The U.S. Department of Commerce's overarching goal is to "improve the nation's competitiveness so that our workers and companies succeed in the global economy," according to Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo.
Former Rhode Island governor Gina M. Raimondo, among many federal officials and lawmakers spoke during the annual North America's Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference, held April 3-6. Raimondo's remarks were released April 5 on the Commerce Department's website.
"While our nation grappled with the pandemic, the building trades stayed hard at work building America's future," Raimondo said at the conference. "In Rhode Island, I was known as the 'building trades' governor. I hope you'll come to know me as the building trades secretary, too."
Raimondo expressed high hopes for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed last year.
"In addition to hundreds of billions of dollars to improve and revitalize our roads and bridges, the law includes nearly $50 billion in funding for the Commerce Department to achieve the goal of universal broadband," Raimondo said. "And the building trades will be crucial to that work. We think we're going to create around 200,000 jobs as we lay the fiber and build out the networks. That work should be done using good union labor."
Raimondo also talked about Commerce's plans for the nation's energy production and referred to her experience as Rhode Island governor.
"As many of you know, when I was governor, we made Rhode Island the home of the nation’s first offshore wind farm and established a new source of clean, renewable energy," she said. "I was proud to do that in total partnership with the building trades, including a PLA to ensure the Block Island Wind Farm created good union jobs in Rhode Island."
She then referred to last year's Commerce, Interior and Energy departments' jointly announced goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030.
"Meeting this target will trigger more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both coasts and create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity," she said. "We're also working to supercharge domestic semiconductor production."
Raimondo also recalled the time when the U.S. "created the semiconductor industry" and "produced nearly 40 percent of all chips."
"Since 1990, American chip production has declined from 37 percent of global supply to just 12 percent today," she said. "Ninety of the world’s leading-edge semiconductors are made in Taiwan. We have to get back into the business of making things in America."
Raimondo called on Congress to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act, which would create a $52 billion fund to boost the nation's semiconductor production.
"Companies like Samsung and Intel have indicated their recent investments in American semiconductor manufacturing could expand with passage of this CHIPS funding," Raimondo said. "Intel has been very clear their $20 billion investment in a new fab in Ohio – which is expected to create at least 7,000 construction jobs – could turn into investments of $100 billion."
