WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce has signed a preliminary agreement for up to $275 million in federal funding for Micron Technology to expand and modernize its manufacturing facility in Manassas, Va. The funding is the result of bipartisan legislation Warner wrote and successfully passed into law over many years to expand American production of semiconductor chips.

“I am proud to announce that $275 million should soon be headed to Virginia for Micron Technology to manufacture more cutting-edge semiconductors here in Virginia,” said Sen. Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “Making more of these chips in America will strengthen our national security and create jobs, which is why I pushed to pass this funding through Congress, why I am working with Micron and the Biden administration to secure this investment in Virginia, and why I’m going to be making the case to the incoming administration that we need to keep investing in domestic manufacturing of critical and emerging technologies like semiconductors.” 

Nearly everything that has an “on” switch – from cars to phones to washing machines to ATMs to electric toothbrushes – contains a semiconductor, but just a small percentage of these ‘chips’ are currently made in America. Sen. Warner first introduced the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act to restore semiconductor manufacturing back to American soil in 2020, and 2022, Congress passed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which included billions in funding championed by Sen. Warner to implement the law he wrote to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

As a result, the Department of Commerce has signed a Preliminary Memorandum of Terms (PMT) with Micron Technology for up to $275 million in proposed funding to expand and modernize its facility in Manassas. The proposed project would onshore Micron’s 1-alpha technology to its Manassas facility, significantly increasing output of more efficient, more powerful chips. Micron’s project in Manassas would create over 400 manufacturing jobs and up to 2700 community jobs at the peak of the project. 

###