Intel hiked lobbying spending by 65 percent amid chip subsidies push

Intel Corp. spent record sums on lobbying in the second quarter as it pushed lawmakers to pass legislation that would provide the chipmaker with billions of dollars in new subsidies.   

The lobbying blitz comes as Congress prepares to pass a slimmed-down bill to boost U.S. competitiveness with China by spurring domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The bill would give $52 billion to chipmakers — with Intel being a top beneficiary — to build semiconductor facilities in the U.S.

Intel spent nearly $1.8 million to lobby Congress and the White House from April through June, according to a disclosure filed Wednesday. That’s an increase of 65 percent compared to the same period last year and the highest single-quarter sum in the company’s history. 

Earlier this year, Intel announced that it would build a $20 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. But the company has threatened to ditch those plans if lawmakers don’t pass chipmaking subsidies and instead invest in Europe, which has authorized its own chipmaking subsidies.

“Do you want those investments in the U.S., or do we simply lack competitiveness to do that here that we need to go to Europe or Asia for those?” Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week. “Get the job done. Do not go home for August recess without getting these bills passed.”

Those remarks sparked backlash from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who said that they “sound like extortion” on the Senate floor Tuesday. 

“You pass this bill and tomorrow we’ll hear, no doubt, from the cellphone industry, from the computer laptop industry, about how they need their welfare checks as well,” Sanders said. 

The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to advance the chip subsidy bill, indicating that lawmakers are willing to pass a slimmed-down version of China competition legislation that likely won’t include tough-on-China trade provisions included in previous iterations of the bill. 

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act, which supporters say is needed to bring semiconductor production to the U.S., would give $52 billion in direct subsidies for domestic facilities and deliver a 25 percent tax break to chipmakers. 

As part of its lobbying effort, Intel and other manufacturers are pushing lawmakers to strip measures from the CHIPS for America Act that would limit their ability to manufacture chips in China, a key White House priority. 

Intel deployed 39 lobbyists through the first three months of the year, including multiple for-hire lobbyists who previously worked for Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to research group OpenSecrets. 

The Hill has reached out to Intel for comment.