Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) discussed the CHIPS Act in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Kudlow, calling it a "terrible piece of legislation" and arguing that deregulation is a better means of getting companies to invest in the United States.
Rep. Donalds's remarks respond to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's recent proposal that the federal government buy equity stakes in the semiconductor manufacturer Intel in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act.
Host Larry Kudlow noted that the proposal seemed to run contrary to Trump's free-market, deregulatory policies, prompting Rep. Donalds to say, "We do prefer free markets."
"I mean, look, the CHIPS Act? Terrible piece of legislation," the Florida Congressman continued, adding, "you dumped billions of dollars into these companies to do development here. But we could have done much more reasonable things, like major regulatory reform and actually doubling the amount of base load power on the electric grid by bringing in nuclear and more stable pieces of energy to the grid."
Moreover, Donalds suggested that the funds granted to companies under the CHIPS Act will never be recovered, and continuing the practice poses "a moral hazard."
"Because what will happen is, you will get some of these CEOs who will say, 'Well, let's just wait for the next Democrat administration to go get more bags of cash out of the American taxpayer.' That is not a good situation at all," the Florida Congressman concluded, "You really need to stop doing this and focus on the regulation in D.C., making sure that the American economy is powered, no pun intended, and ready to go so you do not have to do this lunacy like the CHIPS Act."
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has been a fierce critic of the CHIPS Act since July 2022, when he wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal decrying it as "nothing but a reckless spending spree."
