U.S. Congresswoman Cindy Axne

Iowa’s Third Congressional District Representative Cindy Axne recently passed legislation through the House called the Competes Act that will address supply chain problems in the US. 

Axne says this bill would alleviate economic issues such as lower prices, solve supply chain issues, booster American manufacturing and create opportunities for Iowans. Axne describes a portion of the bill targets the vehicle industry to fight supply chain issues. 

“One of the most important things that it will do is lower the cost of cars, which have been a major driver of inflation because we’ll be investing in more semiconductor production here at home. You know, we only produce five percent of the semiconductor chips that we need. There are ,2000 chips on average within one vehicle. So imagine when we’re reliant on other countries to provide that really important piece for our vehicle production here, and we only produce five percent.”

She says this bill also provides grants, loans and nearly one million new apprenticeships for businesses who make goods in America.

According to Representative Axne, this bill would allow for $52 billion to boost private sector investments in US semiconductors to make chips. The Competes Act passed through the House with a vote of 222-210.