Category Archives: Manufacturing

Biden Administration, Economic Policies, Economy, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, News & Photo Features

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Marks Progress Strengthening America’s Supply Chains

How fast they forget: while people complain about paying an extra dollar for eggs (and egg producers report record profits), when Joe Biden took office, the supply chain for basics was still disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, sending prices high. Biden managed to keep inflation to a relatively low level even with the spike, and spent his four year-term making sure America is never so vulnerable to supply disruptions again © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

While Trump, Elon Musk (the unelected but richest man in the world and Trump’s puppeteer) and the House Republicans are salivating over the prospect of shutting down the government to make sure Biden’s transformative, historic administration ends with suffering of the American people – even stopping the $100 billion in disaster aid – President Biden continues to work feverishly to effect as much positive, sustainable change as possible. This included stepping in to avert a nationwide Teamsters strike at the nation’s biggest ports, rebuilding a bridge over I-95 in Philadelphia and reopening the Port of Baltimore in a matter of weeks, not years, after a catastrophic accident collapsed the Key Bridge, and addressing a series of rail accidents. His historic, landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Act has already greenlit some 63,000 projects across the nation.

Biden’s achievements in standing up the supply chain so ravaged by the coronavirus epidemic is why the United States never suffered the level of inflation as other countries – as much as people have complained about high grocery prices (apparently not factoring in record profits and price gouging of food suppliers) – and produced sustainable economic growth (from the bottom up and the middle out) that is the envy of the world.

Here is a fact sheet, provided by the White House, on what the Biden Administration is doing to secure supply chains in order to keep grocery prices from spiraling as after the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption. Trump’s proposed tariffs and plans for mass deportation of undocumented migrants promise to trigger price spikes in groceries again.- Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Upon taking office in 2021, President Biden and his Administration immediately got to work addressing the shocks that were roiling global supply chains and moved swiftly to secure key industries for America’s economy and national security. Everything in our lives—the food we eat, the medicines in our hospitals, the energy that powers our homes, the computer chips in our devices—relies on supply chains, and the disruptions sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine showed what happens when they are neglected for decades.
 
Four years later, America’s supply chains are stronger and more resilient. Working hand in hand with industry and all stakeholders, this Administration has cleared bottlenecks, increased investments in critical sectors, and shored up the transportation sector that move the goods that Americans rely on. Ocean shipping prices have fallen more than 70 percent from their peak, and today fewer than 20 containerships are waiting to dock at U.S. ports, compared to over 150 backed up during the peak of congestion. That progress has made supply chains more reliable for businesses and lowered inflation for the goods that families buy every day.

The Biden-Harris Administration released the first-ever Quadrennial Supply Chain Review, a formal assessment of four years of strengthening America’s critical supply chains, and announcing additional actions to support American businesses and consumers.
 
Progress to Date
 
The Quadrennial Supply Chain Review assesses the progress made over the past four years to bolster the resilience of our most critical supply chains. This strategic approach has included:
 

  • Responding to disruption. The Administration quickly set to work to develop new government tools and capacity to respond to disruptions, both active ones when it took office, and new ones that have occurred since. The President’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force (SCDTF) has effectively coordinated federal authorities and resources and also established a process to work with state and local authorities and the private sector in real time. This work has helped improved the flow of goods into and around the United States during disruptions—getting products critical to American families moving again through ports and to shelves.
     
  • Investing in infrastructure and manufacturing and lowering costs. Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken a made historic investments to strengthen our industrial bases and lower costs. U.S. Government investment has helped catalyze over $1 trillion in private-sector announced investments since January 2021. These investments are supporting the construction of new factories and creating manufacturing jobs across the country.
     
  • Responding to non-market policies and practices. On a level playing field, American businesses and workers can compete and win. However, our strategic competitors are continuing to engage in non-market policies and practices (NMPP) that undercut our collective resilience—directing their systems to target key industries for dominance by using excessive state subsidies and other forms of state support to dominate critical industries. As part of the Quadrennial Supply Chain Review process, the Biden-Harris Administration has developed a strategy to address NMPP, recognizing the need for early, comprehensive action to prevent harm to U.S. workers and industry, as well as modernized trade authorities that account for NMPP’s continued effects on global supply chains. This work has included raising tariffs on a select number of key sectors to safeguard U.S. supply chains in the face of unfair competition. These tariff modifications will protect historic domestic investments under BIL, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, while also shielding American businesses and workers from unfair trade practices.

 
The Review builds on comprehensive efforts undertaken by the Administration over the last four years, including President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains (E.O. 14017), which directed rapid supply chain assessments for four critical products in the first 100 days of the Administration, a one-year review of six key supply chains in 2022, and the establishment of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience to support the enduring resilience of America’s critical supply chains in 2023.
 
Additional Actions to Strengthen Supply Chains
 
Continuing to strengthen supply chains over the next four years—and beyond—will require the United States to deliver on historic domestic investments, maintain and strengthen international partnerships, harness innovation to tackle 21st-century challenges, and mobilize and facilitate ongoing private investment and public-private partnerships. The work of the last four years has laid a strong foundation for the United States to continue safeguarding the enduring resilience of our supply chains for years to come, including for emerging industries of the future.
 
Below are additional steps the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to strengthen supply chains, including for energy, critical minerals, agricultural commodities and food products, medical products, information and communications technology, transportation, and defense.
 
Energy
 

  • Announcing up to $6 billion in incentives to strengthen U.S. energy supply chains. Over the coming weeks, the IRS, supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), is set to announce up to $6 billion in additional tax credits to strengthen U.S. energy supply chains through the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) Program. This builds on the first round of $4 billion in announced tax credits for over 100 projects in 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities. This also builds on over $12 billion of investment from the DOE MESC Office in domestic manufacturing capacity to strengthen the U.S. energy supply chains.
     
  • Improving risk mitigation across the energy supply chain. To improve visibility across multiple technologies in the energy industrial base, DOE and a consortium of the National Laboratories have developed a new analytic framework—the Supply Chain Readiness Level—to quantify risks, gaps, and vulnerabilities, and to identify investment opportunities across the energy sector.

 
Critical Minerals
 

  • Mapping America’s critical minerals deposits. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is announcing new airborne geophysical mapping in the Ozarks Plateau (Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas) and Alaska over areas known to host minerals such as antimony, tin, tungsten, and lead and zinc ores, as well as byproduct critical minerals such as gallium and germanium. USGS’s mapping work, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is revolutionizing the U.S. Government’s understanding of the nation’s mineral and geologic resources. USGS and NASA are partnering to complete the largest high-quality hyperspectral survey in the world, surveying more than 180,000 square miles of the Southwest with sensors that make it possible to “see” nuanced differences between materials.
     
  • Updating the U.S.’s critical minerals market data. Next month, USGS will publish its 2025 Mineral Commodity Summaries. These annual reports help forecast supply chain disruptions resulting from a variety of risks including pandemics, natural disasters, and trade wars, and are the U.S.’s authoritative source of data on the supply, demand, and consumption of 100 mineral commodities. Additionally, last month, researchers at the USGS National Minerals Information Center developed a new model to assess how disruptions of critical mineral supplies may affect the U.S. economy. This model reflects the latest whole-of-government risk and resilience methodology.

 
Food and Agriculture
 

  • Making $116 million in new investments to expand domestic fertilizer production. Today, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing eight new awards through its Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, part of a broader effort to increase American-made fertilizer production to spur competition and combat price hikes on U.S. farmers. Since President Biden announced the program in 2022, USDA has invested $517 million in 76 fertilizer production facilities to expand access to domestic fertilizer options for American farmers in 34 states and Puerto Rico. These investments will increase U.S. fertilizer production by 11.8 million tons annually and create more than 1,300 jobs in rural communities. This funding builds on the more than $1.4 billion USDA has invested to build or expand small and medium sized processing facilities and to create a more resilient U.S. food supply chain which gives farmers more market options while providing consumers with more choices and affordable grocery prices.

 
Medical Products
 

  • Investing an additional $26 million in domestic sterilization capacity. Building on recent investments in industrial base capability and capacity expansion through DPA Title III authorities and Public-Private Partnerships, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expects additional investments of $26 million in alternative sterilization capacity before the end of 2024.
  • Releasing an action plan for the next four years. HHS will publish its Draft 2025-2028 Action Plan for Addressing Shortages of Medical Products and Strengthening the Resilience of Medical Product Supply Chains, outlining supply chain resilience goals and a strategic plan to achieve them. The HHS Action Plan will also include an HHS Research Plan to collate HHS and academic research priorities that would promote Action Plan goals.
     
  • Issuing stronger supply chain standards for hospitals to combat drug shortages. In notice and comment rulemaking, CMS intends to propose new Conditions of Participation requiring hospitals to have certain processes to address and prevent medication shortages.

 
Semiconductors and Other Technologies
 

  • Investing in domestic production. CHIPS for America has awarded over $26 billion in incentives to advance domestic production in semiconductors and the supply chain. Now, America is home to all five of the world’s leading-edge logic and memory providers, while no other economy has more than two. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced nearly $450 billion in private investments, catalyzed in large part by public investment.
     
  • Reducing national security risks in federal supply chains. The Department of Defense, General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are finalizing a rule implementing Section 5949 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which prohibits agencies from procuring or obtaining certain products and services that include semiconductors from entities of concern.
     
  • Promoting the U.S. government’s use of domestically manufactured semiconductors. The Made in America Office and Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has released a Request for Information (RFI) to gauge the best ways for government contractors to scale up their use of domestically manufactured chips, particularly for critical infrastructure. Responses solicit commercial ideas from industry that may inform future policymaking in support of the government-wide effort to leverage existing manufacturing capacity.
     
  • Incentivizing supply chain diversity, competition, and transparency. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing guidance to help the Federal Government—the world’s largest buyer—organize its demand for domestic semiconductors so that agencies can mitigate the risk posed by undue dependence on foreign manufacturing, limited competition, and possible higher manufacturing costs. The effort encourages agencies to develop strategies to dual or multiple source semiconductors, increase transparency for critical infrastructure supply chains, and provide the government’s forecasted demand for the products and services that use these chips.
     
  • Protecting American businesses from unfair trade practices. In May, the President announced increased Section 301 tariffs on semiconductor imports from China, which were finalized by the USTR in September, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to further protect American semiconductor manufacturing and the sustainability of domestic investments.

 
Transportation
 

  • Helping states improve their supply chain operations. The Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to advance this work by working closely with other levels of government and industry stakeholders. DOT’s Freight Office is establishing the National Multimodal Freight Network to assist States in strategically directing resources toward improved system performance for the efficient movement of freight on the Network, to inform freight transportation planning, and to assist in the prioritization of Federal investment.
     
  • Expanding visibility into ocean freight supply chains. Today, DOT is announcing that it has added more members to the Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program, a public-private partnership to build an integrated view of U.S. supply chain conditions, and which supported the response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Today, FLOW now includes eight of the largest ten container ports representing over 80% of all U.S. imports; nine of the largest ten ocean carriers representing over 70% of all U.S. imports; and six of the largest ten importers.
     
  • Building the transportation of tomorrow. USTDA, DFC, and EXIM are all making investments to improve transportation across air, land, and sea. EXIM’s investments will expand U.S. exports of all electric-powered aircraft, while USTDA is improving the efficiency and safety of freight rail and digital customs processes. In areas around the world with high vessel traffic, DFC is also developing new ports to move goods in critical supply chains from place to place. Since its creation, DFC investments in critical infrastructure have transported over 64 million passengers alone.

 
Defense
 

  • Releasing a National Defense Industrial Strategy and Implementation Plan. This fall, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the Implementation Plan to accompany its first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS). The NDIS is guiding investments to strengthen supply chain resilience, including by purchasing key elements that we need for sustainable defense production. For example, the United States has invested $215 million to boost production of solid rocket motors, which are one of the most critical components used in our advanced missile systems.
     
  • Establishing domestic manufacturing capability for strategic and critical materials. From mid-2023 through September 2024, DoD invested $250 million in defense-critical materials such as graphite, lithium, niobium oxide, and manganese. These investments will ensure secure access to sources and to domestic separation and processing in support of a range of defense applications, from large-capacity batteries to advanced aircraft to microelectronics.
     
  • Investing in the defense industrial base workforce. The defense supply chain depends in large part on a strong and vibrant workforce. The Administration has pursued numerous initiatives to ensure Americans can access jobs in the defense industrial sector that pay competitive wages and get the training they need to turn these jobs into meaningful careers. Earlier this year, the Navy partnered with the Departments of Education and Labor and with the State of Michigan to launch the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing Initiative, which expands regional training pipelines for the submarine industry into the Great Lakes region.

 
Strengthening U.S. Government Data, Analytics, and Response Capacity
 

  • Preparing for a second Supply Chain Summit. In September 2024, the Department of Commerce held its first Supply Chain Summit. Commerce convened officials from government, industry, academia, and civil society to discuss how to effectively prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions, as well as proactively improve supply chain resilience. Commerce will host another Supply Chain Summit in 2025. The Summit will bring together government, industry, and other stakeholders to examine continual progress made in increasing American supply chain resiliency. The date of the Summit will be announced in the months ahead.
  • Upgrading the new SCALE diagnostic tool. The Department of Commerce’s Industry and Analysis unit developed a first-of-its-kind supply chain diagnostic tool to assess supply chain risk across the whole of the U.S. economy. The tool proactively helps identify risks and strengthen the resilience of supply chains key to U.S. national and economic security. The Department of Commerce plans to launch a competition aimed at developing new data or analysis that can be used to expand the indicators of risk incorporated into the SCALE tool.
  • Conducting supply chain tabletop exercises with industry. In 2025, Commerce will conduct two tabletop exercises with industry to better understand opportunities to address structural supply chain risks faced by the United States. One exercise will focus on supply chain risks in the chemicals industry; the second will focus on an emerging technology where it is critical the United States maintain a strategic advantage.
     
