions. “We are so thankful to Congresswoman Davids for her great work in championing this legislation to provide such important support to the manufacturing community in Kansas.”

“The CHIPS Act is providing companies already in Kansas with a rare opportunity to scale their companies by multiples of 20 or more,” said Paul Hughes, Headquarters & Megaprojects, Kansas Department of Commerce. “Many are unaware that Kansas is home to the largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing company in the U.S., and that a measurably secure fabrication facility is being pursued in Coffey County. Kansas is ready. The high-tech, high-wage jobs created would be attractive enough to retain some of the 12,000 graduating students currently leaving our state each year.”

"The CHIPS and Science Act kickstarted an important recruitment pipeline for Overland Park and Kansas companies," said Curt Skoog, Mayor, Overland Park. "Supporting our students' love of STEM topics and the growth of talent for our local businesses will be top of mind during this important discussion with regional and federal leaders."

“The CHIPS and Science Act recognizes and begins to address the vulnerability the United States has found itself in after 30 years of offshoring large portions of the microelectronics manufacturing supply chain,” said Tony Caruso, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Missouri-Kansas City. “In Southeast Missouri, and the tri-state district of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, our aim is to create standup facilities, know-how and workforce that will supply the materials needed to realize microelectronic manufacturing. It was Congresswoman Davids and others who had the foresight and bold approach to meet our economic and national security needs through the vertical supply chain for microelectronics.”

As part of her negotiations on this bill, Davids visited with local businesses about how the chips shortage affects their daily operations. She visited Cherub Medical Supplies, a Shawnee-based supplier of pediatric medical devices, that grappled with long delays. She also toured the local General Motors Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant, which idled for several months due to the shortage, forcing their 2,000 workers to stay home. Davids then hosted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in Kansas to highlight how federal legislation, including the CHIPS and Science Act, is helping to bring Panasonic to De Soto.

The CHIPS and Science Act is:

• Lowering costs for American consumers – by making more critical semiconductor components in America, helping end the shortage of chips that have driven up the price of everything from cars to consumer goods.
• Creating 100,000 new, good-paying jobs nationwide – supporting local workforce development.
• Reducing America’s dependence on foreign manufacturers – bringing critical semiconductor manufacturing back home.
• Turbocharging American research and development – ensuring that the technologies of the future are made here at home.

Multiple companies recently announced new chips production facilities in Kansas and have applied to receive CHIPS and Science Act investments. As part of her effort to bring available federal resources home to Kansas, Davids encouraged the U.S. Department of Commerce to fully consider EMP Shield’s application. While initial federal allotments have not been released, the CHIPS and Science Act has already boosted investments in local communities, including:

• $231 billion in private sector investments to build semiconductors;
• Nearly 400 statements of interest received for projects across 37 states;
• More than 45 community colleges announced new or expanded semiconductor workforce programs;
• Student applications to full-time jobs posted by semiconductor companies increased 79 percent in 2022-2023, compared to just 19 percent for other industries.