The source said Schumer, a New York Democrat, tells senators he could go to the session as early as Tuesday, but Senate Republican whip John Thune, a member of the GOP leadership, questioned that plan, warning. who is unsure of whether Republicans. would provide the 10 votes needed to break an obstruction.
“We’re at a point where no one knows what the final bill might look like or where the votes are,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol. “We know where the votes were last time, but it was a different time and it was a different bill than what we’re talking about today.”
The bill would be a scaled-down version of China’s biggest competitiveness legislation, which has hung in the midst of intra-party disputes and the threat that Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell will derail if Democrats move forward with a separate partisan economic package.
Republican leaders have previously said they would be open to passing a limited bill that focuses primarily on the issue of semiconductor chip production, but on Thursday, Thune blamed Democrats for mishandling chip legislation.
The South Dakota Republican said Democrats in the House “kept her there for almost a year and then, when they finally acted on it, they loaded her with a bunch of weird things that they knew couldn’t happen here.” .
“There was Republican support for the original bill in the Senate, but it will depend a lot on what is there. And we just don’t know. They have control of the ball over that,” he said of Democrats who control the chamber.
The fight comes as the Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Congress to act on chip legislation before lawmakers leave in the coming weeks for the summer holidays.
Earlier Thursday, Schumer had said senators would introduce a bill that could include, “at a minimum: emergency funding for CHIPS and the tax credit for the FABS Investment Act,” which means Facilitating American- Built Semiconductors, according to the source. Schumer also indicated that more items could be added if there is agreement.
This story and headline have been updated with additional news on Thursday.