Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Tuesday promised to impose strict guardrails on the $52 billion payout to semiconductor manufacturers that President Biden signed into law last month.
She said the government would “look after every nickel of taxpayer money.”
The Commerce Department is starting to dole out the funds that include $28 billion in “leading-edge” semiconductor manufacturing, $10 billion in new manufacturing capacity and $11 billion to strengthen U.S. leadership in semiconductor research.
Ms. Raimondo sought to tamp down criticism that the funding amounted to corporate welfare for already profitable companies.
“This is not a blank check for companies,” Ms.