“We’re at a point where nobody knows what the final bill might look like or where the votes are,” Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill. “We know where the votes were last time, but that was a different time and it was a different bill than what we’re talking about today.” The bill would be a watered-down version of broader China competitiveness legislation that has been stalled amid intra-party wrangling and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s threat to derail it if Democrats move forward with a separate partisan economic package. Republican leaders had previously said they would be open to passing a narrow bill focused primarily on semiconductor chip manufacturing, but on Thursday, Thune accused Democrats of mishandling the chip legislation. The South Dakota Republican said House Democrats “held it up there for almost a year and then when they finally did, they loaded it with a bunch of foreign stuff that they knew couldn’t get through here.” “There was some Republican support for the original bill in the Senate, but it’s going to depend a lot on what’s in it. And we just don’t know. They’ve got the ball rolling on that,” he said of Democrats who control the chamber. The fight comes as the Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Congress to act on chip legislation before lawmakers leave for summer recess in the coming weeks. Earlier Thursday, Schumer said senators would introduce a bill that could include, “at a minimum — the emergency funding for CHIPS and the investment tax credit from the FABS Act,” which stands for Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors, according to with the source. Schumer also indicated that more items could be added if a deal is reached. This story and headline have been updated with additional developments on Thursday.
