Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1506834
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2023 Fresh off his annual meeting with the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA), Travis Kelly, CEO at Isola Group and chairman of the PCBAA, gave us an update on government legislation in the United States that directly and indirectly affects the printed circuit board industry. Travis was candid in his remarks about funding from the CHIPS Act, what the PCB industry needs to do, and how a bill reintroduced into Congress this year might be just the ticket we need. Nolan Johnson: Let's start with some detailed discussion about legislation for printed circuit boards and then follow up with how the CHIPS Act might be creating some follow-on effect? We're very enthusiastic and happy to share that we have a bill called the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act (HR 3249). at bill was reintroduced in Congress this year by Rep. Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah, and Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California. When you go to Capitol Hill, you need some- thing to point to as you meet with representa- tives of Congress. Our task at PCBAA is to get more co-sponsors for that bipartisan bill and we've been successful; we just got roughly five co-sponsors for HR 3249, which continues the momentum. HR 3249 is absolutely critical to creating that resilient and secure supply chain in the United States because it does two things. First, it's an immediate investment from the government CHIPS Act, One Year On Feature Interview with the I-Connect007 Editorial Team