Press Releases

Sen. Rick Scott Sends Open Letter to U.S. House: Reject the CHIPS and Science Act

July 27, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, after the U.S. Senate passed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act, Senator Rick Scott released the following open letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to reject the massive, pro-China package. Senator Scott’s letter comes just minutes after Senate Democrats, led by Senator Joe Manchin, announced a deal on a new, partisan reckless tax-and-spending spree that raises taxes by nearly $740 BILLION and contains more than $430 BILLION in new spending.

 

Read the full letter HERE or below.

July 27, 2022

 

Dear Colleague:

 

            As a member of the House of Representatives, you will soon have the opportunity to vote on the CHIPS and Science Act.

 

I don’t want to mince my words: this pro-China legislation will weaken America’s standing on the world stage. Our nation is $30 trillion in debt and this bill spends $280 billion that we don’t have. It sets a dangerous precedent for massive, taxpayer-funded corporate welfare to the world’s most profitable corporations without any accountability or guarantee of return on investment (ROI) for the American people. Even worse, the bill lacks basic safeguards and would allow corporations to use American tax dollars to build factories in Communist China and expand their share of the Chinese semiconductor market.

 

I strongly opposed this legislation in the Senate and urge you to do the same. As Members of Congress, we are here to represent the interests of our constituents. We are not here to curry favor on behalf of massive, multi-billion-dollar corporations, and we are certainly not here to lobby for the Chinese Communist Party. Yet those entities – not the American people – will be the primary beneficiaries of the $280 billion bill that will soon come before you. While many in Washington claim to fight against corporate special interests, this bill is one of the grossest gifts to corporate America I have ever seen.

 

Under the bill, massive, multi-billion-dollar corporations, like Intel, will have access to Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to build manufacturing plants and get tax write-offs. Are there any strings attached? Not really. Already-profitable companies will still be able to operate and expand their business in Communist China – even in the event that Taiwan is invaded.

 

There is no requirement for chipmakers to build a certain number of plants here in the United States or commit to not outsourcing American jobs overseas. There are no quotas that chipmakers need to hit, so Americans can be sure we will never have to rely on risky supply chains. And, after billions of dollars in federal investments, taxpayers are not guaranteed any return.

 

Worse still, while giving the chipmakers all the concessions they lobbied for so they can keep working with Communist China, the CHIPS and Science Act works like a blank check with virtually no accountability measures to protect the massive taxpayer spending it authorizes and no ROI requirements.

 

This is not smart legislation and it’s not worthy of being considered an investment in America’s national security. This is just a huge spending bill funded with Americans’ tax dollars that gives corporations and Communist China everything they want while leaving American workers and American families with little in return.

 

I hope you will join me in standing up for American taxpayers and oppose this bill.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rick Scott

U.S. Senator

 

Read more about Senator Scott’s fight against the wasteful “CHIPS Act”:

 

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