  • Addressing supply chain risks for “critical chemicals.” Working with the interagency, Commerce is developing a list of chemicals that are essential to critical supply chains, and where supply is insecure. Alongside this effort, Commerce is finalizing short-, medium- and long-term policy proposals to strengthen the supply chain. Elements of this work will form the basis of the Chemical Tabletop Exercise in 2025.

 
Emerging Technologies
 

  • Convening industry on AI data centers. Commerce continues to drive efforts to get ahead of supply chain risks in critical and emerging technologies by developing playbooks and conducting deep dive assessments into emerging technologies such as quantum computing and clean hydrogen. In the second half of 2024, Commerce carried out a sprint to assess under-the-radar risks in AI data center supply chains, engaging more than 35 companies and leveraging in-house industry expertise and the SCALE tool to assess the highest-risk components and identify steps that government and industry can take to address them. In December, Commerce convened companies to share the results of its analysis and identify next steps.

 
Building Resilience with Allies and Partners
 

  • Presidential Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience. In October 2021, President Biden convened over a dozen world leaders to improve international collaboration on supply chain resilience. Following the President’s convening, the Secretaries of State and Commerce hosted a Supply Chain Ministerial to further advance this work. The original Joint Statement from the ministerial now has 31 signatories who have agreed to make global supply chains more transparent, diverse, secure, and sustainable.
     
  • Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement. The IPEF Supply Chain Agreement entered into force in February 2024 and will improve the preparedness, resilience, and competitiveness of regional supply chains. The United States and 13 Indo-Pacific partners have established a Supply Chain Council. In 2025, the Council will develop and implement action plans to strengthen supply chains across several critical industries. A Crisis Response Network will serve as a warning system for potential supply chain disruptions, and a Labor Rights Advisory Board will convene IPEF government officials, employers, and labor officials to improve labor rights and workforce development across regional supply chains.
     
  • Eradicating forced labor from supply chains. As part of the Partnership for Workers’ Rights launched in 2023, the U.S. and Brazil worked with businesses and unions to address worker vulnerability to forced labor in supply chains for cattle, coffee, gold, charcoal, and other goods.
     
  • Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). PGI is a bipartisan initiative in partnership with the G7 to provide strategic, values-driven, and high-standard infrastructure and investment in low- and middle-income countries. Through initiatives like the Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor, highlighted on the President’s recent visit to Angola, the United States is working with partners to strengthen and diversify supply chains.
     
  • G7 Surge Financing Initiative. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), G7 development finance institutions (DFIs), European Investment Bank (EIB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and MedAccess announced the Surge Financing Initiative for Medical Countermeasures (MCMs). Together, partners are working closely with global and regional health organizations to establish frameworks and innovative financing mechanisms to support more rapid and equitable pandemic response.
  • Boosting critical mineral capacity with partners. DFC invested over $220m in rare earth, graphite, and nickel projects in the last four years, reducing dependence on strategic adversaries and improving resilience in the critical mineral supply chain. The Department of Labor, USAID, United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and the State Department through the Minerals Security Partnership have also provided technical support to bring new capacity online to process critical minerals in line with international best practices.
     
  • Strengthening resilient telecommunications. In Costa Rica, EXIM approved a preliminary commitment to support Costa Rica’s use of trusted vendors to deploy its 5G network. With Japan and Australia, DFC is supporting the delivery of high-quality telecommunication services for over 2.5 million subscribers across Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, and Nauru.

Biden Administration, Climate Action, Climate Change, Energy, Infrastructure, Jobs, Manufacturing, News & Photo Features

Memo to America: Biden’s Investing in America Policy to Building Sustainable Economy Has Generated $1 Trillion in Private Sector Investment in Clean Energy, Manufacturing

More than 3.4 million American families have already saved $8.4 billion on home clean energy upgrades, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Three million more households in America have high-speed internet today than when President Biden took office. There are already more than 74,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects underway across the country, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. That includes 11,400 bridge projects, 196,000 miles of roads under repair, and 376,000 lead pipes already replaced, benefitting nearly 1 million people. Millions of seniors are benefitting from the $35 cap on the cost of insulin, and the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries has already saved 1.5 million seniors nearly $1 billion in the first half of 2024, with Medicare beneficiaries feeling the full benefits starting in January. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

People said they voted against Kamala Harris because they were just so so very upset about inflation, how they were suffering in this terrible economy, so voted for the guy who not only had no policy, plan or program to address inflation or high prices, but whose stated Project 2025 policies (tariffs) would hurt the economy, jobs and prices. But I am wondering how bad the economy really could be if holiday spending is already up 9%, malls and online sites are seeing massive increases in shoppers, there is record travel on the roads and through airports. Oh, by the way, gas prices are around $3 or less a gallon – close to 2019; – and inflation has fallen below 2.3% for the year, comparable to 2019, while REAL wage increases (that is increased income compared to inflation) are up on average $4000; Thanksgiving meal prices are down. But those working class people (suckers) who think that Trump will give them a better deal? Are you kidding or just really willfully ignorant? Have you seen the billionaires, kleptocrats, oligarchs (not to mention the misogynists, sexual predators and felons) he is installing in power? They are already salivating at shutting down the National Labor Relations Board, ending food and product safety regulation, environmental protection, restricting food stamps and vaccinations for poor children and cutting Medicare and Social Security, while serving up deeper tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals (the top 0.1% already control more wealth than 50 percent of the country) and corporations, already sitting on record profits from price-gouging.

Biden’s Deputy Chief of Staff offered this memo “to interested parties” on what President Biden accomplished that I’m betting 99.9% of Americans have no clue about $1 TRILLION in private sector investment in clean energy and manufacturing since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office because of Biden’s Investing in America agenda, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act – all of which Republicans tried to block, obstruct, sabotage and now threaten to repeal.It’s like the way Republicans were able to generate hostility to Obama’s Affordable Care Act in order to win the 2010 midterms and how Obamacare has become so popular and important in people’s lives, but Trump and the MAGA Republicans are still keen to repeal it, leaving millions without healthcare desperate and insecure – Karen Rubin, news-photos-features.com

On the success of $1 trillion in investment due to his policies and approach to building a sustainable economy “from the bottom up and the middle out,” President Biden stated:

When I took office, the pandemic was raging and the economy was reeling. From Day One, I was determined to not only deliver economic relief, but to invest in America and grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down.

Over the last four years, that’s exactly what we’ve done. We passed legislation to rebuild our infrastructure, build a clean energy economy, and bring manufacturing back to the United States after decades of offshoring. Today I’m proud to announce my Investing in America agenda—the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act—has helped attract over $1 trillion in announced private-sector investments. These investments in industries of the future are ensuring the future is made in America, by American workers. And they’re creating opportunities in communities too often left behind.

Over 1.6 million construction and manufacturing jobs have been created over the last four years, and our investments are making America a leader in clean energy and semiconductor technologies that will protect our economic and national security, while expanding opportunities in red states and blue states.

Today, thanks to my Investing in America agenda, businesses around the world are investing in America—which is good news for American workers and American businesses—and we’re positioned to win the economic competition for the 21st century.

To: Interested Parties

From: Natalie Quillian, White House Deputy Chief of Staff

MEMO: President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda’s Growing Durability and Popularity

When President Biden and Vice President Harris came into office, America was in the midst of a deadly pandemic and our economy was reeling. Since then, President Biden and Vice President Harris have overseen one of the most successful administrations in history and will be leaving behind the best economy in the world.

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, 16 million jobs have been created, and we’ve gotten women and people of color back in the labor force at record rates. A record 20 million new business applications have been filed, and inflation is down to near pre-pandemic levels. These outcomes are due in part to our success in passing and implementing legislation that rebuilt our nation’s infrastructure, made the largest investment in climate action in history, lowered prescription drug costs, and spurred a manufacturing renaissance. Together, the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act – the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda – are reshaping our economy. And as of today, that agenda has helped spur over $1 trillion in private sector investment in clean energy and manufacturing since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office.

The level of private sector investment seen under this administration is unprecedented. Business leaders have called the boom in private investment “nothing short of extraordinary,” and have said the United States’ economy is “among the best performing economies” in decades. It is driving a manufacturing renaissance across the country and onshoring new and growing industries such as semiconductors, solar, batteries, and more. It’s also helping rebuild communities and create opportunity in places that were overlooked or left behind by public and private investment for far too long.

As of today, the Department of Commerce has announced over two dozen preliminary or final agreements with semiconductor manufacturing companies to create American-made chips in Phoenix, Arizona; Columbus, Ohio; Taylor, Texas; Syracuse, New York, and more, spurring over $400 billion in private investment that will create at least 125,000 jobs. Over $119 billion in investments in EVs and batteries and $122 billion in clean power have been announced in just the two years since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed. Recent announcements show these investments have continued at a steady pace. For example, in the last month alone, SolarCycle announced it would invest $400 million in Georgia for the largest solar panel recycling facility in the country, MainSpring Energy announced it would match an $87 million grant from the Department of Energy to manufacture power generators in Allegheny County, PA, and Microporous announced a $1.35 billion investment to create 2,000 jobs building battery separators in southern Virginia.

In addition to private investment, the Biden-Harris Administration has been implementing these laws quickly, effectively and equitably since the day the first Investing in America bill was signed. Due to that effort, there are already more than 74,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects underway across the country, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. That includes 11,400 bridge projects, 196,000 miles of roads under repair, and 376,000 lead pipes already replaced, benefitting nearly 1 million people. More than 3.4 million American families have already saved $8.4 billion on home clean energy upgrades, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Three million more households in America have high-speed internet today than when President Biden took office. Millions of seniors are benefitting from the $35 cap on the cost of insulin, and the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries has already saved 1.5 million seniors nearly $1 billion in the first half of 2024, with Medicare beneficiaries feeling the full benefits starting in January.

To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced awards for 98% of Investing in America funding available for us to spend by the end of fiscal year 2024. Departments and agencies are running through the tape – announcing more awards, finalizing contracts and grant agreements, and accelerating permitting timelines. For example, the Department of Transportation executed more than twice as many grant agreements compared to the prior administration, completed 20 percent more environmental reviews in the transportation sector, and cut the time it takes to complete environmental assessments for transportation projects by one third.

These programs and projects mean real benefits for people across the country. It’s why as we continue to implement the Investing in America agenda, we see these programs grow in popularity even among skeptics, suggesting that the transformation of the U.S. economy is here to stay. For example:

  • Nearly 8 in 10 Americans support keeping the Inflation Reduction Act’s $35 per month cap on the cost of insulin for seniors, including 76% of Republicans.
  • A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 88% of Americans support the Administration’s work building or repairing our nation’s roads, bridges, rail lines, ports and other infrastructure.
  • Outside groups have found that the majority of private sector investments spurred by Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits are going to red districts, and 57 percent of the new clean energy jobs created since the Inflation Reduction Act passed are located in Congressional districts represented by Republicans.

The progress we’ve made, however, represents only a fraction of the full impact of this agenda. As the President said earlier this month, the impacts of this historic agenda “will be felt over the next 10 years.” If future Administrations continue to implement at the pace we have, people across the country will enjoy the benefits of safer water, cleaner air, faster internet, and smoother commutes.  For example, by the end of 2026, the country is on track to have launched repairs on a total of over 356,000 miles of highway and over 20,800 bridges with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. By the end of 2028, communities will replace more than one million toxic lead pipes, bringing clean water to over 2.5 million people and protecting the health and safety of children and families.  And by 2030, 6 million more households and small businesses will have access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.

Also, major projects we’ve funded will be completed in the coming years. For example, TSMC’s first Arizona factory will fully open in early 2025 and for the first time in decades, an American manufacturing plant will produce leading-edge chips. Service on the Brightline West High Speed Rail System, connecting Las Vegas, Nevada to Rancho Cucamonga, California, is on track to start in 2028, in time for the Los Angeles Olympics. A project to replace Michigan’s outdated I-375 freeway will be completed in the same year.

Over the coming months, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue the critical work of implementing the Investing in America agenda by announcing more awards, finalizing contracts and grant agreements, and making sure these investments are reaching the American people. While the full effects won’t be realized for years to come, it’s clear that the Investing in America agenda – and its impacts on the economy, on communities, and on American families – is here to stay.

Economic Development, Economic Policies, Election 2024, Jobs, Manufacturing, News & Photo Features

Harris-Walz Campaign: A New Way Forward To Build American Industrial Strength, Powered by American Workers

Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigning for president, released details of additional plans as part of the Harris-Walz pragmatic agenda to invest in and rebuild America’s industrial capacity. This strategy builds on their core priorities of lowering costs for families, restoring families’ basic economic security and ensuring the middle class continues to be a source of growth for our economy, while investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Critics suggest that Vice President Kamala Harris has not detailed her plans as president (while not seeking the same detail from Donald Trump). Here, Harris documents “A New Way Forward” to build American industrial strength, powered by American workers. She intends to use new America Forward Tax Credits to incentivize investment in strategic industries critical to U.S. leadership in the global economy, removing barriers, while creating well-paying union jobs. This fact sheet was provided by the Harris-Walz campaign: – Karen Rubin/[email protected]

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are committed to building a stronger economy where everyone has an opportunity to chase their dreams and aspirations, and where the United States continues to out-innovate and out-compete the world in the 21st century. Today, they are releasing additional plans as part of their pragmatic agenda to invest in and continue to rebuild America’s industrial capacity. This strategy builds on their core priorities of lowering costs for families, restoring families’ basic economic security and ensuring the middle class continues to be a source of growth for our economy, while investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that building our capabilities requires investments in our workforce, foundational research, incentives to deploy new technologies, and reforms to build factories and facilities across America at scale and speed. Their plan will do that. They will empower American workers—including union workers and those without a college degree—to surge America’s lead in the industries of the future, revitalize manufacturing communities so that they are at the cutting-edge of manufacturing growth, and cut red tape so America can build more and faster. These efforts will enable the United States to maintain its competitive edge in the industries that are strategic to our economic and national security.

In Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s vision of an Opportunity Economy, America vigorously invests in and competes for the future, through a strategy that insists on creating opportunity for all and leaving no areas or set of workers behind. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are calling for a New Way Forward for the middle class—where America invests in the most strategic industries of the future, with a plan to ensure workers and communities share in the benefits of those investments.

The American people face a choice in this election between two fundamentally different paths for our economy. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s Project 2025 agenda would weaken the economy and hurt the middle class. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s plan will build up the middle class and make sure our economy works for everyone. They know the American economy is the most powerful force for innovation and wealth creation in human history. Their pragmatic approach to strengthening the middle class, supporting workers and unions, and driving our economy forward is grounded in the fundamental values of fairness, dignity, and opportunity.

Launching “America Forward”—To Build America’s Industrial Base and Lead in the Industries of the Future. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will create an America Forward strategy to drive a new era in American industry and help deploy technologies and manufacture them at scale. Across America Forward investments, a Harris-Walz Administration will focus on making products in America and supporting workers, manufacturing communities, and energy communities. Their strategy will build an economy where all Americans have the chance to compete and succeed.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s America Forward strategy will accelerate our progress, building on the historic investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those landmark laws have already spurred billions of dollars of new private investment in emerging technologies and public funding for clean energy technologies, basic research, semiconductor manufacturing, and more.

Creating America Forward Tax Credits. To build America’s industrial base and continue to lead the world, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are proposing America Forward tax credits targeting investment and job creation in key strategic industries essential to our economic growth and national security. The America Forward tax credits will be linked to the treatment of workers, ensuring the right to organize, and supporting investments in longstanding manufacturing, energy, and agricultural communities.

Investments that would benefit from the America Forward tax credits include, for example:

  • Investments That Make Sure America—Not China—Leads in the Critical Industries of the Future. ​​Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s strategy is designed to maintain and extend America’s edge in industries of the future. This includes modernizing and reducing emissions in steel and iron production, developing biotechnology that can help produce critical medicines and new sustainable materials, investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation and building new data centers for AI, expanding clean energy manufacturing and innovation, revitalizing America’s semiconductor industry, investing in aerospace, autos, and other forms of transportation, and producing industrial tools and machines critical to our national and economic security. America cannot sit on the sidelines and cede leadership to nations like China, jeopardizing our national security. From her work on the development and implementation of the White House executive order on AI to her global leadership on AI safety and the convenings she has hosted with labor and civil rights leaders, Vice President Harris has always prioritized innovation that not only keeps America in the lead but that strengthens America’s workforce, protects consumers, and keeps Americans safe.
    • Rewarding Investment That Brings All Areas and Workers Along. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe that no one who grows up in one of America’s great industrial or agricultural centers should be abandoned. The America Forward tax credits will provide significant additional benefits to investments made in longstanding manufacturing, energy, and agricultural communities, or longstanding steel and iron communities such as Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley. These new tax credits will also reward companies that work with unions and communities to support workers and to protect jobs.

Creating Opportunity for All Workers, Including Those Without a College Degree. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe that anyone with the skills to do a job should be able to get the job, whether or not they have a formal degree. There are tens of millions of good-paying jobs that do not require a college degree—and their plan to invest in America’s industrial capacity will create even more. They will address barriers holding workers without a degree back from working in jobs that they can succeed in and earning a good salary where they live.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz pledge to eliminate unnecessary degree requirements and promote meaningful pathways for those without college degrees for 500,000 federal jobs—and challenge the business community to do the same. They will also support partnerships with businesses, unions, school districts, community colleges, and faith-based groups to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based programs and create millions of new training opportunities such as registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, joint-labor management partnerships, and other training opportunities that lead to a good job. In particular, they will set a goal to double the number of registered apprenticeships in America by the end of their first term—in industries ranging from advanced manufacturing to the trades to teaching to health care to cybersecurity and more, as well as a focus on opportunities for youth. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will also continue to invest in America’s public schools and strengthen STEM education as we prepare the next generation of workers and researchers to compete globally. And they remain committed to cutting red tape by reducing barriers to occupational licensing across state lines, as well as ensuring that workers continue to have good-paying jobs and opportunities amid technological advances.

In addition, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will reform our tax laws to make it easier for businesses to let workers share in their company’s success, including through broad-based employee stock ownership, profit-sharing plans, and comparable arrangements, with appropriate guardrails to ensure these plans benefit and protect workers.

Invest To Develop and Secure America’s Research Base. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that America’s edge in the development of new technologies arises from our ability to lead in basic research while also commercializing at scale. They are proposing a significant investment to shore up our national and economic security by making sure the United States—not China—leads in AI, quantum computing, blockchain, clean technology, biomanufacturing, semiconductors, and other key technology research areas. They will do this by scaling up and making permanent the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, a shared public research infrastructure to give startups, researchers, and students access to the most advanced computing power, data, and analytical tools, to surge responsible discovery and innovation in AI and allow them to compete with large, privately funded AI companies. They will also ramp up investments in the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s national labs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other public research and development agencies to keep America at the forefront of technological development.

Safeguarding Access to Critical Minerals for American Manufacturing. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz’s strategy will build a U.S. stockpile and create incentives to build out domestic processing capacity of critical minerals necessary for our economic and national security, including by launching a national reserve for these resources and leveraging the Defense Production Act, Department of Energy resources, and other tools. Increased domestic production will be paired with innovative and sustainable steps to build stronger critical mineral supply chains alongside our allies and partners, including by incentivizing investments that expand U.S. and allied production of these resources. These efforts will reduce our dependence on China, which leads production on many critical minerals.

Building More—and Faster—by Cutting Red Tape. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that it takes too long and costs too much to build in America. They support reforms to build projects in the industries of the future more quickly and efficiently and that these projects reflect community input and protect our environment and public health.

Thanks to Vice President Harris’s leadership, we have already made tremendous progress in accelerating new manufacturing projects with strong community buy-in, including through Project Labor Agreements and Community Benefit Agreements. Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to secure $1 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act to speed permitting review, and she helped finalize a rule to modernize environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act that creates new ways for projects to qualify for the simplest form of environmental review, promotes early public engagement, and accelerates project reviews while setting clear deadlines.

Vice President Haris and Governor Walz will be laser-focused on accelerating projects and unleashing the full potential of American industry by cutting red tape that slows projects down, including through permitting reform that ensures projects are built quickly and efficiently, reflect public input and public priorities, and protect our environment and public health.

Leveling the Playing Field. Vice President Harris won’t let other countries such as China undermine these investments in our workers and U.S. manufacturing. The Biden-Harris Administration has stood up to China when it breaks the rules—including when China threatens American workers and businesses by engaging in unfair trade practices such as flooding the global marketplace with artificially low-priced goods, undermining American shipbuilding, or engaging in forced technology transfer or intellectual property theft. As President, she will never hesitate to take swift and strong measures when China undermines the rules of the road at the expense of our workers, our communities, and our companies. She will also crack down on counterfeit and unsafe goods from China to protect American entrepreneurs, innovators, small businesses, and consumers. She believes in upholding and strengthening international economic rules and norms that protect fair trade and create predictability and stability.

Supporting American-Made Products. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will enforce Buy America requirements and strengthen the work of the Made in America Office that launched three years ago. They will also focus on contracting with firms that produce in America. In contrast, under Donald Trump’s presidency, he awarded $425 billion—one in four dollars of all federal contracts—to companies engaged in offshoring.

Ensuring These Investments in American Innovation Are Paid For. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are committed to fiscal responsibility—making investments that will support our economy, while paying for them and reducing the deficit at the same time. This plan will cost approximately $100 billion and will be paid for by a portion of the proceeds of international tax reform, which seeks to prevent a global race to the bottom and to discourage inversions, outsourcing, or international tax strategies designed by corporations to avoid paying their fair share to the United States.

* * *

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are charting a New Way Forward—to a future where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. They will invest in the competitive advantages that make America the strongest nation on Earth—our workers, innovation, and industry—so that America remains a leader in the industries of the future.

Donald Trump, by contrast, failed to deliver for American manufacturing. His presidency was a tale of broken promises. His signature legislative achievement was a $2 trillion tax law that overwhelmingly favored the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations, making the rich richer.

As a result of Trump’s trade war and his disastrous mismanagement of the pandemic response, by the end of his presidency he wiped out more than half of the manufacturing jobs gained from nearly a decade before. He let China seize the advantage in the production of key technologies, stood by while factories closed and jobs were lost, and tried to cut funding for the loan and research programs that have been advancing American technology. He failed to pass serious legislation that could have boosted our infrastructure or advanced American manufacturing—but the Biden-Harris Administration got it done.

A second Trump presidency would be even worse. His Project 2025 agenda would repeal the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, threatening hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs. And he would establish what is effectively a national sales tax on everything from groceries to prescription drugs, costing middle-class families nearly $4,000 a year.

Biden Administration, Economic Development, Economic Policies, Manufacturing

Biden Marking 2-Year Anniversary of Passage of CHIPS & Science Act Cites Historic Achievements

On the two-year anniversary of passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, President Biden issued this statement and the White House issued a Fact Sheet documenting the historic achievement of the act is bringing  back to the USA semiconductor supply chains, creating jobs, supporting American innovation, and is protecting National Security:

“America invented the semiconductor – those tiny chips that power electric vehicles, appliances, cell phones, satellites, and are critical in AI. But over time we went from manufacturing 40% of the world’s semiconductors, to just over 10%. When Vice President Harris and I came into office, we were determined to change that,” President Biden stated.

“Since I took office, companies have announced nearly $400 billion in investments in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, spurred in large part by support from the CHIPS and Science Act. As a result of these investments, we’re creating over 115,000 manufacturing and construction jobs in the semiconductor industry. And America is now on track to produce nearly 30% of the global supply of leading-edge chips by 2032, up from zero only two years ago.  

“While there is more to do, my CHIPS and Science Act is bringing chips manufacturing back to America, strengthening global supply chains, and is making sure the United States remains a world leader in AI and other technologies that families, businesses, and our military rely on each and every day.”

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul added,  “Two years ago today, the future of American manufacturing changed – forever. With the stroke of a pen, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law.

“Since that extraordinary day, New York State has benefitted from unprecedented investments that are transforming our state into a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing. Chip companies have announced over $112 billion in planned capital investments in New York – revitalizing Upstate communities and creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. No other region in America will account for a greater share of domestic production. 

“And we’re not done yet. This critical industry is continuing to expand with major investments from semiconductor businesses and supply chain companies like Micron, GlobalFoundries, AMD, Edwards Vacuum, MenloMicro and TTM Technologies to expand their presence in New York. In July, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a phase two Tech Hub grant of $40 million to the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor (NY SMART-I Corridor) consortium. Over the next five years, the consortium will serve a critical role in supporting Upstate New York’s continued growth into a globally competitive center of semiconductor workforce development, innovation and manufacturing. 

“For communities that have experienced decades of economic stagnation and neglect, these extraordinary commitments are the beginning of an economic renewal – bringing better schools, better hospitals, safer streets and stronger infrastructure. 

“The CHIPS and Science Act has put New York on the precipice of a defining age of manufacturing and transformed the future for generations of New Yorkers. I’m grateful to Leader Schumer, Leader Jeffries, the New York Congressional Delegation and the Biden-Harris Administration for their historic efforts and for keeping their promise to the American people.” 

FACT SHEET: Two Years after the CHIPS and Science Act, Biden-⁠Harris Administration Celebrates Historic Achievements in Bringing Semiconductor Supply Chains Home, Creating Jobs, Supporting Innovation, and Protecting National Security 
  
Companies have announced $395+ billion in investments in semiconductors and electronics and the creation of over 115,000 jobs since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office 
  

Two years ago, President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS), aimed at reestablishing United States’ leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, shoring up global supply chains, and strengthening national and economic security. America invented the semiconductor, and used to produce nearly 40 percent of the world’s chips, but today, we produce only about 10 percent of global supply—and none of the most advanced chips. The CHIPS and Science Act aimed to change that by investing nearly $53 billion in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and workforce.  
  
Dozens of companies have committed to nearly $400 billion in total semiconductor investments across the country. These investments have been spurred in large part by the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Incentives program, which has signed preliminary agreements with 15 companies across 15 states to provide over $30 billion in direct funding and roughly $25 billion in loans for semiconductor manufacturing projects. These projects will support the creation of more than 115,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs, with further investments in workforce development and training to come – helping to ensure more chips are made in America by American workers. As a result of these investments, the United States is on track to produce nearly 30% of the global supply of leading-edge chips by 2032, up from zero percent when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office. 
  
As part of the CHIPS Act, the Biden-Harris Administration has also made regional investments to spur centers of innovation across America through the Tech Hubs program, has made investments to revitalize communities historically overlooked by federal investment through the Recompete program, and is making critical investments in research and development and workforce initiatives across the semiconductor ecosystem.   
  
