Team, 

Congress currently faces a critical moment for the future of auto manufacturing in Michigan, and it all comes down to a 14-cent microchip.

The microchip shortage has been a major focus of my work in D.C. for over a year. It’s forced auto plants and parts suppliers in Michigan to open and shut assembly lines on a day-by-day basis, causing instability in our supply chain. It has upended not only our economy, but the daily lives of tens of thousands of workers who rely on these jobs to provide for their families.

You can read more about this issue in this op-ed I wrote in the Detroit News:

Since last year, I’ve been working with a bipartisan coalition to move the CHIPS Act – a bill that would incentivize the production of microchips by U.S. companies AND U.S. workers – through Congress. Last summer a version of it passed through the Senate as part of a larger bill and this February a larger version passed the House. Now in the final stretch, the absolute worst of Washington is preventing us from getting it over the finish line.

The Senate just voted to advance their bill earlier this week. It’s a smaller version than the original, but half a loaf is better than no loaf, and this will at least break our reliance on foreign suppliers.

This issue isn’t just going to go away. Just last week, we got word that the GM plant in Delta Township had shut down due to a lack of microchips. 

Democrats. Republicans. Independents. Industry. Labor. EVERYONE understands just how critical these chips are to our economic stability and national security. This isn’t theoretical for Michigan – and we need to make our voices heard to get it done.