Remarks as Prepared for Delivery at Micron Technology
Boise, ID


Thank you for those remarks, Secretary Granholm. It’s great to be with you here in beautiful Boise, representing the Biden-Harris Administration.

Greetings to Governor Little, Senator Risch, Mayor McLean, and to all the distinguished guests gathered here today.

What a pleasure it is to be here together to celebrate the bright future of American innovation!

I want to thank Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra for kindly inviting me to join this momentous occasion. This is a momentous day for the Micron team, for the Boise community, for the state of Idaho, and for our Nation.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that it is the CHIPS and Science Act that brings us together today. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act is a once-in-a-generation investment — and a powerful engine — for research, development, and innovation. It also lays out our bold, collective vision for the future of our science and technology enterprise.

Today, Micron is rising to the vision and ambition of the CHIPS and Science Act, by investing $15 billion in the semiconductor ecosystem, and spurring the creation of up to 17,000 new American jobs. This is truly momentous!

I have the great privilege of leading the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — where the President has charged us to maximize the benefits of science and technology to advance health, security, environmental quality, prosperity, and justice for all of America.

And my team is laser-focused on delivering on the abundant promise of the CHIPS and Science Act: developing a National Strategy for Microelectronics Research, and coordinating semiconductor infrastructure, workforce, and research & development across government, academia, and industry, and all across the United States.

Why are we so focused? Because this law will incentivize the establishment of more facilities for the development and manufacture of semiconductors — these marvels of American engineering, and building blocks of the modern economy, that power everything from dishwashers to automobiles, and store information, applications, and data in our computers and smartphones.

This technology infrastructure – these semiconductors — make so much more possible. They will ensure the future health, economy, and national security of our country. They will foster the innovation that will drive the next generation of scientific breakthroughs in areas like clean energy generation, disease detection and treatment, and biotechnology and biomanufacturing. And, they will cultivate thriving communities across the United States through transformative investments in industry, workers, and students, and in science and technology.

Science and technology can play a part in creating a more equitable America by unleashing ingenuity and entrepreneurship across all of our society. By enabling the creation of good-paying jobs for workers with a diverse range of skillsets, including the research and skilled technical workforce. And, by engendering greater prosperity in cities and towns from New Albany, Ohio, to Atlanta, Georgia, from Taylor, Texas, to Phoenix, Arizona, to right here in Boise, Idaho.

The CHIPS and Science Act is a landmark achievement, and an historic step to ensure that we will lead the world in manufacturing microchips; that we will provide Federal support to our researchers and institutions in advanced microelectronics research and development, prototyping, and commercialization; and that we will prioritize science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM) education, and workforce training in ways that are consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s equity goals. Because the stakes are too high not to include everyone in our science and technology ecosystem.

For, as we transform our physical infrastructure to produce the technologies of tomorrow, we must also invest in our human infrastructure now, and into the future.

That means increasing access to the fruits of science and technology for all of the American public —from the construction worker to the medical technician, from the community college student to the PhD scientist, from the homemaker to the shopkeeper.

I applaud Micron’s commitment to do just that: to increase support for K-12 STEM education programs, to expand opportunities for this community’s workforce, and to do both with an increased focus on reaching underrepresented and rural student and worker populations, by partnering with local universities and colleges, with minority serving institutions, with fellowship and apprenticeship initiatives, and with veterans’ transition programs.

The guiding vision behind the CHIPS and Science Act, and the action it catalyzes, is a crucial part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader economic blueprint for a strong and equitable recovery that sets the foundation for sustainable, long-term economic growth.

It rebuilds our economy from the bottom up and the middle out. It empowers workers, including by rewarding work, rather than wealth. It discovers, imagines, invents and builds it all here in America, making our industries more competitive and resilient, and giving all of our families breathing room.

Micron’s leadership will help push open the door to our Nation’s future. A future where science and technology includes and benefits everyone in the United States. A future where U.S. researchers, inventors, innovators, and manufacturers continue to lead the world for generations to come. A future where — as President Biden often reminds us —no possibility is beyond our reach.

With today’s groundbreaking, Boise — and the United States — have crossed the threshold into that future.

###

Stay Connected

Sign Up

We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

Scroll to Top Scroll to Top
Top