Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), along with Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-2) have introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Strengthening Essential Manufacturing and Industrial (SEMI) Investment Act, landmark legislation that closes the most significant remaining gap in U.S. semiconductor policy: the lack of support for the materials that make chip manufacturing possible.
For years, China has controlled the global market for substrates, thin films, lithography materials, process chemicals, and other inputs that American fabs depend on. The SEMI Investment Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators Bennet, Blackburn, Tillis, and Coons, directly counters that imbalance. By extending the CHIPS tax credit to upstream materials, the bill ensures these capabilities are built in the United States, not outsourced to strategic competitors.
This reform strengthens America’s economic resilience, reduces exposure to coercive supply-chain pressures, and reinforces the industrial base that supports our national defense.
This legislation is supported by the leading organizations across America’s semiconductor, advanced materials, chemical, and manufacturing sectors, including SEMI, Entegris, CoorsTek, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Qnity Electronics, Brewer Science, the American Chemistry Council, the Compressed Gas Association, and EFC Gases & Advanced Materials.
“Semiconductor leadership starts long before a chip ever reaches a fabrication line—it starts with the materials that make modern manufacturing possible. Our SEMI Investment Act ensures those materials are built here at home. By expanding the credit to upstream suppliers, we secure every link of the semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen our resilience, reduce dependence on China, and give American manufacturers the certainty they need to compete, innovate, and lead,” said Fitzpatrick. “This is a bipartisan, practical solution to a structural weakness in our supply chain, and positions the United States to stay ahead for decades to come.”
Fitzpatrick continued, “Pennsylvania is already a national hub for advanced manufacturing, research, and engineering talent — and this legislation builds directly on that strength. As colleagues and proud Pennsylvanians, Congressman Boyle and I are working to bring materials production home, drive new investment into our region, support high-quality jobs, and ensure that Pennsylvania’s workers and industries remain at the forefront of America’s semiconductor future.”
“Revitalizing American semiconductor manufacturing is essential to our economic strength and our national security. I was proud to support the CHIPS and Science Act — and our new legislation builds on that work by strengthening our semiconductor supply chain for the long term,”said Boyle.
Key Provisions of the Semi Investment Act
- Expands the CHIPS Act tax credit to include upstream materials essential to semiconductor production.
- Provides clear statutory definitions for direct and indirect production materials, reducing uncertainty for industry planning and investment.
- Requires annual materials qualification lists from Treasury and Commerce, with an expedited review pathway for emerging technologies.
- Extends the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit through 2031, aligning federal incentives with long-horizon capital investments.
Why This Legislation Is Urgently Needed
- China controls up to 85% of global processing of rare earth elements and key semiconductor inputs.
- These materials underpin America’s defense systems, AI computing, clean energy technologies, medical devices, and the broader innovation economy.
- Without domestic materials production, CHIPS-funded fabs remain vulnerable to supply shocks, export controls, and strategic coercion from the Chinese Communist Party.
Background
Congressman Fitzpatrick has been a leading champion of strengthening America’s semiconductor competitiveness and rebuilding domestic manufacturing capacity. He was a champion of the original CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in 2022, which reestablished U.S. leadership in advanced chip production, created the 25% Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC), and helped drive more than $630 billion in announced semiconductor investments nationwide.
In 2023, Fitzpatrick also backed the Building Chips in America Act, which removed permitting barriers, accelerated project timelines, improved federal coordination, and ensured CHIPS investments could move from planning to construction more quickly. Together, these landmark laws launched the largest resurgence of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing in decades.
The SEMI Investment Act builds directly on that progress by expanding the CHIPS tax credit to the upstream materials sector, the final missing link in establishing a fully American semiconductor supply chain.
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