Gov. Whitmer, 8 Other State Governors Push For Congress To Address Chip Shortage

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(CBS Detroit) -- There is a new push to help with the chip shortage in cars.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, along with eight other governors, are calling on Congress to pass legislation that will boost semiconductor chip production.

The legislation, known as Creating Helpful Incentive For Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act, is meant to keep production from halting

"The global auto chip shortage has hit Michigan and states across the country hard, idling plants and slowing production, threatening thousands of auto-related jobs up and down the supply chain," Whitmer said in a press release.

"With no end in sight, it's clear we have no time to lose if we're going to protect jobs and maintain our competitive edge."

In a letter to congressional leaders, the governors are pushing for the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) funding, which includes $52 billion in incentives to boost domestic semiconductor production and research.

The bill passed with a 68-32 vote in Senate but is stalled in House.

"This grim outlook serves to underscore the urgent need to re-shore semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States – the precise aim of the CHIPS Act funding provisions," the governors wrote in the letter. "Not only will the incentive funding help address this pressing need, it will also create and protect hundreds of thousands of jobs, grow our economy, and strengthen our national security by creating a resilient domestic semiconductor supply chain for our manufacturers and national defense industrial base."

In addition to Whitmer, also signing the letter were Govs. Tony Evers from Wisconsin, Kay Ivey from Alabama, JB Pritzker from Illinois, Laura Kelly from Kansas, Gavin Newsom from California, Roy Cooper from North Carolina, Tom Wolf from Pennsylvania, and Andy Beshear from Kentucky.

This comes amid a nationwide chip shortage that has previously halted production plants across the nation.