Wyden talks tech, agriculture at Tigard meeting

Published 6:51 pm Sunday, August 20, 2023

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden says he’ll work as hard to promote wineries and other agricultural production in Washington County as he has for semiconductor production and related businesses in Oregon’s “Silicon Forest.”

The Oregon Democrat talked about those topics and others during a town hall meeting Wednesday, Aug. 16, attended by more than 50 at the Broadway Rose Theater Company in Tigard. It was his 1,062nd such meeting since he was elected to the Senate in January 1996 — when he pledged to conduct meetings annually in each of Oregon’s 36 counties — and his second in Washington County this year.

Before the Tigard meeting, Wyden met with vintners, hazelnut growers and others in Newberg. He had similar meetings in Pendleton and Astoria. He said it was too early to reach any conclusions.

Wyden said his efforts for agricultural producers are modeled on the work of a state task force on semiconductors, which he co-led last year along with then-Gov. Kate Brown and Maria Pope, chief executive of Portland General Electric. The Oregon Business Council did the staff work for that task force, and Wyden said its president, Duncan Wyse, also is part of the current effort.

“We said if we can do semiconductors this way, let’s get serious about agriculture,” Wyden said as the audience applauded. “Washington County is about semiconductors, about wine — and about a lot of good people. We’re going to talk about ways to champion them.”

The semiconductor task force report coincided with congressional approval of the CHIPS and Science Act last year. President Joe Biden signed it to provide $52 billion in grants and other incentives to promote domestic manufacturing of semiconductors as an alternative to U.S. reliance on production in Asia. The law also authorizes $200 billion for various science and technology programs over a decade.

CHIPS is an acronym for Creating Helpful Incentives for Producing Semiconductors.

CHIPS Act aftermath

Wyden was asked later in the meeting by Ignacio Osorio: “What are you planning to do to continue to preserve — and not only preserve, but expand and attract — additional semiconductor industries, leveraging (money from) the CHIPS and Science Act?”

Wyden said he was heartened by the July 26 announcement by Analog Devices, which plans a $1 billion expansion of its semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in Beaverton, of its interest in tapping some of the $24 billion available in investment tax credits under the law.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Wyden played a key role in shaping the law.

Analog Devices is based in Massachusetts but has plants in Beaverton and Camas, Wash. The company announcement of expansion includes this statement from Wyden: “Today’s good news from Analog Devices marks a significant step to ensure Oregon is taking full advantage of the federal CHIPS Act I worked to pass into law. This announcement strengthens a signature industry in Oregon by solidifying semiconductors’ place in the Silicon Forest and beyond, creating statewide impact with new good-paying jobs in Beaverton and rippling out to benefit the entire state economy.”

Wyden also said that Oregon’s three largest universities — University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Portland State University — already have benefited from federal research money under the law.

The law also sets aside $10 billion for the U.S. Department of Commerce to designate regional technology hubs. Wyden said he wants one of those hubs, focused on lithography, to be based in Oregon.

“I’m pulling out all the stops to get one for Oregon,” Wyden said. “We are very much in the running.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will decide the hubs — California’s Silicon Valley is excluded — as well as applicants for expanded domestic semiconductor manufacturing. She visited Hillsboro on April 5, including a stop at the Willow Creek Center of Portland Community College, which has a microelectronics technology program.

“Gina Raimondo didn’t go on the road everywhere. She came here at my request,” Wyden said of her visit. “People in our community, particularly the students and faculty at Portland Community College, were phenomenal and deserve a lot of credit to help Oregon.”

Although Raimondo did not tip her hand during her visit — the Commerce Department has now received around 400 applications for federal aid — she did compliment PCC and Oregon for putting workforce training programs in place.

‘What is Oregon doing?’

Osorio is sales and business development manager for Fulcrum Technologies Inc. in Tualatin.

He said afterward he liked Wyden’s response, but Oregon should recognize it is in serious competition with other states for federal money and tech jobs.

Oregon began its task force last year after Intel, the California company that is Oregon’s largest private employer, announced a multibillion-dollar investment in plants in Ohio. Micron Technology subsequently announced plans for large-scale investment in New York State, home to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Oregon ranks third in semiconductor manufacturing, behind only California and Texas. Arizona also is in the top 10.

Osorio said afterward that businesses such as his are being lured elsewhere. “They said if you come on over, we can help you expand,” he said. “So what is Oregon doing?”

The recent session of the Oregon Legislature approved more than $200 million initially for direct aid to companies and research money for universities, and added $50 million plus tax credits over four years at the end of the session.

Wyden said at the meeting that federal and state governments will seek to use incentives to help smaller high-tech manufacturers and suppliers.

“It’s not just Intel,” he said. “Intel is hugely important and is our biggest employer with 22,000 people. But they are not alone.”

pwong@pamplinmedia.com