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40 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2022 Dan Weber is executive vice president and general counsel for TTM Technologies. As part of this regular series, Dan answers ques- tions about the benefits of membership in PCBAA. Q: After months of discussing why "Chips Don't Float," there is finally a bill on Capitol Hill focused on PCBs. Can you talk more about that? Dan Weber: It is gratifying to see our indus- try beginning to get the level of visibility it deserves. We are fortunate to have two cham- pions in Rep. Anna Eshoo from California and Rep. Blake Moore of Utah. ey jointly intro- duced HR 7677, the "Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act of 2022." As pro- posed, their bill incentivizes the purchase of PCBs made in America, and provides funds badly needed for R&D as well as manufactur- ing workforce development training. We need to make up a lot of ground. America's share of the global market fell from 26% to 4% over the last two decades and this bill is an important step in reversing that trend. Q: Doesn't the CHIPs Act address our supply chain issues? Weber: e CHIPs Act is a great start toward making our microelectronic supply chains more secure and resilient. But this is a complex issue: Simply building more semiconductors in the United States doesn't solve the larger problem in America's electronics supply chain ecosystem. Today, the majority of PCBs are made in countries that are far away and where there is the potential risk of adverse political decisions or natural disasters that could cut off the supply of PCBs. Remember, without the PCB, a chip does not have a home. All those chips need a PCB to support an electronic sys- tem. PCBs need the same level of attention that semiconductors are getting because one doesn't work without the other. Q: What is PCBAA doing to advance this legislation? Weber: PCBAA has a three-pronged mission to educate, advocate and legislate for our indus- try. Recently, PCBAA leaderships has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and their PCBAA Member Profile: Dan Weber, TTM Technologies Dan Weber