Hagerty-King-Portman watershed bipartisan bill to bolster American economic and national security now heads to President’s desk
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has secured passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of his bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Rob Portman (R-OH), to cut bureaucratic red tape for key national-security manufacturing operations, like semiconductors, by granting them access to an improved federal permitting program.
This legislation, which passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent in January, takes the commonsense step of making it easier for private businesses who build key national-security products to locate in America, which will create American jobs and advance American industries that are essential to winning the strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party.
“I ran for the Senate to increase opportunity and prosperity for American families and to ensure that America wins the competition with the Chinese Communist Party that will define this century,” said Senator Hagerty. “We must end our reliance upon China and reassert our manufacturing independence; our national security depends upon it. Reducing government red tape will unleash American competitiveness and innovation by promoting faster construction and operation of manufacturing facilities for critical products that we must make in America. I’m pleased that the House of Representatives passed this bipartisan legislation which will improve the lives and security of the American people.”
“From basic household appliances to advanced defense systems, almost every piece of modern technology relies on semiconductors. America’s economy and national security cannot afford to be dependent on competitors like China for these critical technologies,” said Senator King. “That is why our bipartisan reforms to encourage the rapid expansion of the domestic semiconductor industry are critical to the nation’s long-term success and stability. This is a commonsense step to support innovation – and, partnered with the historic investments of the CHIPS Act, will make a major impact on American competitiveness in the 21st century economy. I’m grateful to Senator Hagerty for his partnership on this bill and for the overwhelming support it received in both the House and Senate.”
“Expanding the FAST-41 permitting process improvements to more projects—especially projects involving semiconductors, technology, and other matters of national security—is common sense,” said Senator Portman. “Over the past six years, the FAST-41 process has substantially reduced the permitting process timeline for covered projects by increasing agency communication and accountability. I’m pleased the House of Representatives has passed this bipartisan legislation to leverage that process to make America more competitive and secure.”
The Hagerty-King-Portman legislation will reduce the time it takes to obtain the permitting necessary to build semiconductor and other key manufacturing facilities in the United States, encouraging these projects to locate in the United States. This will not only create American jobs, but shore up supply chains that are essential to U.S. national security and reduce dependence on China and other foreign sources for key products, advancing American leadership in the industries at the heart of the competition with the Chinese Communist Party.
Having been passed by both houses of Congress, the bipartisan legislation now heads to the President’s desk.
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