"The CHIPS and Science Act presents a historic opportunity to unleash the next generation of American innovation, protect our national security, and preserve our global economic competitiveness” - Secretary Gina Raimondo 

Through the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity. This funding opportunity is part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and includes $50 billion for the first round of funding seeking applications to build, expand, and/or update facilities to produce mature-node semiconductors. Additional funding opportunities will become available regarding semiconductor materials and equipment facilities as well as research and development facilities. Potential applicants are encouraged to submit statements of interest so that the Department of Commerce can gauge interest and began preparing to review applications.  

Five main priorities will guide the CHIPS for America program: catalyzing private investment, protecting taxpayer dollars, building a skilled and diverse workforce, engaging with U.S. partners, and driving economic opportunity and inclusive economic growth. Find more detailed application information on the fact sheet here.  

The funding application will hold manufacturers to standards that go beyond semiconductor production. For instance, applicants seeking funding upwards of $150 million will be required to guarantee quality, affordable childcare for workers.

If you have any questions, please contact ASKCHIPS@chips.gov.

“High speed Internet service is going to create opportunities, increase productivity, and improve lives, particularly in communities that have too often been left behind.”   - Deputy Secretary Don Graves

Deputy Secretary Don Graves and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Alan Davidson, announced the awarded grants in Maryland at Coppin State University, one of the 12 grant recipients. The grants amount to more than $33.5 million and will be used to increase digital literacy and upgrade classroom technology at 12 minority-serving colleges and universities across ten states. Grants were awarded through NTIA’s Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) pilot program. The CMC program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ‘Internet for All’ initiative to connect all Americans to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet service. 

Click here to see a list of all 12 recipients and the project initiatives that the grant money will go towards. 

Click here to learn more about the CMC pilot program and view past webinars and additional resources.

Over the past several days, potential Capital Readiness Program applicants have notified MBDA that they have encountered technical issues and errors beyond their control when attempting to upload their applications via grants.gov and/or retrieve their Unique Entity ID (UEI) despite diligent efforts. Given this, MBDA has extended the application deadline for ALL applicants by ten (10) days – until March 10, 2023 at 11:59:59 pm EST.  The new link to the notice of funding (NOFO) (for the same funding opportunity) can be found here. If you already submitted your application and received a grants.gov tracking number (GRANTXXXXXXXXX) and/or a confirmation email from grants.gov, MBDA has received your application.

The Capital Readiness Program will provide funding to incubators and accelerators across the country, with expertise to assist and train minority and other underserved entrepreneurs seeking resources, tools, and technical assistance to start or scale their businesses in high-growth industries such as healthcare, climate resilient technology, asset management, infrastructure, and more.

Click the link below to view CRP FAQs and view previously held webinars to learn more. 

On February 21, the Department of Commerce, through the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (OFBNP), hosted a roundtable with African American business leaders and Baptist ministers about the importance of equity and inclusion of all communities and what Commerce is doing to help. Undersecretary Cravins of the MBDA discussed the importance of Black entrepreneurship and stated that equity and inclusion is at the heart of everything Commerce does. The MBDA also reminded attendees about the deadline to apply for the Capital Readiness Program (Feb 28). Mark Colon, Director of Public Engagement, discussed the NTIA’s Internet for All program and stressed how vital affordable, high-speed internet is for communities.  

Secretary Raimondo opened the floor to questions and concerns from attendees. Several attendees mentioned the need for a better mechanism, initiated by the government, to share information about grants and funding opportunities to local communities. Other attendees stressed that Black underrepresentation in the economy needs to be remedied, as do barriers of entry to access. This roundtable is the first of many such meetings that will help members of local communities gain equitable access to everything that the Department of Commerce is doing.

The U.S. Census Bureau will begin collecting data for the 2022 Economic Census, which is the U.S. government’s official five-year measure of American businesses and the economy. Businesses nationwide will receive invitations to respond to the census online and will have until March 15 to submit their responses. Over four million businesses that are representative of most industries and geographical areas in the U.S. are included in the economic census (small, medium, and large companies), to collect performance and operational data. A webinar will be held on February 28 demonstrating how to fill out the requested information and highlighting census data tools. Link to join the webinar here. 

Learn more about the 2022 Economic Census here. 

Led by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Justice Department’s National Security Division, the Disruptive Technology Strike Force brings together government experts to target illicit actors, protect technological assets from adversaries, and strengthen supply chains.  

Advanced technologies in the hands of adversaries can be used to enhance their military capabilities, develop mass surveillance programs enabling human rights abuses, and threaten U.S. national security. Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the BIS states that “this strike force is designed to protect U.S. national security by preventing those sensitive technologies from being used for malign purposes.”  

The strike force will operate in 12 metropolitan regions across the U.S. Work will revolve around investigations and prosecutions of those who violate export laws, using advanced data analytics to aid in such investigations, enhancing private sector and international partnerships, and strengthening the partnership between the strike force and the Intelligence Community.  

For more information about the strike force, click here. 

For more information about what the Bureau of Industry and Security does, please find the interview with Gabby Carney below. 

Q: Can you share a definition of your bureau's focus?

A: BIS is focused on protecting U.S. national security, supporting our foreign policy objectives, and advancing U.S. technological leadership. We do this by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system. BIS, through the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), helps facilitate safe trade by ensuring sensitive technology is not used for malign purposes. A US company may be required to receive a license from BIS to export certain “dual-use” items depending on the end-use or end-users. As mentioned earlier, dual-use items are those that can be used for both military and civil purposes. A semiconductor is a prime example of a dual-use item as it can be used in cellphones and computers as well as unsanctioned weapons of mass destruction.

BIS is also unique in that has both a regulatory and enforcement function – therefore we issue regulations and then help ensure those regulations are being followed. BIS has a diverse group of employees to ensure that these functions are done correctly, including Technical Experts, Policy Analysts, Data Analysts, Special Agents, and Enforcement Analysts.

A: BIS, in concert with international allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unjust, illegal war on Ukraine has cut off the Russian defense industrial base and military from receiving even low-technology consumer goods Russia seeks to obtain to sustain its war effort. BIS has a website, linked here, identifying our Russia-Belarus actions, including a fact sheet jointly produced by the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State outlining the impact of both export controls and sanctions on Russia and illustrating the importance of BIS’s work and its tangible effects. 

Q: How would you encourage our private sector partners to collaborate with the work that BIS is doing? Do you see any opportunities in the upcoming year?