An example of a story produced during the last election cycle, which included gathering interviews, shooting, writing, and editing.
THOMAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJRT) – As Election Day draws closer, the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act has become a major front in the battle for the White House, that includes right here in Michigan.
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Saginaw County triumphing that bill Monday, which brought a $325 million federal grant to Hemlock Semiconductor in Thomas Township.
It comes after former President Donald Trump panned the law. In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, he called it “so bad”, arguing you can’t build the semiconductor industry in America that way.
“We put up billions of dollars for rich companies to come and borrow the money and build chip companies here,” Trump said. “All you had to do was charge them tariffs.”
It’s a position the Vice President disagrees with.
“When he was President, he sold advanced chips to China, that helped them with their agenda to modernize their military. That’s not about what’s in the best interest of America’s security and prosperity,” she told reporters on Monday.
Vice President Harris credited Congressman Dan Kildee (D-Flint Township) with helping to get the legislation passed.
But Rep. Kildee is retiring, begging the question how his hopeful successors feel about the CHIPS Act.
When asked, Republican candidate Paul Junge, a major supporter of the former President, was not immediately familiar with the law. But he says he is supportive of Hemlock Semiconductor.
“I’ve spoken about the Hemlock Semiconductor plant and that is a leading industry and it’s a great American company that it’s so great to have them providing jobs here in America, here in Michigan’s 8th District, so I’m supportive of supporting American companies,” Junge said.
When pressed on if he agreed with the former President’s remarks, he said he would need to do more research.
“So many of these bills have so many different parts to them I would have to go back and look at all of the particulars in the CHIPS Act,” he said. “I’ve not been in office before, so I haven’t had to take a vote. I haven’t been studying those bills. So, I appreciate President Trump’s leadership on a number of issues. I can’t speak to that particular one.”
As for the other side of the aisle, State Senator Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) has spoken out in favor of the investment.
In a statement released shortly after the grant was announced she said, “By increasing home-grown production of a vital part of countless supply chains, we’re simultaneously strengthening national security and domestic advanced manufacturing. The return on this investment, and all the high-paying jobs it will generate, will have a positive impact on mid-Michigan families now and for generations to come.”