Environmentalists are pressuring President Biden to veto a bill that would weaken federal oversight of semiconductor manufacturing.
But Biden is reportedly planning to sign the bill, which was quickly moved through both the House and the Senate and has support from lawmakers in key battleground states.
The bill would exempt semiconductor manufacturing facilities that receive federal funding from environmental review.
Opponents warn this could lead to less oversight of the industry and increased pollution.
Harry Mannin, deputy legislative director for industry policy and trade at the Sierra Club, said that if the bill becomes law, “whether facilities are using PFAS or other hazardous chemicals will henceforth be completely secret.”
“There will be no need to report,” Manin said. “It was really a last resort for the community and the workers…” A commitment to transparency — so that we can communicate with companies through federal, state and venue [they] Mitigation and possibly elimination measures can be negotiated.”
The bill passed the Senate unanimously late last year without much attention. This week, the bill moved quickly through the House, passing the House on Monday by a vote of 257-125 despite not being heard by a House committee.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, told The Hill that not moving the bill through committee would represent a “significant departure” from normal procedure.
She added that eliminating environmental review entirely would be “unwise,” given the historical pollution associated with semiconductor manufacturing.
Speaking on the floor, other opponents expressed similar concerns.
“Semiconductor manufacturing has never been clean. It has left a legacy of pollution, toxic waste and even poisoned workers,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennsylvania) said Monday. “Miscarriages, cancer and entire communities continue to suffer the effects today.”
She added that the bill “ignores all the lessons learned and is designed to recreate the same harmful chaos we've seen in Silicon Valley, but on an even larger scale.”
Despite these concerns, White House officialsHe told PoliticoBiden will likely sign the bill into law.
In a statement, the official said the bill would “allow us to continue our efforts to ensure that Americans across the country can benefit from Invest in America while protecting our communities and the environment.”
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill about whether Biden would sign the bill or how he would respond to criticism from environmentalists.
The bill follows the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which pumped $280 billion into building, expanding and modernizing semiconductor manufacturing.
Semiconductors are used in a wide range of technologies, from mobile phones and computers to weapons systems and renewable energy.
But their manufacturing Historically included Carcinogens like arsenic and benzene.
A major concern today is the use of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), which are widespread in the environment and humans and have been linked to cancer and other health problems.
The bill has faced opposition from mainstream Democrats but is supported by vulnerable lawmakers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who touted its passage in the House in writing.
“This bill will prevent delays to semiconductor manufacturing projects made possible by the CHIPS Act and encourage future investment in American manufacturing,” he said.
House co-sponsors of the bill include Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who are both in hotly contested Senate races.
But opponents of the bill argued that Biden should not sign it.
“I think he should veto it,” Lofgren told The Hill, “but he's the president and I'm not.”