Two Years of Progress on Semiconductor Manufacturing and Innovation 

In the past two years, agencies across the federal government have developed and executed on programs established under CHIPS to restore domestic semiconductor manufacturing, invest in research and development, support supply chain resiliency and national security, and catalyze economic and workforce development. Key milestones in the Administration’s implementation of CHIPS include: 
  
Reshoring U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing 
  
Thanks to CHIPS Act, the United States will once again be a world leader in manufacturing the semiconductors that power our lives. In the two years since President Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law: 

  1. The Department of Commerce CHIPS Incentives Program announced preliminary agreements with 15 companies, totaling over $30 billion of the total available $39 billion in direct incentives funded by the CHIPS and Science Act. Commerce is on track to allocate all remaining funds with CHIPS grantees by the end of 2024. 
  2. Two years ago, the U.S. produced none of the world’s most advanced chips. Now, America is home to all five of the world’s leading-edge logic, memory, and advanced packaging providers, while no other economy has more than two. Collectively, these fabs will enable the United States to produce nearly 30% of the global supply of leading-edge chips by 2032.  
  3. The CHIPS Act is creating a robust semiconductor ecosystem by supporting multiple high-volume advanced packaging facilities, expanded production of current and mature-node semiconductors, and critical supply chain components, all by the end of the decade to support critical industries from automobiles and medical devices to artificial intelligence and aerospace.  
  4. The Department of the Treasury continues to work on a final rule on the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, which provides a 25% investment tax credit for companies engaged in semiconductor manufacturing and producing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 
      

Creating Jobs and Workforce Pipelines for American Workers 

A centerpiece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is to create good paying job opportunities for Americans across the country. CHIPS has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to ensuring that America’s semiconductor comeback will serve to benefit American workers. For example: 

  1. CHIPS-funded projects are creating more than 115,000 construction and manufacturing jobs with over $250 million of CHIPS funding earmarked for local community workforce development, the use of which will be guided by local stakeholder input, including from academic institutions, training providers, and labor unions, and federal partners, including the Departments of Labor and Education. These projects will also pay construction workers prevailing wages, which ensures they earn family-sustaining wages and benefits, and include some of the largest Project Labor Agreements in history, establishing that the future of this industry in America will be built by union workers. 
  2. The Biden-Harris Administration launched Investing in America Workforce Hubs in Upstate New York, Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio to support the training needed for the growing industries there, including booming semiconductor ecosystems. These are just three of the nine Workforce Hubs across the country which are creating pipelines for Americans to access good-paying jobs in the industries seeing increased investments thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.  
  3. The Department of Commerce expects to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s (NSTC) workforce efforts, including the Workforce Center of Excellence which will collaborate with industry, academia, labor unions, the Departments of Labor and Education, the National Science Foundation, and local government partners to address end-to-end workforce training needs from access to adoption. 
  4. The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched its Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) initiative, a $45.6 million investment to conduct frontier research and develop the future microelectronics workforce. The NSF also announced its inaugural Regional Innovation Engines, 10 locations receiving a $150 million investment with the potential for up to $2 billion in funding over the next decade. 
  5. Companies applying for more than $150 million in grants were required to submit a robust child care plan that reflects the needs of their workers in communities where they plan to build.  Some of the largest projects, such as those of Micron and Intel, have committed to providing affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for thousands of workers across multiple facilities in multiple states. This has already led to a dramatic expansion of benefits including the construction of dedicated child care facilities at multiple project sites as well as discount and reimbursement programs in collaboration with local child care providers. 

  
Accelerating Regional Economic Development and Innovation 

President Biden and Vice President Harris are investing in regions that suffered from disinvestment for too long despite their economic potential. Through the Investing in America Agenda, this Administration is building an economy that brings innovation and opportunity for hardworking American families. The CHIPS Act expanded the suite of place-based investment efforts under the Biden-Harris Administration to build on the momentum of programs under the American Rescue Plan. In the two years since the CHIPS Act was signed: 

  1. The Department of Commerce announced $504 million for 12 Tech Hubs to give regions across the nation the resources and opportunities needed to lead in the economies of the future, such as semiconductors, clean energy, biotechnology, AI, quantum computing, and more.  
  2. The Department of Commerce is awarding $184 million to six Recompete Pilot Program finalists; creating renewed opportunity in economically distressed communities through good-paying, high-quality jobs. The Recompete Pilot Program targets areas where prime-age employment is significantly lower than the national average and provides flexible and locally-drive investments to support economic comebacks. 
  3. The National Science Foundation announced $150 million for 10 inaugural awards that has already been matched by more than $350 million in commitments from state and local governments, the private sector and philanthropy. These 10 NSF Engines have the potential to receive over $2 billion over the next decade, paving the way toward a new frontier in American innovation.  
  4. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program will announce nearly $54 million in funding that will help small businesses explore innovative ideas and the commercial microelectronics marketplace. 

  
Protecting National Security and Working with Allies and Partners 

In September 2023, the Department of Commerce finalized rules to implement the national security guardrails laid out in CHIPS. These guardrails are preventing technology and innovation funded by the program from being misused by foreign countries of concern and protecting our industrial ecosystem. CHIPS manufacturing funds are also going towards companies building the semiconductors that are essential to our aerospace and defense industries. 

  1. CHIPS grant funds are directly supporting our national security by increasing the supply of critical technologies needed to protect Americans, including the production of chips necessary for critical defense programs including the F-35 fighter jet program, and chips for everyday applications that impact all Americans, from cars to secure Wi-Fi.  
  2. The Department of Defense’s Microelectronics Commons Program has announced an initial $280 million in first year projects to create resilient onshore ecosystems for cutting-edge applications in six key areas: secure edge/internet of things, electromagnetic warfare, 5G/6G, Quantum technology, artificial intelligence hardware, and commercial leap ahead technologies. These projects build off the Commons regionals hubs and are set to kick off, along with additional awards for human, digital, and physical infrastructure, by the end of the year. 
  3. The State Department recently launched the CHIPS Act International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund supported ITSI Western Hemisphere Semiconductor Initiative, which will enhance assembly, testing and packaging capabilities in partner countries including Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. New partnerships have also been announced with Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya to explore semiconductor supply chain coordination opportunities to develop trust, transparency, and resiliency with our allies across the globe. 
  4. The Department of Commerce announced that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience entered into force on February 24, 2024. This agreement, led by the United States, is ensuring a more resilient, efficient, productive and sustainable supply chain for semiconductors and other industries. 
  5. The Department of Commerce awarded $140 million across 17 projects in its first funding opportunity through the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which will drive American wireless innovation, competition, and supply chain resilience.   

  
Investing in Innovation 

The semiconductor was invented here in the United States, and America has continued to be a leader in the research and development in semiconductors and some of the most advanced technologies. The CHIPS Act is helping advance those goals by: 

  1. Investing approximately $3 billion in the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) to establish and accelerate domestic capacity for semiconductor advanced packaging which will drive U.S. technological leadership in leading-edge semiconductors and underpin future innovation areas, including artificial intelligence. Over 100 concept papers were submitted for the first funding opportunity and a second funding opportunity for $1.6 billion will be announced in the fall. 
  2. Establishing Natcast, a non-profit, to operate the NSTC to enable rapid adoption of innovations that will enhance domestic competitiveness for decades to come. The Department of Commerce, together with Natcast, announced the focus of its first three CHIPS R&D research facilities: a NSTC Prototyping and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program facility, an NSTC Administrative and Design facility, and an NSTC Extreme Ultraviolet EUV center – which will be complemented by affiliated technical centers.  

Issuing funding opportunities through the Department of Commerce for a first-of-its kind Manufacturing USA Institute focused on the development, validation, and use of digital twins – virtual models that mimic the structure, context, and behavior of a physical counterpart.

Biden Administration, Economic Development, Economic Policies, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, President Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Up To $8.5 Billion Preliminary Agreement with Intel under the CHIPS & Science Act

Funding catalyzes $100 billion in private investment from Intel to build and expand semiconductor facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon and create nearly 30,000 jobs. Here’s a fact sheet from the White House:

President Biden traveled to Chandler, Arizona, on March 20 to visit Intel’s Ocotillo campus and announce that the Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary agreement with Intel to provide up to $8.5 billion in direct funding along with $11 billion in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act. The announcement will support the construction and expansion of Intel facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon, creating nearly 30,000 jobs and supporting tens of thousands of indirect jobs. During his visit to Arizona, President Biden will discuss the vision that he laid out in his State of the Union, underscoring how his Investing in America agenda is building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, creating good-paying jobs right here in America, strengthening U.S. supply chains, and protecting national security.

Semiconductors were invented in America and power everything from cell phones to electric vehicles, refrigerators, satellites, defense systems, and more. But today, the United States produces less than 10 percent of the world’s chips and none of the most advanced ones. Thanks to President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, that is changing. Companies have announced over $240 billion in investments to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States since the President took office. Semiconductor jobs are making a comeback. And thanks to CHIPS investments like the one today, America will produce roughly 20% of the world’s leading-edge chips by the end of the decade.

The announcement is critical to realizing President Biden’s vision to reestablish America’s leadership in chip manufacturing. In particular, this CHIPS investment will support Intel’s construction and expansion projects across four states and will create nearly 30,000 jobs:

  • Chandler, Arizona: Funding will help construct two leading-edge logic fabs and modernize one existing fab, significantly increasing manufacturing capacity to produce Intel’s most advanced semiconductors in the United States. This investment will create over 3,000 manufacturing jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and thousands of indirect jobs. Intel’s investment in Arizona is among the largest private sector investments in the state’s history.
    • New Albany, Ohio: Funding will establish a new regional economic cluster for U.S. chipmaking with the construction of two leading-edge logic fabs. This investment will create 3,000 manufacturing jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and an estimated 10,000 indirect jobs. Intel’s investment in Ohio is the largest private-sector investment in the state’s history.
       Rio Rancho, New Mexico: Funding will support the nearly complete modernization and transformation of two fabs into advanced packaging facilities, where chips are assembled together to boost their performance and reduce costs. Advanced packaging is critical for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and the next generation of semiconductor technology. It also allows manufacturers to improve performance and function and shorten the time it takes to get many advanced chips to market.  When completed, these facilities will be the largest for advanced packaging in the United States. This investment will create 700 manufacturing jobs and 1,000 construction jobs.
       
  • Hillsboro, Oregon: Funding will expand and modernize facilities to increase clean-room capacity and utilize advanced lithography equipment, further strengthening this critical innovation hub of leading-edge development and production in the United States. This investment will support several thousand new permanent and construction jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
     

Creating Good-Paying and Union Jobs with Good Benefits Across America

President Biden promised to be the most pro-worker, pro-union President in American history, and his Administration has committed to ensuring that workers have the free and fair choice to join a union and equitable training pathways to good jobs. As part of the Administration’s effort to connect workers with good-paying jobs created by the President’s Investing in America agenda, the White House announced five initial Workforce Hubs across the country – two of which have focused on building pipelines to good jobs in the semiconductor industry: Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio. And, last year, the National Science Foundation and Intel announced $100 million to expand semiconductor workforce training opportunities, education, and research across the nation.

Under their preliminary agreement with the Department of Commerce, Intel has committed to work closely with workforce training providers (e.g., educational institutions, state and local agencies, labor unions) to develop and train workers for jobs created by the investment announced today. The Ohio State Building Trades signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the Ohio construction site, and there is a majority-union construction crew in both the Arizona and Oregon sites. The Administration strongly supports workers’ right to organize and expects Intel to continue its longstanding tradition of creating good jobs and respecting workers’ rights, including expecting Intel to neither hold mandatory captive audience meetings nor hire anti-union consultants.

The announcement today also includes significant funding to train and develop the local workforce, including $50 million in dedicated CHIPS funding. The focus of this funding will be further determined in the coming months based on the Department of Commerce’s labor and workforce priorities in partnership with the Department of Labor. Those priorities include funding workforce intermediaries and labor-management partnerships, promoting inclusive and equitable training and hiring across the construction and facilities workforces, and providing supportive services, such as child care. Intel’s construction spending is contributing to union apprentice programs across all four sites—expected to amount to over $150 million in apprenticeship contributions. Additionally, Intel has committed to providing affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for its workers across its facilities. Intel will be increasing the reimbursement amount and duration for its back-up care program, adding additional access to discounted primary child care providers, and expanding access to a vetted network of child care providers for its employees. In addition, Intel will pilot a primary child care reimbursement program for non-salary employees.
 

Strengthening Local Economies

Today’s announcement is also poised to strengthen the local economies of these states and cities, and is part of the President’s commitment to investing in all of America and leaving no community behind. Intel’s investments in Arizona and Ohio are among the largest private-sector investments in each state’s history, and Arizona has received the highest level of private sector manufacturing investment per capita of any state since the President took office. Intel’s investment in Arizona is expected to create tens of thousands of indirect jobs across suppliers and supporting industries – on top of the nearly 30,000 manufacturing and construction jobs it will create, fostering a more resilient semiconductor supply chain in the U.S.

In Arizona, Intel’s investments have grown the surrounding community, attracting opportunities for professional growth and upward economic mobility for everyone – from graphic designers to restaurants and small businesses. And in Ohio, Intel continues expanding their partnerships with local businesses to support their construction projects and operations at other facilities – growing from 150 Ohio-based suppliers in 2022 to over 350 today. 

Intel has also prioritized sustainability and being responsible stewards of the environment at its facilities. It currently uses 100% renewable electricity in its fabs and factories in the United States, and plans to achieve net-positive water and zero waste to landfill by 2030.

Building on Historic Progress Under the CHIPS and Science Act

Today’s announcement is the fourth and largest preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) under the CHIPS and Science Act:

  • In February 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $1.5 billion for GlobalFoundries to support the development and expansion of facilities in Malta, NY, and Burlington, VT.
    • In January 2024, the Administration announced $162 million for Microchip Technology Inc. to increase its production of microcontroller units and other specialty semiconductors, and to support the modernization and expansion of fabrication facilities in Colorado Springs, CO, and Gresham, OR. 
    • In December 2023, the Administration announced $35 million for BAE Systems Electronic Systems to support the modernization of the company’s Microelectronics Center in Nashua, NH. This facility will produce chips that are essential to our national security, including for use in F-35 fighter jets.

President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – including the CHIPS and Science Act – is spurring a manufacturing and clean energy boom. Since President Biden took office, companies have announced over $675 billion in private sector investments in manufacturing and clean energy, and over 50,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects are underway. This announcement is part of the President’s broader commitment to build an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down, and invest in all of America. 

