{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://balderson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2241", "Balderson: House Democrats' All-or-Nothing Approach Makes This Another Missed Opportunity", "2022-02-02", "2022", "2022-02", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Troy Balderson", "B001306", "balderson.house.gov", "balderson", "https://balderson.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27&Page=10", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12) admonished House Democrats from the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday for advancing yet another partisan \"messaging bill\" rather than addressing American economic competitiveness.\n\nRep. Balderson's remarks as delivered on the House Floor:\n\nMister Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns with H.R. 4521.\n\nI want to talk for a moment not about China, but about Licking County, Ohio \u2014 in the district I represent.\n\nLicking County - located on the outskirts of Columbus - was cast into the national spotlight last month when a major U.S. tech company announced an initial $20 billion investment to build the first phase of what they plan to grow into the world\u2019s largest semiconductor manufacturing facility.\n\nThis investment will put Licking County at the epicenter of a new Silicon Heartland and at the forefront of addressing the nation\u2019s semiconductor shortage.\n\nThis investment will have an economic ripple effect throughout the region. Indeed, it will benefit our entire country.\n\nSemiconductor chips are crucial components to products Americans use and rely on every day, including cars, computers, cell phones, and virtually every electronic device in our homes.\n\nSince the early 1990s, the United States' share of semiconductor manufacturing has fallen from 37 percent to just 12 percent today.\n\nAsian countries now account for more than 70 percent of semiconductor chip manufacturing globally.\n\nThe COVID-19 pandemic and its following supply chain disruptions have brought this issue to the forefront for every American.\n\nOne concern for Americans in the market for a new car is the empty lots at dealerships as automobile production lines wait for chips from Asia.\n\nFailing to address the shortage of semiconductor chips could have dire consequences for our national security.\n\nWith production of U.S. military defense systems dependent upon access to these chips, over-reliance on foreign countries leaves U.S. national security interests vulnerable too.\n\nWe cannot allow ourselves to be held hostage by the imbalance of foreign chip production.\n\nThe United States is not alone.\n\nOther countries are waking up to this reality too.\n\nAs I speak, the European Union is developing CHIPS legislation in an effort to quadruple their production of semiconductor CHIPS by 2030.\n\nFalling further behind in chip manufacturing is a national security issue that we just can\u2019t afford.\n\nI am honored to represent a community that will soon play a leading role in addressing the global chip shortage and producing these vital components to our modern economy.\n\nI am excited that we have an opportunity to help grow U.S. manufacturing of chips to epic proportions with a much-needed investment.\n\nThe CHIPS act investment will level the playing field and let U.S. manufacturers compete in this market.\n\nBut once again, Democrat leadership is doing it the wrong way.\n\nMy constituents - and all Americans - were hopeful that the Majority here in Congress had learned from their recent failures about what happens when these packages become too big, too costly, and too partisan.\n\nThe CHIPS Act presents Congress with a golden opportunity to FINALLY pass a bipartisan, common-sense investment that would bolster American competitiveness on the world stage.\n\nUnfortunately, the CHIPS Act constitutes a small fraction of the bill\u2019s overall price tag, which is over $300 billion.\n\nInstead, House Democrats worked behind closed doors - with no Republican input - and managed to bury good provisions under a mountain of unrelated policies that have nothing to do with American competitiveness.\n\nIn their hasty attempt at a partisan victory, the Democrats\u2019 bill:\n\nFunnels $8 billion to the unaccountable U.N. Green Climate Fund, which has already given $100 million to the Chinese Communist Party\n\nPours billions of dollars into offshore Climate Change Resiliency programs instead of holding China - the world\u2019s worst polluter - accountable for its own destructive emission standards\n\nCreates unlimited visas and immigration pathways for Chinese nationals with STEM degrees\n\nThis allows the CCP to handpick which Chinese nationals apply for visas and opens the door for the CCP to use unlimited visas to engage in espionage and theft of sensitive technologies.\n\nCreates \u201cClimate Change Officers\u201d within the Foreign Service, weakening our diplomats\u2019 focus on our core national interests.\n\nIn an effort to improve this bill, I offered common-sense amendments to encourage domestic manufacturing of critical products.\n\nI also offered amendments to remove the billions of dollars in partisan spending for global green new deal programs and shift focus on what this bill should be about.\n\nMister Speaker, the bill before us today is proof House Democrats learned nothing from their disastrous Build Back Better blunder.\n\nRather than allowing American economic competitiveness to be a rallying point for bipartisanship, the Majority\u2019s all-or-nothing approach makes this yet another missed opportunity.\n\nIf this bill advances to the conference committee, I am hopeful that conferees will focus on areas of bipartisan, bicameral agreement, like the CHIPS Act.\n\nIt\u2019s past time to bolster this production here at home.\n\nI urge my colleagues to stop with the messaging bills and bring a piece of legislation to the Floor that can win strong, bi-partisan support.\n\nTogether, we can ensure that the serious business of American competitiveness gets the careful consideration and support that it deserves.\n\nMister Speaker, I yield back.\n\n###\n\nRelated News\n\nBalderson Statement on the End of the Democrat Shutdown\n\nNovember 12, 2025 | Posted in Press Releases\n\nBalderson Sees Opportunity in Grant Announcement for Intel Ohio\n\nMarch 20, 2024 | Posted in Press Releases\n\nBalderson Recap: Looking Back at 2023\n\nDecember 30, 2023 | Posted in Press Releases\n\nProtecting consumer choice and standing up to Biden\u2019s EV mandate\n\nDecember 15, 2023 | Posted in Articles\n\nBalderson Applauds Passage of Bill Blocking the Ban of Gas-Powered Vehicles\n\nSeptember 15, 2023 | Posted in Press Releases", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:57:46Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://balderson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2241"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4676679857075214, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}