Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493443
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2023 grapple with the reality that the supply chain is still running through Asia as they bring new fabs online over the next few years. America must invest in and protect our crit- ical infrastructure. We cannot afford to con- tinue offshoring our know-how and manufac- turing, or we face a future even more depen- dent on other nations—not all friendly—to operate the systems that make our modern life possible. As leaders from across the microelectron- ics space gathered for IPC APEX EXPO con- vention in San Diego last month, I spent time talking with other business leaders and sharing what needs to be done in Washington, D.C., to restore a level playing field for American man- ufacturers. I did this in addition to my focus on workforce and technical issues because I believe in its importance. Congress took an important first step with the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, but that is only the first step, not the end of the road. As we reintroduce legislation in the new Congress, the Printed Circuit Board Associ- ation of America (PCBAA) and its member companies will be working hard to get the support of key members of Congress to pass a bill that will bring PCB manufacturing back to America and truly create a balanced and resilient supply chain. If you haven't joined PCBAA, now is the time. ere is strength in numbers, and we need your partnership at this critical time. e PCBAA was formed to edu- cate, advocate, and advance legislation with this goal in mind. PCB007 Travis Kelly is CEO of Isola- Group and current chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America. To read past columns, click here. House Resolution 7677 from the 2021/22 Con- gressional session may have run out of time before the election cycle, but that hasn't ended the effort to help fund the printed circuit board industry along- side the semiconductor indus- try. IPC vice president of global government relations, Chris Mitchell, shared this letter, sent to DOD on Wednesday by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Blake Moore (R-UT), which insists DOD must "leverage all available resources, includ- ing the use of Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA), to increase domestic produc- tion of PCBs and IC substrates." "U.S. investments in semi- conductor manufacturing will not provide greater security and resiliency without complementary initiatives to bolster the printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) substrate-manufacturing base," they stated in their letter. "Thanks to Reps. Anna Eshoo and Blake Moore for urging DoD to leverage the Defense Produc- tion Act and other programs to support a resurgence in U.S. production of printed cir- cuit boards," stated Mitchell in response to this letter. He con- tinued, "Rebuilding this base is important to U.S. defense needs and supply chain resil- iency but also to achieving the goals laid out in the CHIPS and Science Act. Silicon drives changes across the electron- ics manufacturing industry, and thus investments in silicon must be paired with invest- ments in other strategically important segments of the electronics industry, including printed circuit board fabrication and assembly." Printed Circuit Boards Have Champions on Capitol Hill