Peters Continues Push for Chips, Citing AV Reliance

Autonomous vehicles aren’t possible without a steady supply of microchips, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., said Monday during a field hearing in Detroit on China package implications for the auto industry (see 2203230065).

Peters joined a chorus of legislators pushing for Congress to move chip legislation, including Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who planned to continue her push for the bill on the floor Monday evening.

The U.S. relies too much on foreign, unstable suppliers, and the auto industry is heavily reliant on microchips, Peters said on the importance of holding the hearing in Detroit. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., spoke Thursday in opposition to the bill advancing without addressing two major concerns. He secured a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to try to reach an agreement on Sanders’ items when the House sends the measure back to the upper chamber. The Senate still needs to clear procedural hurdles this week (see 2203220074). The Senate was scheduled to vote Monday evening on replacing the text of H.R. 4521, the America Competes Act, with text of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The Senate must approve the bill and send it to the House.

Speaking from the floor Thursday, Sanders cited the bill’s $53 billion in “corporate welfare” for the “highly profitable” microchip industry with “no protections for the American taxpayer.” He requested a vote on a provision on those protections and a provision to eliminate $10 billion included in the bill for Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos (see 2105270002). Cantwell, speaking from the floor Thursday, said Congress needs to stop wasting time and get to conference.

Peters hosted his hearing as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Surface Transportation Subcommittee. No other panel members spoke or questioned witnesses during the hearing. It would be “devastating” if the legislative process ends in a roadblock for Michigan workers getting “fair wages,” said UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes.

It’s inevitable cars will one day be autonomous, said Peters: The question is what’s the role of semiconductors. The core mission is reliable, quality chips, said Jay Rathert, KLA senior director-strategic partnerships. Public policy needs to keep pace with global investment in order for the U.S. to maintain a competitive advantage with autonomous vehicles, said Alliance for Automotive Innovators Vice President Garrick Francis.

House Democrats spoke at a separate event Monday about the need to pass federal privacy legislation. House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., talked about the need to ensure Big Tech lives up to its promises to consumers, and the need to address discriminatory algorithms and surveillance advertising. It’s clear the days of self-regulation must come to an end, Schakowsky said during a Software and Information Industry Association livestream. Since the House Commerce Committee released a staff draft on privacy, states have taken the lead in passing legislation, she said. Mass data collection, often involving minute details, comes with benefits but also profound risk, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. There’s little visibility and even less control over data collection because companies have no oversight and no incentive to protect consumer data, she said. She referenced her legislation (see 2202160055) with Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., saying a national standard needs to give consumers control.

Officials from the executive branch and the National Institute of Standards and Technology promoted parallel efforts on artificial intelligence and privacy. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced an AI bill of rights in October to promote privacy and equity. There needs to be concrete ways and rules of the road to protect consumers from the negative side effects of these technologies, said OSTP Assistant Director-Data and Democracy Sorelle Friedler, a former Alphabet employee. NIST’s AI risk framework effort will provide practical guidance that can inform White House and industry efforts, said NIST IT Lab Chief of Staff Elham Tabassi.