The Senate on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill that aims to revitalize domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reestablish the United States as a competitor in the intensifying microelectronics race.

The $280 billion “CHIPS and Science Act,” which passed in a 64-33 vote, would provide $52 billion in subsidies to U.S. semiconductor chip manufacturers and incentivize the construction of new fabrication plants across the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Biden said of the CHIPS Act, “It will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers. It also will create jobs – good-paying jobs right here in the United States.”

The bill also includes funding that would establish regional technology hubs, support start-up programs and expand the work of the National Science Foundation.

Semiconductor chips power a myriad of consumer electronics from cell phones to automobiles to Internet of Things-connected appliances. Importantly, they are also critical to most military weapons, systems and capabilities. These chips also lay the foundation for advancements in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which have been identified by the Department of Defense as critical technologies.

However, supply chain challenges, a sharp uptick in demand for consumer electronics and a decline in manufacturing have resulted in a global shortage of semiconductor chips.

The urgency behind passing the CHIPS Act also stems from national security concerns. In recent decades, the U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing output has dropped from 40 percent to 12 percent since 1990, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Today, the U.S. relies heavily on Taiwan for its semiconductor chips.

Lawmakers expect that passing the CHIPS Act will help to decrease reliance on overseas manufacturers and reestablish the United States’ competitive advantage in what is becoming a cornerstone industry for national and economic security.

Biden said the CHIPS Act “will mean more resilient American supply chains, so we are never so reliant on foreign countries for the critical technologies that we need for American consumers and national security.”

The CHIPS Act will now move to the House for a vote. Lawmakers hope to pass the bill before the Congressional recess in early August.

The Department of Homeland Security has concluded an operational experimentation to demonstrate and evaluate technologies designed to address the high-priority capability gaps faced by urban emergency response communities.

The Urban OpEx 2022 is a week-long event that showcased seven technologies including an artificial intelligence-enabled gun detection platform, handheld sensors, incident and situational awareness systems, deployable communications and robotics and unmanned aircraft systems, DHS said Tuesday.

The technology demonstration and assessment program also served as a platform for DHS to gather end-user feedback from more than 150 participants from public safety agencies across the country.

DHS Science and Technology Directorate and its National Urban Security Technology Laboratory hosted Urban OpEx from July 18 to 22 in the New York Metropolitan area.

“First responders have to tackle evolving threats in their day-to-day operations and during larger-scale emergency incidents. Urban OpEx paves the way for innovation because we’re putting technology developers and first responders in the same room to understand what they need from one another,” said Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, senior official performing the duties of the undersecretary for science and technology.

The Defense Innovation Unit is soliciting technology platforms from the commercial sector that can help Department of Defense technicians locate aerospace assets on the ground.

DOD wants a tracking device that has a compact design, requires minimal maintenance and can generate location data in real time, according to a solicitation notice posted on DIU’s website.

The department is currently using a paper-based process to record places hosting diesel generators, gas turbine generators, hydraulic test stands, air conditioning units, heaters, lights and jacks.

The aerospace ground equipment asset should be able to connect to wireless networks, such as Verizon’s 5G service, or allow the user to transition to the new mobile network.

In addition, DOD prefers if the system can work with communication technologies that include QR codes, Bluetooth and bar codes in lieu of cellular service. 

Interested vendors have until Tuesday to submit their responses to the product requirement.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collaborated with 10 other federal agencies to build a website that contains science-based information on the health risks of extreme heat as part of a government effort to raise awareness among the public and decision-makers.

Heat.gov, which is hosted on a cloud-based Esri geospatial platform, is among the priority projects of President Biden’s National Climate Task Force and its Interagency Working Group on Extreme Heat, NOAA said Tuesday.

The site offers the public access to a collection of tools such as the Heat and Health Tracker from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Heat Safety Tool from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“Heat.gov is an exciting new and accessible website designed to help everyone become engaged with their community, their state-level government, and federal partners, to take actions that can reduce the deadly health impacts of extreme heat,” National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy said.

NOAA said extreme heat is the top weather-related cause of death in the U.S., killing more people than hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes or extreme cold.

U.S. Army Gen. Richard Clarke, commander of Special Operations Command, has said low-cost technologies are shaping the modern battlefield and cited the militaries’ increasing use of quadcopters and larger unmanned aerial vehicles, the Department of Defense’s newswire reported Tuesday.

“When Russia is running out of them for Ukraine, and they’re going to Iran to go buy more, [that] should cause us all a bit of concern because you can see how valuable that they can be in the future fight,” he said during a discussion at the Aspen Security Forum.

To prevent adversaries from taking advantage of the use of low-cost air platform, Clarke underscored a need to have interagency talks about disrupting supply chains in addition to just defeating enemy drones. In addition, he called for a discussion on norms and authorities for using small unmanned systems.

Aside from drones, Clarke also talked about threats posed by cyber attacks and inexpensive chemical and biological weapons.

“As we go into the future, we have to be prepared for that eventuality … and look for methods to continue to combat it,” Clarke said.

The Government Accountability Office interviewed 17 experts to gather their insights on policy considerations to reduce risks associated with semiconductor supply chains and mitigate future chip shortages.

GAO found that all experts agreed that federal action is needed in the area of workforce development to reduce supply chain risks, according to a report published Tuesday.

To prepare for future workforce development requirements, experts called on the government to advance training programs and immigration reform.

Other areas that need government actions are international coordination, research and development, supply chain strengthening and manufacturing capacity.

The experts also cited the need to determine federal priorities and enhance interagency collaboration in policy implementation to help mitigate risks and some of these policy priorities are national security, increased resilience and economic competitiveness.

They also emphasized the need to implement policies in each of the identified areas since a single policy option would not be enough, according to the GAO report.