ICYMI: Ron Johnson Votes Against Job-Creating Legislation While Advocating for Outsourcing Products
MADISON, Wis. — Last week, a new report detailed that Ron Johnson, who led the charge to try and kill the CHIPS act and has praised outsourcing, is now bemoaning companies that outsource the production of chips. The legislation also addresses supply chain issues and makes the United States more competitive with China.
UpNorthNews: High-Tech Manufacturing Could Expand in Wisconsin, but Without Support from Outsourcing Advocate Ron Johnson
Key points:
- The new law that fixes a major supply chain gap and makes the US less reliant on China for high-tech components passed Congress six weeks ago on a broad bipartisan vote.
- But it was opposed by Sen. Ron Johnson, who blamed American manufacturers for their plight during a speech in the Fox Valley two weeks ago.
- Sen. Ron Johnson, a frequent advocate of outsourcing—who once said, “Let the billions of people around the world do that and provide us these goods—high quality, dirt cheap”—criticized American manufacturers that rely on chips supplied from overseas.”
- “I would largely blame the big users of semiconductors because they have allowed this supplier to produce chips in a geopolitically unstable way,” Johnson told the Fox West Chamber of Commerce on August 31. “That’s really on US businesses, car manufacturers, that kind of stuff. What would have happened without the CHIPS bill is, you know Germany is going to start producing, I think that’s a pretty stable place, we could get the chips there.”
- “We think about Silicon Valley as sort of the dominant place of innovation,” Brandon said. “What this legislation does and what this investment does is creates the opportunity for the heartland of the country, the middle part of the country to become those places of innovation so that we remain globally competitive.”
- “Wisconsin could again find itself on a short list for landing a chipmaking facility,” said Tom Still of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
- Rural Wisconsin can also benefit from the CHIPS Act through a $1 billion economic development program in the new law that targets distressed communities in need of transitioning their economy or making improvements such as expanded broadband service that can attract new job development.
- Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin served on the conference committee that worked out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
- “To me, it’s simple,” Baldwin said in a July statement, “We need Made in America chips to better support our Made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy.”
- Kaplan noted that all of the state’s congressional Republicans voted no, most likely to avoid showing any support for the Democratic president even if it’s good for business.
- “Johnson, defying logic, said the CHIPS bill would fuel the flames of inflation,” Kaplan wrote. “The so-called businessman senator does not apparently grasp the law of supply and demand. Most of our chips are made in Asia. Supply chain shortages of chips shut down US manufacturing of cars, leading to price increases. Same for other products made in America. Baldwin, unlike Johnson, understands pocketbook issues.”
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