Representative Darren Soto’s bill to create a position to advise the President on blockchain technology was included in the Chips bill. The bill is worth $280 million and is designed to aid the semiconductor industry.
The Chips and Science Act
The Chips and Science Act was passed earlier this month by a vote of 243 to 187 in the United States House of Representatives. The legislation, which was submitted to the Senate more than a year ago, supports research while offering grants and incentives to the semiconductor industry. Additionally, it establishes a post for a blockchain and cryptocurrency expert in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The total price tag is $280 billion, of which $170 billion is allocated to research incentives and $52 billion is allocated to grants and incentives for American semiconductor makers. American semiconductor makers are subject to strong competition from China. Additionally, it is anticipated to help the industry’s supply chain problems.
Under the “Miscellaneous Science and Technology Provisions” chapter of the bill, a blockchain and crypto specialist position has been created. Darren Soto, a Democratic Florida Representative, remarked that the idea of the provision came from a bill he introduced separately. Soto has been an advocate for blockchain and cryptocurrency for a long time now. He and Republican Tom Emmer co-sponsored a bill in 2020 to exclude minor crypto transactions from capital gains tax. He and Emmer were also co-sponsors of the Digital Commodity Exchange Act, which was reintroduced in April 2022.
