Senate Passes HR 4346 as Amended – CHIPS Act

Today, the Senate concluded their consideration of HR 4346, the vehicle for the CHIPS Act. After approving the substitute language (SA 5135) by a modestly bipartisan vote of 64 to 33, an identical vote was cast to approve the House amendment to the Senate amendment to HR 4346 as amended. The bill goes back to the House for final approval.

The House is currently scheduled to take up the bill tomorrow under a restricted rule. There will be limited debate and no amendments will be allowed from the floor. The bill is expected to pass with some Republican votes.

H Res 1289, which provides for the consideration of HR 4346 in the House, will also provide for the operation of the House during the Summer Recess “during the period from August 1, 2022, through September 12, 2022”. For those of you that have been watching my comments about resolutions of inquiry, §5 of the Resolution states: “SEC. 5. Each day during the period addressed by section 2 of this resolution shall not constitute a legislative day for purposes of clause 7 of rule XIII.” Clause 7 deals with resolutions of inquiry and provides that action must be taken within 14 legislative days in Committee, or the author may call the resolution to the floor of the House as a privileged matter. So, there will be a breather on these resolutions while the House is on their Summer Recess. But they will have to be dealt with when the House returns to work on all of their end-of-fiscal-year stuff.