President Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday named 31 communities as “Tech Hubs” that will use grant money to spur work in semiconductors, clean energy, quantum computing and other emerging industries.
The effort is funded by $500 million approved in Mr. Biden’s marquee CHIPS Act last year and is designed to spread high-tech efforts beyond epicenters like San Francisco and the Northeast.
The location of hub sites range from New England to politically deep-red places like Oklahoma, where Tulsa Innovation Labs will lead efforts to commercialize autonomous systems for agriculture, pipelines and transportation.
“We are doing this from coast to coast and in the heartland, in red states, in blue states, small towns — cities of all sizes. All this is part of my strategy to invest in America and invest in Americans,” Mr. Biden said at the White House.
In Ohio, a key political prize in national elections, one of the chosen hubs will focus on ways to make rubber and plastic that is more biodegradable.
An Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Tech Hub in Idaho and Wyoming will be led by the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium. It aims to develop both states as leaders in “small modular reactors (SMR) and advanced nuclear energy to contribute to a clean energy future,” the White House said.
Outside the continental U.S., the PRBio Tech Hub — led by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust — will develop medical devices to detect and treat diseases.
Mr. Biden is highlighting the effort as part of a broader “Bidenomics” pitch. He says he is building the economy from the “bottom up” and creating good-paying jobs while competing with rivals like China.
“It’s a historic investment in bringing the semiconductor industry back to America,” Mr. Biden said.
Polling shows voters remain skeptical of the president’s economic performance, and the administration is weighed down by economic concerns such as inflation.
Mr. Biden left a White House event on the hubs early, saying he had to attend to a matter in the Situation Room. His departure underscored the difficulty of spotlighting the administration’s domestic agenda while the Israel-Hamas conflict and fear of a widening Middle East war dominate the headlines.
“It is the reality of where we are and what’s being reported by all of you,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday at a White House briefing. “It doesn’t stop the president from doing the job he has to do every day.”
The White House said the tech hubs are positioned so that companies can work with colleges and universities in the area, along with state and local governments. Institutions in each hub will compete for up to $75 million in implementation grants.
Some Republicans highlighted their bipartisan efforts to lay the groundwork for enhanced funding in the tech sector.
“Today’s announcement is another milestone for Montana, speaks volumes about the quality of our workforce and further solidifies our standing as a leading hub for cutting-edge technology and research in the country,” said Sen. Steve Daines, Montana Republican who has endorsed former President Donald Trump for president in 2024.
The White House said the Headwaters Hub, led by Accelerate Montana, will work on “smart technologies for automating complex processes, such as industrial manufacturing.”
While the White House named 31 hubs, some operations stretch across multiple states. The hubs touch 32 states or territories: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia, Wyoming, Oregon, Ohio, Vermont, Washington and Puerto Rico.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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