Biden Administration, Economic Development, Economic Policies, Economy, Joe Biden, Manufacturing

FACT SHEET: Biden Takes New Actions to Strengthen America’s Supply Chains, Lower Costs for Families, and Secure Key Sectors

During the inaugural convening of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, President Biden will unveil more than 30 new actions to strengthen America’s supply chains

As part of his Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families, President Biden announced nearly 30 new actions to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security. These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home. Among the actions: the USDA is investing $196 million to strengthen our domestic food supply chains and create more opportunity for farmers and entrepreneurs in 37 states and in Puerto Rico. These investments—which build on prior investments in diversified food processing, resilient agricultural markets, and fertilizer production—expand farmer income opportunities, create economic opportunities for people and businesses in rural areas, and lower food costs. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

You don’t hear anything about it because 1) it’s lots of facts and figures and 2) the nonstop criminality, latest court craziness of Trump and his scheme to become a dictator are dominating news. But the collapse of supply chains during the COVID pandemic was the biggest reason for triggering inflation, and the Biden administration focus to develop Made in America manufacturing and reduce dependency on foreign production is one of the biggest factors in reducing costs for Americans (despite greed-based price hikes). Here’s a Fact sheet from the White House:

As part of his Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families, President Biden is announcing nearly 30 new actions to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security. These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home.

President Biden announced these actions alongside members of his Cabinet and other senior Administration officials at the inaugural meeting of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. The Council, which President Biden established, will support the enduring resilience of America’s critical supply chains.

Robust supply chains are fundamental to a strong economy. When supply chains smooth, prices fall for goods, food, and equipment, putting more money in the pockets of American families, workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs. That is why President Biden made supply chain resilience a priority from Day One of his Administration—including by signing an Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains and establishing a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force that worked with states, Tribes, local governments, businesses, family farms, labor, and allies and partners to address the acute supply chain crises caused by the pandemic. Since then, the Administration has made historic investments to strengthen supply chains and prevent future disruptions by expanding production capacity in key sectors and building infrastructure through the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

These efforts helped unsnarl supply chains, re-normalize the flow of goods, and lower inflation. From October 2021 to October 2023, supply chain pressures as measured by the New York Fed declined from near-record highs to a record low, helping lower inflation, which has fallen by 65% from its peak.

Today, President Biden is building on this progress by announcing bold new actions to further strengthen supply chains, lower costs for families, and help Americans get the goods they need, including:

  • The creation of the Council on Supply Chain Resilience. Today, President Biden will convene the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which will advance his long-term, government-wide strategy to build enduring supply chain resilience. The Council will be co-chaired by the National Security Advisor and National Economic Advisor, and include the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs; the Attorney General; the Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration; the Directors of National Intelligence, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers; the U.S. Trade Representative; and other senior officials from the Executive Office of the President and other agencies.
     
  • Use of the Defense Production Act to make more essential medicines in America and mitigate drug shortages. President Biden will issue a Presidential Determination to broaden the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) authorities under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to enable investment in domestic manufacturing of essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs that have been deemed by the President as essential to the national defense. HHS has identified $35 million for investments in domestic production of key starting materials for sterile injectable medicines. HHS will also designate a new Supply Chain Resilience and Shortage Coordinator for efforts to strengthen the resilience of medical product and critical food supply chains, and to address related shortages. HHS intends to institutionalize this coordination to advance the department’s supply chain resilience and shortage mitigation goals over the long term. The Department of Defense (DOD) will also soon release a new report on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience aimed at reducing reliance on high-risk foreign suppliers. These actions are a subset of the Administration’s broader work to increase access to essential medicines and medical products.
     
  • New cross-governmental supply chain data-sharing capabilities. The Administration has developed several cross-government partnerships to improve supply chain monitoring and strategy, including:
    • The Department of Commerce’s new, first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Center is integrating industry expertise and data analytics to develop innovative supply chain risk assessment tools, and is coordinating deep-dive analyses on select critical supply chains to drive targeted actions to increase resilience. This Center is building broad partnerships across government, industry, and academia, including collaborating with the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct deep-dive analyses on clean energy supply. Additionally, Commerce is partnering with HHS to assess industry and import data that can help address foreign dependency vulnerabilities and points of failure for critical drugs.
    • The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Freight Logistics Optimization Works (“FLOW”) program is a public-private partnership that brings together U.S. supply chain stakeholders to create a shared, common picture of supply chain networks and facilitate a more reliable flow of goods. DOT is announcing a new milestone for FLOW, in which participants are beginning to utilize FLOW data to inform their logistics decision making, helping to avoid bottlenecks, shorten lead times for customers, and enable a more resilient and globally competitive freight network through earlier warnings of supply chain disruption. As the effort continues to mature, DOT will work with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase data transparency for containerized shipments of agricultural products in the United States, efforts that can help producers and sellers avoid disruptions that can increase food prices.
    • These new analytical capabilities will enable the Council to coordinate a more complete, whole-of-government critical supply chain monitoring function.

Additional actions to support stronger supply chains and access to affordable, reliable energy and critical technology:

Investing in critical supply chains:

  • DOE today announced $275 million in grant selections for its Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, investments that will revitalize communities affected by coal mine or coal power plant closures through investment in clean energy supply chains, including production of critical materials, components for grid-scale batteries and electric vehicles, onshore wind turbines, and energy conservation technologies. DOE also announced up to $10 million of funding for a “critical material accelerator” and a $5.6-million prize to develop circular clean energy supply chains. These efforts build on action by President Biden to authorize DOE’s use of the DPA to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies—including electric heat pumps—as well as DOE’s recently announced $3.5-billion investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials needed for essential clean energy technologies such as stationary storage and electric vehicles.
  • USDA is making investments worth $196 million to strengthen our domestic food supply chains and create more opportunity for farmers and entrepreneurs in 37 states and in Puerto Rico. These investments—which build on prior investments in diversified food processing, resilient agricultural markets, and fertilizer production—expand farmer income opportunities, create economic opportunities for people and businesses in rural areas, and lower food costs.
  • DOD, building on the $714 million in DPA investments it has made in 2023 to support defense-critical supply chains, will publish the first ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS). The NDIS will guide engagement, policy development, and investment in the defense industrial base over the next three to five years. It will ensure a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to and focus on the multiple layers of suppliers and sub-suppliers that make up these critical supply chains.

Planning for long-term industrial resilience and future supply chain investments:

  • Launch of the quadrennial supply chain review. The Council will complete the first quadrennial supply chain review by December 31, 2024. As part of the review, the Council will update criteria on industries, sectors, and products defined as critical to national and economic security. In addition, 12 months after the Council promulgates the criteria, and annually thereafter, the Council will apply the criteria to review and update the list of critical sectors, as appropriate.
  • Smart manufacturing plan. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) is sponsoring a study by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to develop a nationwide plan for smart manufacturing. The report will establish key priorities for investment to support new digital and artificial intelligence technologies. These investments will enhance the productivity and security of the manufacturing systems that are critical for maintaining domestic supply chains.

Deploying new capabilities to monitor existing and emerging risks:

  • New Resilience Center and tabletop exercises for supply chain disruptions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing the launch of a new Supply Chain Resilience Center (SCRC), which will be dedicated to ensuring the resilience of supply chains for critical infrastructure needed to deliver essential services to the American people. Near-term priorities will include addressing supply chain risks resulting from threats and vulnerabilities inside U.S. ports. Additionally, in 2024, in collaboration with other federal agencies and foreign governments, DHS will facilitate at least two tabletop exercises designed to test the resilience of critical cross-border supply chains. Further, DHS and the Department of Commerce will collaborate to continue to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain and further the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act.
  • Launch of DOT Multimodal Freight Office. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) implementation, DOT is launching its Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy (“Multimodal Freight Office”). This office is responsible for maintaining and improving the condition and performance of the nation’s multimodal freight network including through the development of the National Multimodal Freight Network, review of State Freight Plans, and the continued advancement of the FLOW initiative in partnership with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
  • Monitoring of climate impacts. The White House National Security Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Council of Economic Advisers will co-lead an interagency effort in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor global developments related to El Niño, including this climate phenomenon’s impact on U.S. and global commodity prices, agriculture and fishery output, disruptions to global and trade supply chains, and resulting impacts on food security, human health, and social instabilities.
  • Energy and critical mineral supply chain readiness. To more consistently track risk and opportunity across energy supply chains, DOE is developing an assessment tool that accounts for raw materials, manufacturing, workforce, and logistics considerations. Additionally, to help assess the potential for trade disruptions of select critical minerals and materials, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will map and develop geospatial databases for select global critical product supply chains, with a current focus on semiconductor components; and will seek designation by the Chief Statistician of the United States of a federal statistical unit providing the nation’s official minerals statistics. Additionally, the National Science and Technology Council’s Critical Minerals Subcommittee plans to launch a new criticalminerals.gov website in January 2024 that will highlight cross-governmental supply chain efforts.
  • Defense supply chain mapping and risk management. DOD is increasing supply chain visibility through the creation of a Supply Chain Mapping Tool to analyze supplier data for 110 weapon systems. This capability will be used to develop defense industrial base wargaming scenarios to identify vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies.

Engaging public and private stakeholders to expand supply chain risk modeling:

  • Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit. The Department of Commerce will convene a diverse array of public and private stakeholders at a Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit in 2024. A key aim of the summit will be to invite expert input into supply chain risk assessment models and tools. The summit will also assess data availability, utility, and limitations and consider actions to improve data flows.
  • AI hackathons to strengthen critical mineral supply chains. USGS, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), building on their 2022 prize challenges announcement, will host a series of hackathons beginning in February 2024 to develop novel artificial intelligence approaches to assess domestic critical mineral resources.
  • Risk mapping for labor rights abuses. The Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Comply Chain guidance for identifying and addressing labor rights violations in global supply chains. In addition, DOL is providing $8 million for two four-year projects to identify supply chain traceability methods and technologies to address child labor or forced labor risks in diverse supply chains, such as the cobalt and cotton sectors. DOL will also undertake new supply chain research on mining and agriculture products across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

In addition to the announcements above, the Administration continues to deepen engagement with allies and partners to strengthen global supply chains, including:

Deepening international early warning systems to detect and respond to supply chain disruptions in critical sectors with allies and partners, including:

  • With the European Union. In May 2023, the United States and the EU established an early warning system for semiconductor supply chain disruptions under the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.
  • With Japan and the Republic of Korea. In August, the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea committed at Camp David to launch early warning system pilots, starting by identifying priority products and materials such as critical minerals and rechargeable batteries and establishing mechanisms to rapidly share information on disruptions to critical supply chains.
  • With Mexico and Canada. Through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the United States, Canada, and Mexico established a trilateral Sub-Committee on Emergency Response to coordinate North American efforts to maintain regional trade flows during emergency situations.
  • With Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the World Health Organization. The Global Regulatory Working Group on Drug Shortages, currently chaired by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meets quarterly to discuss product shortages participating jurisdictions are encountering and ways such shortages are being addressed. The group’s exchange of information helped address product shortages experienced by each partner during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent “tripledemic” including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus.
  • With global partners. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), the U.S. government funds activities to improve the weather, water, and climate observing capabilities and data sharing in regions and countries that are needed to produce actionable local, regional, and global climate information and minimize impacts upon infrastructure, water, health, and food security.

Strengthening global supply chains through other innovative multilateral partnerships:

  • Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement. The United States and 13 IPEF partners concluded a first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Agreement that gives partners new tools to build diversified, competitive supply chains for critical sectors, including an IPEF Supply Chain Council to coordinate action. The Department of Commerce is kickstarting this effort through pilot projects to enhance the resilience of key supply chains, including those related to semiconductors, critical minerals, and cold chain services. In addition, the Supply Chains Agreement establishes a Crisis Response Network that will allow IPEF partners to better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions through emergency communication channels and joint crisis simulations, as well as a Labor Rights Advisory Board to promote worker rights across supply chains.
  • Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (Americas Partnership). The Americas Partnership is focused on, among other things, strengthening and diversifying supply chains. In its first year of work, the Americas Partnership will focus on the development of regional competitiveness plans in three critical sectors: semiconductors, clean energy, and medical supplies.
  • North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS). Through NALS, the United States, Canada, and Mexico are enhancing the resilience of North America’s supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, and other essential goods. This trilateral effort includes partnering with regional industry and academia to create quality jobs, promote investment, grow talent, and catalyze innovation.
  • Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). Through PGI, the United States is mobilizing public and private financing to incentivize investments and develop transformative economic corridors to diversify global supply chains and create new opportunities for American workers and businesses. From the development of the Lobito Corridor, connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia with global markets through Angola, to the launch of the landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor—through PGI, the United States is creating novel interconnections across regions to facilitate trade and secure clean energy, digital, food security, and other critical supply chains.
  • Global Labor Directive. On November 16, President Biden signed the Presidential Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally. The President directed several departments to address labor rights abuses in global supply chains and identify innovative approaches to promote internationally recognized labor rights throughout the supply chain, including by collaborating with labor organizations, workers, and other labor stakeholders to consider efforts that support worker-led monitoring of labor rights compliance.
  • The Mineral Security Partnership (MSP). The Department of State, along with partners including Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (represented by the European Commission), established the MSP to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains. The MSP works with host governments and industry to facilitate targeted financial and diplomatic support for strategic projects along the value chain with an emphasis on those projects which adhere to and promote the highest labor, environmental and sustainability standards.
  • International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund. Created by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the ITSI Fund promotes the diversification of the global semiconductor supply chain. State will partner with countries to develop the most attractive economic environments for private investment. With ITSI Fund support, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development has established the Semiconductor Exchange Network allowing policymakers in the semiconductor industry to examine risks and interdependencies on the current state of the semiconductor ecosystem. Additionally, the ITSI Fund is supporting ecosystem reviews in key partner countries that will inform future collaboration on developing this critical sector.
Biden Administration, Climate Change, Energy, Jobs, Manufacturing

FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Announces New Private and Public Sector Investments for Affordable Electric Vehicles

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is unleashing a manufacturing and clean energy boom and accelerating the production of affordable electric vehicles. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is unleashing a manufacturing and clean energy boom and accelerating the production of affordable electric vehicles. The White House provided this fact sheet: 

As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House is announcing the first set of public and private commitments to support America’s historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge. These commitments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to spur domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, boost U.S. competitiveness and create good-paying jobs. Because of President Biden’s leadership and historic investments, electric vehicle sales have tripled and the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by over 40 percent since he took office. There are now more than three million EVs on the road and over 132,000 public EV chargers across the country.  
 
