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Proposed Chip Act aims to boost high-tech manufacturing in Prince George's County
Could Prince George’s County become the Silicon Valley of the East Coast? That’s a goal of a new bill introduced Tuesday in the county council. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald has all the details.
LARGO, Md. - Could Prince George’s County become the Silicon Valley of the East Coast?
That’s a goal of a new bill introduced Tuesday in the county council.
Prince George’s County already has the kind of businesses a lot of places would envy. There's an NFL stadium, a major casino, and an entertainment complex.
What they don’t have is a lot of high-tech manufacturing. But the county is thinking a gold rush of domestic computer chip manufacturing could change that.
On Tuesday morning, Councilmember Mel Franklin introduced the Prince George’s County Chip Act. It creates a 10-year investment incentive for companies to move here, and develop and build semiconductor computer chips.
Computer chip makers must provide child care, other benefits if they want federal funding
The Commerce Department is opening the application process for computer chip manufacturers to access $39 billion in government support to build new factories and expand production.
Councimember Franklin told FOX 5 that much of this work is done in China and that holds the U.S. economy, hostage.
"If they’re going to be regionalizing hubs built all over America with this $280 billion in federal dollars, why not here in Prince George’s County? We’ve not historically been a technology hub, but we need to change that!" Franklin said.
The Biden Administration’s Chips Act has the federal government investing $280 billion nationwide in computer chip manufacturing. Franklin says Prince George’s has more than enough industrial space, but too often it’s only attracted warehouses. Folks tell FOX 5, creating an ‘east coast Silicon Valley’ could be a new image for the county
Local officials say this could also be a boost to Maryland’s efforts to land the new FBI headquarters. There’s a lot of money at stake here. These computer chip hubs are going to come with federal grants to create a manufacturing industry to compete with China.
Full hearings on the bill are expected this fall.