Lawmakers Push to Invest Billions in Semiconductor Industry to Counter China

China's technological ambitions are eliciting rare bipartisan agreement in Washington, with lawmakers considering investing tens of billions of dollars in America's semiconductor industry over the next five to 10 years to help the United States retain an edge over Beijing. A bipartisan measure introduced this week is one of several proposals that would provide substantial funding for the semiconductor industry, which manufactures chips that serve as the tiny brains or memory of electronic devices from smartphones to fitness trackers. The efforts reflect a shifting consensus in Washington, as lawmakers look to more expansive government intervention in private markets to help American firms compete. That includes Republicans, who have long criticized government-led industrial plans as inefficient and redolent of communism but have watched with dismay as such efforts in China have allowed it to dominate industries from steel and solar panels to shipbuilding. The future of the semiconductor industry is viewed as particularly significant because it is a foundational technology that can give nations an edge in innovation.