SYRACUSE, NY — Money talks. It was the main focus of the speech from President Joe Biden today, with smiles on the faces of Republicans and Democrats alike with what supporters describe as the final piece of the puzzle now in place for the Micron project in Clay.
“It is a big deal,” President Biden said with a grin during his remarks.
Last week, a preliminary agreement to provide $6.1 billion in direct funding to Micron from the CHIPS and Science Act was announced. That funding will be divided between Micron’s Boise, Idaho, location as well as the projected four microchip fabrication sites in Clay; the amount each will receive is “classified,” according to CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
“I have been in this industry for more than 40 years, never has there been a more exciting moment for the semiconductor industry,” Mehrotra said.
The funding will come in waivers, attached to specific milestones on the project, according to President Biden’s Director of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar. There’s also about $7 billion available in federal loans, combined with $5.5 billion from New York State and millions in tax breaks at the local level.
“Of course Micron is putting in massive private capital so this is about getting all of this aligned together to make this big thing happen,” Prabhakar said.
President Biden commended the work not only of fellow Democrats Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator Chuck Schumer, but of Republican Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. Biden landed at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport at approximately 12:30 pm, spending time with those three leaders on the tarmac. McMahon shared that President Biden, based on his own time as a county official decades ago, joked that county government is at times harder than what they do in DC
The president’s destination was the MOST, outfitted with its own dedicated Micron exhibit. He had a somewhat private show and tell with Micron leaders, where Mehrotra told President Biden that the federal grant will result in 50 thousand direct and indirect jobs. President Biden pumped his fist while being briefed, telling the room that Micron will have a “gigantic impact” in Central New York.
Former Congressman John Katko agrees.
“The economic benefits are great, the national security implications are huge,” Katko said, “and in Central New York, its about time we had some good news from a manufacturing standpoint.”
Katko was among dozens of high profile audience members, one of 24 House Republicans in 2022 to break party lines to support the CHIPS and Science Act. Rep. Elise Stefanik and Rep. Claudia Tenney voted against the legislation that directly lead to the Micron project and investments at sites across the country. President Biden made sure that point was made, injecting some politics into his Micron speech.
“Your Congressman, Brandon Williams, called it corporate welfare. ‘Bless me Father,'” President Biden said, facetiously asking for forgiveness for the funding, “and Elise Stefanik, just a few counties over, called it ‘Washington at its worst.’ They are not here to celebrate. But now, conversion is wonderful, isn’t it?
Rep. Williams’ then campaign spokesperson ahead of the 2022 election claimed that had he been in office, Rep. Williams would have voted for the CHIPS and Science Act. The congressman doubled down on the hypothetical on X, formerly known as Biden’s remarks on Thursday. Rep. Williams was not in attendance.
Micron first announced its $100 billion investment in October of 2022, making somewhat of a gamble on the strength of this industry over the years to come. Their confidence has only grown with the emergence of more sophisticated Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
“Memory is even more critical to those new computer paradigms of the future today than they were 18 months ago when we announced this project,” Micron Executive VP of Global Operations Manish Bhatia said.
A great deal has to happen in the years to come for the four fabs – slated to each be bigger than 40 football fields – a tangible reality. Both state and federal environmental reviews of the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay are underway; from there, extreme infrastructure improvements are necessary to bring in the water and electricity required. County Executive McMahon said Micron’s next steps are finalizing designs and construction contracts.
“Those construction plans will formalize to make for a busy 2025,” McMahon said.
According to the Biden Administration, the Department of Commerce, with support from the Departments of Education and Labor, will set up a Workforce Hub to help meet the training needs of the semiconductor industry and related investments in the region by fostering collaborations with partners such as labor unions, employers and education and training providers to ensure workers have equitable access to those job opportunities and the training and skills needed to fill them.
For those still waiting to be able to touch something in Clay for this to feel real; Onondaga Community College President Dr. Warren Hilton believes the money speaks for itself now.
“I’ve never had $6.1 billion dollars, but I don’t think you give $6.1 billion dollars to somebody if its not real,” Dr. Hilton said.
Watch the remarks from the MOST below:
