BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has come under fire for a campaign ad his Republican opponent says misrepresents the senator’s contributions — or lack thereof — to increasing microchip manufacturing in America.
Titled “Engine,” the ad was published to Casey’s official YouTube channel last month and shows him speaking about the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law authorizing $280 billion for domestic chip manufacturing and research capabilities.
“Ninety percent of our advanced semiconductor chips were being made in Asia, creating havoc in our supply chains and raising costs,” Casey says in the ad. “That’s why I worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the CHIPS and Science Act — to produce our own chips right here in America.”
But as GOP challenger Dave McCormick’s campaign notes, the ad fails to mention Casey was not a co-sponsor of the CHIPS and Science Act or three previous chips bills: 2020’s original CHIPS for America Act, 2020’s Endless Frontiers Act and 2021’s US Innovation and Competition Act.
And according to the most recent CHIPS grant recipients announced by the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Program Office, Casey’s native Pennsylvania was not one of the dozen states selected for project development.
The 12 states with new projects authorized since December 2023 are: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Vermont.
“Not a single chips plant has been announced in PA — no semiconductor plants, no hydrogen hub for western PA,” a McCormick staffer told The Post. “Casey did nothing to get [the CHIPS and Science Act] passed and did nothing to get any chips produced in PA.”
Casey’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The senator leads McCormick by 5.3 points in RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
