Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1475010
58 SMT007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2022 Moore: ey complement each other. is PCB-focused effort is similar to the effort to reassure manufacturing for semiconductors. ey're both trying to accomplish a similar objective and the general product family is sim- ilar. is is about a DoD call for domestic invest- ment and it provides for the proper incentives necessary to meet this growing challenge. I'm working on it as a conferee with both the House and the Senate China bills. Not every- body is even comfortable with the Senate's USICA legislation, but then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi complicated the process by add- ing a lot of her unrelated priorities into the COMPETES Act. It extended the China legis- lation far beyond where people were comfort- able supporting it. Now in trying to reconcile those two, we know we need to get the CHIPS Act going, and it is broadly supported. e hope is that even if the wider China legislation simmers and fizzles out throughout this tumultuous campaign sea- son, there's a potential the CHIPS Act could get pulled out and passed separately, but it's the main negotiating piece motivating the entire conference process for many Republi- cans. I can't stand this process. I don't think it's the right approach for the American people, the manufacturers, and the people working and paying their taxes who are frustrated that our government can't come up with reason- able solutions. I want to be a reasonable voice, and I've come in on bipartisan legislation, in particular this PCB legislation. We must move the ball forward and not get hung up on politi- cizing the process of passing key legislation. Kelly: I want to thank Reps. Moore and (Anna) Eshoo, D-Calif., for co-sponsoring this bill. I'm not sure that printed circuit boards have ever made their way to an active discussion on the floor of Congress, and how the two bills align. ey're mutually exclusive. One was introduced with the CHIPS Act. is one, HR 7677, was introduced a couple months ago. I like these discussions because it's beginning to resonate, meaning it's not just semiconduc- tors and it's not just printed circuit boards. It is a very complex microelectronics ecosys- tem where the chip is the brain, and the PCB is the body. Neither one can work without the other. Printed circuit boards are more than just boards. ere's all the componentry as well. One doesn't work without the other. For the first time in a long time, legislators see that this needs to be a holistic approach. e discussion is much broader than one or the other. To fix the root cause of problems you can't just go aer the symptoms. at's why this legislation is so important. If you really want to have a microelectron- ics ecosystem that is trusted, resilient, and sus- tainable, then you must look at all the differ- ent aspects and activities that it takes to ensure that supply chain is resilient. It's a lot more than just semiconductors. at's why we always say chips don't float; they must be embedded into a board to function. is is how I see the con- versations aligning with the CHIPS Act and HR 7677. Johnson: As we're recording this interview, it's the July 4 congressional break. Congressman Moore, where is HR 7677 in the process? Moore: It has been introduced and it's on the front end of the process. We are closely watch- ing what's going on with the China legisla-