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act adds and expands tax credits for purchases of new and used EVs—helping bring the benefits of clean energy to communities across the nation. The law also provides incentives to electrify heavy-duty vehicles like clean school buses, and includes support for the installation of residential, commercial, and municipal EV charging infrastructure. These incentives complement investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other federal initiatives that are spurring the domestic manufacturing of EVs and batteries and the development of a national EV charging network that provides access to low income and disadvantaged communities.  
 
These incentives will lower the cost of EVs and EV charging infrastructure; increase consumer demand and competition; promote equity and inclusion; and accelerate the growth of the EV market. The White House announced the EV Acceleration Challenge to bring a clean, safe, affordable, and reliable transportation future to Americans even faster.
 
Today, the Federal Government, as well as a number of companies and nonprofits including Prologis, First Student, Hertz, Amazon, Google, Rewiring America, and others, are announcing new commitments to expand EV fleets, increase consumer education, and grow the availability of EV charging.  
 
Today, the Federal Government is announcing: 

  • Federal agencies have already acquired 13,000 light- and medium-duty zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in FY23—about four times the number of ZEVs acquired in FY22. President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan requires federal agencies to transition the largest fleet in the world to all electric by acquiring 100 percent light-duty ZEVs annually by 2027 and acquiring 100 percent medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs annually by 2035.  
     
  • Federal agencies are committing to deploy an additional 24,000 charging stations at Federal facilities by the next fiscal year, adding to the more than 5,000 charging stations already installed at Federal facilities nationwide. 
     
  • The Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuel Data Center is planning to add two new features to its Station Locator Tool that will help consumers charge their EVs quickly, affordably and conveniently. The tool will soon offer:
    • Charging cost: The cost to charge an EV at an individual charging station.
       
    • Charging speed: The charging speed or power output at the charger port level. 

 
ACCELERATING THE EV TRANSITION 
 
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda has spurred public and private sector commitments to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. State and local governments are also leveraging federal funds to expand electrification of their vehicle fleets. These announcements build on the EV charging network expansion and manufacturing announcements highlighted by the White House in February, which will add more than 100,000 public chargers across the country. Announcements being spotlighted today fall into four categories: Consumer Education and Support, Tools and Resources, EV Fleet Expansion, and Community Charging: Commercial and Multifamily: 
 
Fleet Expansion 

  • First Student, a major supplier of school bus services, is committing to transition 30,000 fossil fuel-powered school buses to electric school buses by 2035. 
     
  • Cirba Solutions, a battery materials and management company, is committing to process end-of-life batteries and Gigafactory manufacturing scrap, creating enough battery-materials to equip 1,000,000 EVs by 2028. 
     
  • Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company, is committing to deploy the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE across all of its ride-hailing service territories this spring and retire its previous generation platform.  
     
  • Amazon is announcing it has rolled out over 3,000 electric delivery vehicles as part of its commitment to bring 100,000 electric delivery vehicles to the road by 2030.
     
  • Trane Technologies, a company focused on efficient and sustainable climate solutions for buildings, homes and transportation, is committing to transition 100 percent of its global fleet of more than 8,000 vehicles, including service vans and trucks, to all electric vehicles by 2030. 

Community Charging: Commercial and Multifamily  

  • Prologis, a major global developer and owner of logistics real estate with more than 3,400 properties in the US, is committing to make every new eligible Prologis development ready for EV charging and transition its U.S. maintenance vehicle fleet to 100 percent alternative fuel vehicles by 2030. 
     
  • Siemens is committing to install charging stations across the U.S. at its facilities and employees’ homes to support the electric conversion of its 10,000-vehicle fleet by 2030 and to set a requirement that 10% of parking spaces include EV charging stations at all new company facility construction projects. 
     
  • CALSTART, Forth, the Electrification Coalition, EVHybridNoire and peer national implementation partners are committing to launch the Charge@Work campaign and Electric Vehicle Adoption Leadership (EVAL) certification program in Fall 2023 which will engage over 50,000 employers\workplaces, representing hundreds of thousands of employees, with the end goal of catalyzing over 100,000 electric vehicle workplace charging stations. 
     
  • SWTCH, an EV charging provider, is committing to expand equitable access to EV charging in underserved communities by deploying over 20,000 EV chargers, the majority of which will serve multi-family buildings, by 2024.  
     
  • Rocky Mountain Institute is committing to launch a multi-family charging accelerator pilot in three states to scale multi-unit dwelling charging infrastructure financing and deployment nationwide in 2024. 

Consumer Education and Support 

  • Hertz is committing to substantially increase its electric vehicle rentals this year forecasting nearly two million EV rentals in 2023, approximately five times the number of EV rentals in 2022, and extending the electric vehicle experience to leisure and business travelers and rideshare drivers across the country.  
     
  • Consumer Reports is committing to delivering expert advice and unbiased information for people who are considering whether to make the shift to an electric vehicle through its new online tool called the Electric Vehicle Savings Finder. It provides detailed, up-to-date information about federal, state, and local EV purchase incentives available to consumers, specific to where they live. 
     
  • GreenLatinos, Hip Hop Caucus, Sierra Club, Clean Energy for America, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Electric Transportation Community Development Corporation, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Plug in America, Public Citizen, Union of Concerned Scientists, Electric Vehicle Association, League of Conservation Voters, Coltura, and the Natural Resources Defense Council are committing to launch Route Zero in April – a cross-country, relay style campaign highlighting the investments made in EV infrastructure and EV manufacturing around the country, focusing on how equitable EV deployment helps mitigate pollution harms. 
     
  • Sierra Club, Plug in America, the Electric Vehicle Association and EVHybridNoire are committing to host more than 300 events in 2023 to celebrate the shift to electric vehicles, including the opportunity to connect with EV drivers in their own communities, ask questions, and get behind the wheel to try EVs out. 
     
  • Mercedes-Benz is committing to launch “Electric Dream Days,” a new EV marketing campaign with retail events at dealerships and EV test drives in April 2023.   

Tools and Resources 

  • Rewiring America, a non-profit organization, is committing to launch an online personal electrification planner in 2023 with the initial goal of helping 100,000 homeowners and renters create roadmaps to electrify their homes and to choose electric vehicles and home chargers. 
     
  • Google is committing to provide up-to-date information about availability and coverage of tax credits across eligible passenger vehicles, through a new Search tool that incorporates federal guidance to surface eligible EV tax credits, alongside other critical information.
     
  • Plug in America, a non-profit organization, is committing to reach 250,000 consumers over the next year with PlugStar.com, its online EV information and shopping tool. 
     
  • Wells Fargo is releasing a new tool to support business leaders transitioning to electric vehicle fleets by modeling deployment that incorporates the cost of electrification, tax credits, cost savings, and environmental benefits. 
     
  • The American Public Transportation Association and the Edison Electric Institute are committing to develop and distribute a new resource for transit agencies to streamline their efforts to electrify their bus fleets.  

The EV Acceleration Challenge is accepting submissions on a rolling basis. The White House will be highlighting additional commitments soon including many more that were already submitted.
 
Organizations can submit a commitment on the EV Acceleration Challenge landing page.

Biden Administration, Climate Action, Climate Change, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Labor and Worker Issues, Manufacturing

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Rallies States, Cities and Companies to Boost Clean American Manufacturing

White House “Buy Clean” Convening Spurs New Commitments to Reduce Industrial Emissions and Support Made in America Steel, Concrete and More


American manufacturing is getting a new lease on life with the Biden Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiatives which leverages the Federal Government’s power as the largest purchaser in the world to advance low-carbon construction materials across its procurement and funded infrastructure projects. President Biden has ushered in an American manufacturing boom, with nearly 700,000 manufacturing jobs added during his Administration so far. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

At a White House convening, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory joined state leaders to share knowledge and discussed opportunities to collaborate on expanding the purchase of lower-carbon materials made by American workers. Ahead of this convening, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a new set of public and private sector commitments aligned with President Biden’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the Federal Government’s power as the largest purchaser in the world to advance low-carbon construction materials across its procurement and funded infrastructure projects.
 
President Biden has ushered in an American manufacturing boom, with nearly 700,000 manufacturing jobs added during his Administration so far. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the President secured historic investments to upgrade our nation’s infrastructure and grow our clean energy economy. By leveraging the U.S. Government’s purchasing power, President Biden is catalyzing markets and positioning American manufacturing to compete and lead.

Partnerships between state, Tribal, regional, local and industry leaders are critical to ensure that Buy Clean investments in clean manufacturing and climate-resilient infrastructure benefit all Americans across the country. President Biden’s Action Plan to Accelerate Infrastructure recognizes that over 90% of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding is delivered by non-federal agencies, underscoring the need for strong partnerships across public and private sectors. Building on recent Administration announcements through the Federal Buy Clean Initiative, today’s actions to create more good-paying manufacturing jobs while tackling the climate crisis include:  

  • New Federal Support: Federal agencies are supporting Buy Clean through new nationwide programs. The Department of Transportation is announcing that 25 states will receive the first Federal Highway Administration Climate Challenge grants to support sustainable pavements. The Department of Energy will coordinate Inflation Reduction Act funds for an Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program. This will help industrial facilities retrofit, upgrade, or install industrial technologies and produce low-carbon materials.
     
  • Private Sector Commitments: Companies are also stepping up and announcing new support for Buy Clean initiatives. Major manufacturers are committing to boost the supply of clean products made in America. Across the industrial sector, 60 companies have joined the Better Climate Challenge where they’ve committed to reducing portfolio-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 50% by 2030. At the same time, leading businesses are using their engineering, design and purchasing power to drive the demand for low-carbon construction materials.
     
  • State and Local Action: Leaders from 20 states will join today’s White House convening to share knowledge and discuss opportunities for collaboration and alignment between State Buy Clean efforts and the Federal Buy Clean Initiative. Cities are also harnessing their purchasing power through public works projects to shift the construction industry toward a cleaner future. Through initiatives like the C40 Clean Construction Accelerator and the Clean Construction Action Coalition, cities and industry leaders are working together to achieve thriving, resilient, and healthy communities—especially for the most vulnerable and historically-marginalized neighborhoods.


NEW FEDERAL SUPPORT

In September, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a major set of Buy Clean initiatives, including a policy to prioritize the Federal Government’s purchase of steel, concrete, asphalt, and flat glass that have lower embodied emissions across their lifecycle—including manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal. These construction materials account for nearly half of all GHG emissions from U.S. manufacturing.  
 
New actions from across the Biden-Harris Administration announced today include: 

  • The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is announcing grants for 25 State Departments of Transportation through the Climate Challenge to reduce GHG emissions in highway projects through the use of sustainable construction materials. It also supports the new Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) announced earlier this year that unlocks $6.4 billion in formula funding for states and localities over five years to develop carbon reduction strategies and address the climate crisis.
     
  • The Department of Energy (DOE), through the Better Climate Challenge, is partnering with organizations across the U.S. economy to set ambitious goals for reducing their carbon emissions, and to share real world strategies to decarbonize buildings and plants. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, three new industrial firms–Metal Technologies, Inc, Intertape Polymer Group, and Bentley Mills–have joined the Better Climate Challenge. Cleveland-Cliffs is the first American steel producer to participate in the Challenge, and represents the largest industrial energy user in DOE’s Better Plants program. DOE also recently launched the Industrial Heat Shot™ to develop cost-competitive solutions for industrial heating processes, used to make everything from food to cement and steel. The effort aims to not only realize at least 85% lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, but also support DOE’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap to reduce industrial emissions while benefitting workers and revitalizing communities.
     
  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is kicking off a series of stakeholder engagement sessions to help shape $350 million in new grants, technical assistance, and tools from the Inflation Reduction Act to lower GHG emissions in construction materials. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Industrial Partnership is also helping over 800 manufacturing companies improve energy efficiency in manufacturing plants. Industrial energy efficiency can provide over 30% of the emission reductions needed from the industrial sector in 2050.
     
  • The General Services Administration (GSA) recently issued a Clean Construction Materials Request for Information to gather input from industry partners on the availability of domestically-manufactured, locally sourced, and low-carbon construction materials. This feedback will help inform $2.15 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding for federal procurement of lower-carbon materials and products containing steel, concrete, flat glass, asphalt, and potentially other construction materials used in nationwide federal construction, modernization, and paving projects.
     
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is designing a new program supported by the Inflation Reduction Act. The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program will make funding available to support energy and water efficiency retrofits, make use of clean energy and energy storage, promote building electricity, and increase climate resilience for HUD-assisted multifamily properties. HUD has released a Request for Information to assess program design and uses for project funding and/or financing, including low-emission building materials or processes.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMITMENTS
 
Concrete and steel are the most widely used construction materials in the world. Each year, more than four billion tons of cement are produced, accounting for around 8% of global GHG emissions, all of which occur well before a concrete truck arrives on a job site. Federal, state, and local governments purchase about half of concrete poured and cast in the United States; the other half is purchased by the private sector. Strong partners in the manufacturing sector are innovating and investing in scaling up production of lower-carbon materials. At the same time, design, architecture and engineering firms are integrating cleaner materials into project designs, and major corporate purchasers are sending clear demand signals. Together, we can grow clean manufacturing jobs and reach net zero emissions:

  • General Motors will join the First Movers Coalition, the public-private partnership that intends to help commercialize zero-carbon technologies by harnessing purchasing power. General Motors joins the coalition as a member of the concrete sector, with an ambitious pledge to purchase at least 10% (by volume) near-zero concrete by 2030 and beyond.
     
