The Senate has approved a reduced version of the CHIPS act, which will inject A$74.34 billion into the American semiconductor industry.

The bipartisan bill passed in a 64-34 vote, and comes a year after Senate first approved a similar US$250 billion bill, which was never considered by the House.

The next step is for the chamber to hold a vote on final passage early next week, before it passes through the House, before being signed off on by President Biden.

The broad aim of this bill is to advance semiconductor production in the US, in order to reduce reliance on Chinese companies. With the recent shortages and supply chain issues, many industries, from computing to automotive, were financially hampered and unable to fulfil production orders.

“As a percentage of GDP, we spend less than half as much as the Chinese Communist Party on basic research,” Senator Chuck Schumer said, “less than half, which is even more devastating, given China has spent decades stealing America’s intellectual property. With this bill, that’s finally going to change.”