  • Starbucks commits to reduce carbon emissions in its direct operations and supply chain 50% by 2030, including advancing measurement and reductions in embodied and lifecycle carbon for its equipment and building materials. Through the Greener Stores program, it has launched an open-source educational series, with actions that can be taken to support reductions in carbon, water and waste—including sourcing sustainable materials.
  • Lehigh Hanson, one of North America’s leading producers of cement, concrete and aggregate construction materials, commits to transforming concrete to carbon neutral by 2050, and to generating as much as 50% of revenues from sustainable products by 2030. This will be driven with product transparency and innovation in the manufacturing process and substantial CO2 reduction in its construction products.
     
  • Central Concrete, a subsidiary of Vulcan Materials Company, the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates, is collaborating on Buy Clean by continuing to develop mixes and evaluate technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with concrete production, and to partner with local governments on the development of low-carbon building specifications. The company has a proven track record of reducing carbon in concrete by up to 50%.
     
  • National Grid commits to work with suppliers to set carbon reduction targets that support net zero, including engaging its most carbon-intensive suppliers through CDP. National Grid will advance these and other priorities within the Federal Buy Clean Initiative.
     
  • Perkins&Will, the second-largest architecture firm in the world, commits to reducing embodied and operational carbon in the buildings and places it designs. The firm uses tools like the Embodied Carbon Calculator (EC3) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to reduce embodied carbon by 30% or more.
     
  • Organizations such as Breakthrough Energy, Meta, and Baker Concrete Construction are teaming up through the NEU Center to scale low carbon concrete solutions. The Center will drive adoption of innovative materials and technologies entering the marketplace. 
     
  • The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Structural Engineering Institute’s “SE 2050”  commits to achieving net zero embodied carbon structural systems by 2050. As of today, the program has 98 structural firms signed onto the commitment across 29 states and the District of Columbia.
     
  • Through “MEP 2040” over 50 Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) systems engineer and designer firms commit to achieve net zero carbon in their projects: operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040. Signatories request EPDs in project specifications for all building systems.
     
  • Clean Energy Buyers Institute (CEBI) has launched the Decarbonizing Industrial Supply Chain Energy (DISC-e) program to harness the collective power of large consumers to accelerate the market for low-carbon industrial commodities that use carbon-free energy throughout the manufacturing supply chain. Lightsource bp is building 2.0 gigawatts of clean energy, representing more than $2.1 billion of investments across America, with a commitment to domestic content and lower embodied carbon. They are driving demand for made-in-America solar manufactured by suppliers with a lower emissions footprint. Avangrid a member of Iberdrola, will support the group’s global commitment of specifying 100% net zero steel by 2050 and 50% by 2030.
     
  • Arup, a leading global engineering and design firm, commits to lifecycle carbon assessments for all buildings projects, and will help the sector to reach net zero by 2050. 
     
  • Carbon Leadership Forum announces 20 embodied carbon Regional Hubs across 16 states. Strong collaborations with building designers and policymakers have supported their Embodied Carbon educational series and the development of a pilot national database of whole building life cycle analysis models to set ambitious carbon-reduction targets and incentivize high-impact reduction strategies.
     
  • Lendlease and Robert Bird Group join the Climate Group’s ConcreteZero initiative today, committing to specify, buy and use 100% net zero concrete by 2040 and 2050 respectively, with two ambitious interim targets of using 30% low emission concrete by 2025 and 50% by 2030. Together, these global businesses send a strong demand signal for sustainably produced concrete to the U.S. market.
     
  • SSAB Americas commits to producing steel with zero emissions in the United States as early as 2023 (in limited quantities). And today, through the installation of an onsite, renewable fuel storage and supply system, SSAB is embracing emerging technologies that help put the steel industry on the path to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Biden Administration, Climate Action, Climate Change, Economic Development, Economy, Energy, Joe Biden, Manufacturing, News & Photo Features

FACT SHEET: Biden Takes Bold Executive Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing

Historic Actions Include Authorizing Defense Production Act to Lower Energy Costs, Strengthen Power Grid, and Create Good-Paying Jobs

Solar array on a farm in upstate New York. Biden is accelerating and incentivizing clean energy manufacture in the US. The nation is on track to triple domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2024 –  to reach 22.5 gigawatts by the end of Biden’s first term, enough to enable more than 3.3 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

I find it infuriating that the “news” is completely taken over by the latest travesties by Trump, Putin and Supreme Court, fueling anger and cynicism among Democrats and Progressives who may well take their anger out at the polls and simply not vote – that, I would remind you, is how we got Trump and this Christo Fascist Supreme Court. Biden Administration not doing anything on climate change? Inflation? Health care? Nonsense. This administration has been incredibly productive – finding real solutions, not bandaids, rhetoric and hype, that have at their foundation a sense of equity, sustainability and social justice. Want to solve inflation? Not by the Keystone Pipeline or overturning coal plant rules, but investing in EV infrastructure, as Biden wants to do. But you wouldn’t know it from the media, social or otherwise. It is our practice, then, to publish first-hand accounts from the White House, federal agencies and officials. –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Today’s clean energy technologies are a critical part of the arsenal we must harness to lower energy costs for families, reduce risks to our power grid, and tackle the urgent crisis of a changing climate. From day one, President Biden has mobilized investment in these critical technologies. Thanks to his clean energy and climate agenda, last year marked the largest deployment of solar, wind, and batteries in United States history, and our nation is now a magnet for investment in clean energy manufacturing.
 
Since President Biden took office, the private sector has committed over $100 billion in new private capital to make electric vehicles and batteries in the United States. We have made historic investments in clean hydrogen, nuclear, and other cutting-edge technologies. And companies are investing billions more to grow a new domestic offshore wind industry.
 
We are also now on track to triple domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2024. The expansions to domestic solar manufacturing capacity announced since President Biden took office will grow the current base capacity of 7.5 gigawatts by an additional 15 gigawatts. This would total 22.5 gigawatts by the end of his first term – enough to enable more than 3.3 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year.
 
While President Biden continues pushing Congress to pass clean energy investments and tax cuts, he is taking bold action to rapidly build on this progress and create a bridge to this American-made clean energy future. Today, President Biden is taking action to:  

  • Authorize use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies, including solar panel parts;
  • Put the full power of federal procurement to work spurring additional domestic solar manufacturing capacity by directing the development of master supply agreements, including “super preference” status; and
  • Create a 24-month bridge as domestic manufacturing rapidly scales up to ensure the reliable supply of components that U.S. solar deployers need to construct clean energy projects and an electric grid for the 21st century, while reinforcing the integrity of our trade laws and processes. 

 Together, these actions will spur domestic manufacturing, construction projects, and good-paying jobs – all while cutting energy costs for families, strengthening our grid, and tackling climate change and environmental injustice. With a stronger clean energy arsenal, the United States can be an even stronger partner to our allies, especially in the face of Putin’s war in Ukraine.
 
The stakes could not be higher. That is why President Biden also continues to urge Congress to quickly pass tax cuts and additional investments that advance U.S. clean energy manufacturing and deployment. Failing to take these actions would deny consumers access to cost-cutting clean energy options, add risks to our power grid, and stall domestic clean energy construction projects that are critical to tackling the climate crisis. At the same time, President Biden will keep using his executive authority to take bold action to build an American-made clean energy future.

INVOKING THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT FOR CLEAN ENERGY

Today, President Biden is authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies – unlocking new powers to meet this moment. Specifically, the President is authorizing the Department of Energy to use the DPA to rapidly expand American manufacturing of five critical clean energy technologies:

  • Solar panel parts like photovoltaic modules and module components;
  • Building insulation;
  • Heat pumps, which heat and cool buildings super efficiently;
  • Equipment for making and using clean electricity-generated fuels, including electrolyzers, fuel cells, and related platinum group metals; and
  • Critical power grid infrastructure like transformers.

In deploying the DPA, the Biden-Harris Administration will strongly encourage the use of strong labor standards, including project labor agreements and community benefits agreements that offer wages at or above the prevailing rate and include local hire provisions. The Administration also will strongly encourage projects with environmental justice outcomes that empower the clean energy transition in low-income communities historically overburdened by legacy pollution.
 
Following this announcement, the White House and the Department of Energy will convene relevant industry, labor, environmental justice, and other key stakeholders as we maximize the impact of the DPA tools made available by President Biden’s actions and strengthen domestic clean energy manufacturing.
 
BOOSTING MADE-IN-AMERICA CLEAN ENERGY WITH FEDERAL PROCUREMENT
 
President Biden is also putting the full power of federal procurement to work spurring additional domestic solar manufacturing capacity. Today, the President directed the development of two innovative tools to accelerate Made-in-America clean energy:

  • Master Supply Agreements for domestically manufactured solar systems to increase the speed and efficiency with which domestic clean electricity providers can sell their products to the U.S. Government; and
  • So-called “Super Preferences” to apply domestic content standards for federal procurement of solar systems, including domestically manufactured solar photovoltaic components, consistent with the Buy American Act.

These federal procurement measures can stimulate demand for up to a gigawatt of domestically produced solar modules in the near term, and up to 10 gigawatts over the next decade from U.S. government demand alone. To further increase the impact of these actions, the Administration will also partner with state and local governments and municipal utilities in these innovative arrangements – increasing the potential market impact over the next decade to as much as over 100 gigawatts. These procurement actions will provide a significant demand anchor for a revitalized domestic solar manufacturing industry.
 
SUPPORT FOR U.S. GRID-STRENGTHENING, CLEAN ENERGY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
 
Because of private investor confidence in President Biden’s leadership and our national commitment to a clean energy future, the United States is now on track to triple its solar manufacturing capacity by 2024. The expansions to domestic solar manufacturing capacity announced since the President took office will grow the current 7.5 gigawatts of capacity by an additional 15 gigawatts of capacity, for a total of 22.5 gigawatts by the end of his first term – enough to enable more than 3.3 million homes to switch to clean solar energy every year. To rapidly build on this progress and create a bridge to this American-made clean energy future, we need to boost short-term solar panel supply to support construction projects in the United States right now. This is because grid operators around the country are relying on planned solar projects to come online to ensure there is sufficient power to meet demand, and to ensure we can continue to deploy solar at the rates needed to keep us on track to meet the President’s climate goals. 
 
Today, President Biden is using his powers to create a 24-month bridge for certain solar imports while reinforcing the integrity of our trade laws and processes. Specifically, the President is:

  • Temporarily facilitating U.S. solar deployers’ ability to source solar modules and cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam by providing that those components can be imported free of certain duties for 24 months in order to ensure the U.S. has access to a sufficient supply of solar modules to meet electricity generation needs while domestic manufacturing scales up; and
  • Reinforcing his commitment to safeguarding the integrity and independence of all ongoing trade investigations by career officials at the Department of Commerce and recognizing the vital role these processes play in strengthening our economy.

ADDITIONAL STEPS TO CUT COSTS, SUPPORT GOOD-PAYING JOBS, AND ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
 
Today’s actions build on this Administration’s existing initiatives to grow domestic clean energy innovation and manufacturing and to lower energy costs for Americans, including: 

  • Permitting More Clean Energy on Public Lands. As part of the Biden-Harris Permitting Action Plan, a new five-agency collaboration is expediting reviews of clean energy projects on public lands through the Department of the Interior, helping us race ahead toward permitting at least 25 gigawatts by 2025 – enough to power around five million homes. These actions have already increased clean energy permitting activities by 35 percent, including major solar project approvals and leases. We have also launched five new Renewable Energy Coordination Offices and reduced rents and fees by more than 50 percent for solar and wind projects on public lands.
     
  • Boosting Community-Based Clean Energy in Cities and Rural Areas. The Biden-Harris Administration is helping 17 local communities remove red tape with the SolarAPP+ online tool to enable same-day approvals for residential solar installation permits, and an additional 400 interested communities are in the pipeline. The National Climate Task Force launched new initiatives on increasing deployment of Distributed Energy Resources, including rooftop solar, with a focus on bringing the benefits of these projects to underserved communities. The United States Department of Agriculture provided the largest-ever investment in rural renewable energy last year. In addition, the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services are partnering to develop and pilot a digital platform that will connect customers who are eligible for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program with community solar subscriptions, to further reduce customer energy costs. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is working with municipalities to enable residents of affordable housing to directly benefit from low-cost community solar power without seeing a rent increase or adjustment to their utility allowance.
     
  • Supporting a Diverse Solar Workforce with Good-Paying Jobs, including pathways to stable careers with the free and fair choice to join a union. Solar industry jobs consistently rank among the top fastest-growing in the nation, and many require only a high school education or GED. The Economic Development Administration recently awarded funding to support solar employment training in tribal and coal-impacted communities. In addition, the Department of Energy has issued a Request for Information and hosted six workshops to determine common goals and needs from stakeholders, including industry, unions, and training organizations. DOE will continue to explore these issues, including by providing funding, new collaborations with industry, other federal agencies, and state-based job boards to develop equitable worker-centric training and education programs, work-based learning opportunities, and support services such as career counseling, mentorship, and job readiness programs.
     
  • Developing Clean Energy Domestic Manufacturing for Export and Building Capacity in Allied Nations. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Make More in America Initiative, approved by the EXIM board in April, will prioritize investments to expand clean energy manufacturing. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation supports building resilient clean energy manufacturing supply chains in allied nations around the world, reducing global dependence on China.
     
  • Investing in Clean Energy for Resilience in Puerto Rico: The Biden-Harris Administration joined forces with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to advance dozens of solar energy projects that will enable Puerto Rico to meet its target of 100% renewable electricity, while improving power sector resilience and increasing access to more affordable energy and cleaner air. 
Biden Administration, Climate Action, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Manufacturing

Biden-Harris Administration Advances Cleaner Industrial Sector to Reduce Emissions and Reinvigorate American Manufacturing

New Pro-Climate, Pro-Worker Actions Create Jobs and Harness the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Federal Purchasing Power, and Trade Policy

The Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions across agencies to support American leadership on clean manufacturing—including low-carbon production of the steel and aluminum needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels, and the clean concrete needed to upgrade our transportation infrastructure, like New York City’s rebuilt Moynihan Station. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

We publish these fact sheets – long, detailed –  from the White House to counter the disinformation that the Biden Administration “isn’t doing anything”- especially on the issues that matter most to progressives, like climate action, jobs, workers rights and income growth aimed at reducing the enormous wealth gap. In fact, on almost a daily basis, the administration – without the help of a paralyzed, dysfunctional Congress – is accomplishing significant reforms and innovations to benefit the daily lives of Americans.- Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions across agencies to support American leadership on clean manufacturing—including low-carbon production of the steel and aluminum we need for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels, and the clean concrete we need to upgrade our transportation infrastructure. These actions will create more good-paying jobs and follow on a historic comeback for American factories, with 367,000 manufacturing jobs added during President Biden’s first year in office, the most in nearly 30 years. Further strengthening our industrial base will revitalize local economies, lower prices for consumers, provide more pathways to the middle class through union jobs, and boost American competitiveness in global markets. 
 
The industrial sector is also central to tackling the climate crisis, as it is currently responsible for nearly a third of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. By helping manufacturers use clean energy, efficiency upgrades, and other innovative technologies to reduce emissions, the Administration is supporting cleaner industry that can produce the next generation of products and materials for a net-zero economy. These same manufacturing improvements will also protect public health, by reducing releases of air and water pollutants and toxic materials that disproportionately harm low-income households and communities of color.
 
Today’s announcements will clean up industrial processes that have long been challenging sources of pollution; create good-paying, union jobs across American manufacturing; and use domestic procurement and global trade policy to reward clean, American-made materials:

  • The Department of Energy is launching major clean hydrogen initiatives of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that will create jobs to expand use of clean hydrogen in the industrial sector and beyond; $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program to reduce costs of hydrogen produced from clean electricity; and $500 million for Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Initiatives to support equipment manufacturing and strong domestic supply chains.
     
  • The Council on Environmental Quality and White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy are establishing the first-ever Buy Clean Task Force, which will harness the federal government’s massive purchasing power to support low-carbon materials made in American factories. The General Services Administration and the Department of Transportation are also announcing new efforts to promote use of low-carbon materials in construction projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the State Department and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate are securing corporate purchasing commitments for low-carbon materials and technologies through the First Movers Coalition.
     
  • The Administration is advancing carbon-based trade policies to reward American manufacturers of clean steel and aluminum. Working with the European Union, the Administration is taking steps to align global trade with climate goals, which will keep out dirty products and result in more jobs and lower prices for Americans.
     
  • The Council on Environmental Quality is issuing new guidance on responsible deployment of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration (CCUS) technologies that can reduce emissions from heavy industry and help us achieve a net-zero economy. This guidance will support CCUS projects that create union jobs and protect communities from cumulative pollution impacts. Actions by agencies will incorporate environmental justice considerations across CCUS activities. 
     
  • To equitably advance innovation across the entire sector, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is launching a new Initiative for Interdisciplinary Industrial Decarbonization Research with a focus on benefitting American workers and communities. The Department of Energy is working to establish the Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee (ITIAC) to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders charged with creating a comprehensive strategy to lower the carbon footprint of America’s industrial base.

These actions and continued implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will reduce climate pollution from industrial facilities, while growing the economy and creating jobs in producing clean materials—which customers around the world are increasingly demanding.
 
With a strong foundation in place from today’s announcements, the President’s Build Back Better agenda will further boost clean manufacturing and American competitiveness for decades to come, by supporting low-carbon processes across our industrial base; driving long-term investment in our clean steel, cement, and aluminum industries; and increasing domestic production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and more. Earlier this month, the House passed the America COMPETES Act, which would strengthen supply chains, lower prices, and create more manufacturing jobs, while decarbonizing the industrial sector—including through a $250 million Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program and new programs to decarbonize American steel.

Specifically, today the Administration is announcing new efforts on:
 
Accelerating Clean Hydrogen
 
Clean hydrogen can reduce emissions in many sectors of the economy, and is especially important for hard-to-decarbonize sectors and industrial processes, such as steel manufacturing. But clean hydrogen is not yet in widespread use. Targeted investments can help reduce costs, make new breakthroughs, and create jobs for American engineers, factory workers, construction workers, and others.   
 
To seize those opportunities, today the Department of Energy (DOE) is launching three major new initiatives of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by issuing Requests for Information:

  • $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs: DOE will support development of networks of clean hydrogen producers, potential consumers, and connective infrastructure. These regional hubs will advance the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen, including innovative uses in the industrial sector. DOE will prioritize hubs that can provide significant training and long-term job opportunities for residents of the region.
     
  • $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program: Electrolysis (using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen) allows for clean hydrogen production from carbon pollution-free power sources like wind, solar, and nuclear. This program will improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these technologies, by supporting the entire innovation chain—from research, development, and demonstration to commercialization, and deployment.
     
  • $500 million for Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling RD&D Activities: DOE will also support American manufacturing of clean hydrogen equipment, including projects that improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness and support domestic supply chains for key components, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing Initiative. DOE is also launching Clean Hydrogen Technology Recycling Research, Development, and Demonstration activities, to fund innovative approaches to increase the reuse and recycling of clean hydrogen technologies.

These Requests for Information will gather feedback from stakeholders and communities on future implementation and priorities for DOE to consider as it moves forward with maximizing the benefits of the historic clean hydrogen programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
 
To further support DOE’s Hydrogen Shot to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 for one kilogram in one decade, last week DOE announced $28 million for R&D and front-end engineering design projects to advance clean hydrogen in industrial uses, as well as the transportation and electricity sectors. DOE’s new H2 Matchmaker resource is helping clean hydrogen producers, end-users, and others find opportunities to develop networks of production, storage, and transportation infrastructure. H2 Matchmaker displays a map using information received through an online form, which stakeholders can use to connect with others nearby.
 
The Administration’s Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization is bringing together stakeholders from across the private sector, philanthropy, labor, and community-based organizations to catalyze new job opportunities for energy communities, including in clean hydrogen. For example, a December roundtable included discussion of efforts to reduce emissions and create jobs in the South Louisiana industrial corridor. The region is a finalist in the Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. An initial grant will help them continue to plan their clean hydrogen cluster, and they are eligible to apply for a Phase 2 implementation grant.
 
Launching “Buy Clean” Procurement

The federal government is the largest purchaser in the world, with annual purchasing power of over $650 billion. To harness that power to support low-carbon, made in America materials, the Council on Environmental Quality and White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy are establishing the first-ever Buy Clean Task Force. As directed by the President’s December 2021executive order on federal sustainability, the Task Force will promote use of construction materials with lower embodied emissions and pollutants across their lifecycle—including each stage of the manufacturing process.

Other members include the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; the General Services Administration; and the White House Office of Management and Budget. The Task Force, which will continue to expand, is convening to develop recommendations on:

  • Identifying materials, such as steel and concrete, as well as pollutants to prioritize for consideration in Federal procurement and federally funded projects
  • Increasing the transparency of embodied emissions through supplier reporting, including incentives and technical assistance to help domestic manufacturers better report and reduce embodied emissions
  • Launching pilot programs to boost federal procurement of clean construction materials 

With the Buy Clean Task Force now established, the federal government is at the leading edge of using public procurement to increase demand for cleanly manufactured materials, along with states including California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, and Washington.

Buy Clean efforts are already well underway at the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages a nationwide federal real estate portfolio and oversees approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. Over the past year, GSA has actively engaged stakeholders to learn and adopt best practices for reducing embodied emissions of buildings and materials. Today, GSA is issuing Requests for Information (RFIs) focused on concrete and asphalt. In the coming weeks, GSA will use the RFI responses to shape the launch of national low-carbon concrete and sustainable asphalt standards for Land Port of Entry projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This groundbreaking effort may include requiring Environmental Product Declarations (disclosing lifecycle impacts) and the use of concrete with at least 20% lower global warming potential, whenever available.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is announcing new efforts to support use of low-carbon materials in federal transportation projects. A new pilot program will target key products and services to increase use of Environmental Product Declarations and incentivize acquisition of low-carbon materials. Additionally, DOT is standing up a Department-wide Embodied Carbon Working Group to assess and implement actions to reduce lifecycle emissions of construction materials used in transportation infrastructure.

The Administration is also bringing together large corporate purchasers to Buy Clean. At COP26, President Biden launched the First Movers Coalition, with 34 companies valued at $6 trillion—the biggest demand signal in history for innovation across hard-to-abate sectors, including heavy industry. Led by the State Department through the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the World Economic Forum, and supported by the Departments of Commerce and Energy, the First Movers Coalition is making clean purchasing commitments, beginning with steel, shipping, trucking, and aviation. Today, the Administration is announcing plans to expand the First Movers Coalition to cover four additional sectors in 2022: aluminum, cement, chemicals, and carbon removal.
 
The Administration is also mobilizing investment in the production of clean technologies by the Department of Energy, including the Loan Programs Office, the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, as well as through a partnership between the First Movers Coalition and the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. The First Movers Coalition will recruit additional companies and launch challenge competitions for suppliers to provide the breakthrough technologies that members have committed to purchase.
 
Using Trade Policy to Reward Clean Manufacturing
 
In October, the United States and the European Union announced their commitment to negotiate the world’s first emissions-based sectoral arrangement on steel and aluminum trade by 2024. Following on that announcement, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and senior White House officials are continuing to work with European Union counterparts on this unprecedented effort—never before have two global partners aligned their trade policies to confront the threats of climate change and global market distortions, ensuring that trade works to solve the challenges of the 21st century.
 
Together, the United States and European Union are working to restrict access to their markets for dirty steel and limit access to countries that dump steel in both markets, contributing to worldwide over-supply. The arrangement will be open to any interested country that wishes to join and meets criteria for restoring market orientation and reducing trade in high-emissions steel and aluminum products. It will thus drive investment in green steel and aluminum production in the United States, Europe, and around the world, ensuring a competitive U.S. steel and aluminum industry for decades to come.
 
Responsibly Advancing CCUS Technologies

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration (CCUS) refers to technologies that remove carbon pollution from point sources like smokestacks, or from the ambient air, and permanently store the carbon. In factories, CCUS can reduce emissions from chemical reactions and high-temperature processes that are difficult and expensive to electrify. The best scientific analyses also find that to achieve a net-zero economy, we will need to remove carbon pollution that has already been released in the atmosphere. While CCUS can be an important tool in tackling the climate crisis, the benefits and impacts of potential projects vary significantly—requiring careful planning and oversight to ensure deployment is safe, equitable, and environmentally sound.
 
To help federal agencies advance CCUS responsibly, today the Council on Environmental Quality is issuing CCUS guidance. This guidance, called for in the bipartisan USE IT Act, builds on CEQ’s June 2021 CCUS report and addresses issues including: 

  • Sound and transparent environmental reviews for CCUS projects
  • Incorporation of environmental justice and equity considerations to protect overburdened communities from any direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
  • Meaningful public engagement and Tribal consultations from early in the process
  • Opportunities to create good-paying, union jobs and training programs
  • Life cycle analyses of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects

As agencies prepare to implement more than $12 billion in CCUS investments provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this guidance will promote projects informed by community perspectives and aligned with climate, public health, and economic goals.
 
To further support responsible deployment:

  • The Environmental Protection Agency is developing proposed rule revisions to strengthen the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to improve transparency on CCUS activities. This Program collects and publishes annual greenhouse gas data from large industrial sources, and the proposed updates would add reporting requirements for direct air capture and carbon storage.
  • To train a racially diverse, highly skilled generation of engineers and scientists for carbon management roles, DOE is announcing $5 million for university training and research projects, including $2 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
  • The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council and its member agencies are working together to facilitate collaborative CCUS project reviews.
  • The Department of the Interior is working to establish safeguards for geologic sequestration on federally managed lands and is developing new regulations for geologic sequestration in the outer continental shelf as required under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Supporting Equitable Innovation Across the Industrial Sector
 
Supporting the industrial sector to achieve net-zero emissions will provide benefits to communities across the country. To ensure that innovations in this sector meet the needs of diverse stakeholders, the Administration is launching a new Initiative for Interdisciplinary Industrial Decarbonization Research. Led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), this Initiative will bring together social scientists, engineering and physical scientists, community groups, industry, government, and other stakeholders. As a first step, OSTP is convening a workshop to get advice from social science thought leaders about the research agenda needed to support rapid, widespread industrial decarbonization. This research will help build the consensus necessary to ensure a just transition to clean industry, with new, good-paying jobs for American workers and health and economic benefits for communities.
 
To identify and catalyze the next generation of breakthroughs, DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office is launching the Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee (ITIAC). This federal advisory committee will bring together a diverse cross-section of the industrial sector to find viable decarbonization pathways that will equitably benefit the industrial workforce and surrounding communities. DOE has also issued a Request for Information on Industrial Decarbonization. This RFI will provide insights on emerging technologies for industry to demonstrate or adopt, including for clean production of iron and steel, cement, chemicals, and food and beverages. The Advanced Manufacturing Office will use this information to shape priorities for reducing industrial emissions and increasing competitiveness.
 
Additionally, DOE is helping manufacturers optimize use of energy and materials while training the workforce of the future through its Industrial Assessment Centers—which provide no-cost energy assessments conducted by university-based teams of engineering students and faculty. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE will expand the Industrial Assessment Centers program by offering specialized training to staff and students and increasing access to innovation and workforce development opportunities, particularly in disadvantaged communities. These actions build on a year of progress—in 2021, DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office invested more than $332 million in industrial technical assistance, education and workforce development, and R&D at every stage of the supply chain.
 
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also partnering with manufacturers through the ENERGY STAR program, which challenges and supports industrial plants in improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. EPA is now expanding ENERGY STAR by incorporating carbon intensity metrics for certain industries. Going forward, EPA will continue to increase ENERGY STAR’s focus on ambitious emissions reductions that support net-zero goals across the industrial sector.