Biden Seeks Billions While the Chips Are Down

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Joe Biden is linking his $2 trillion infrastructure spending plan to alleviating a critical shortage of semiconductors.  

"Chips, like the one I have here — these chips, these wafers are batteries, broadband —it's all infrastructure," Biden said in the White House Roosevelt Room on Monday during a virtual meeting with leaders of some of the country's biggest companies hurt by a global shortage of semiconductors.    The goal of the meeting, according to the president, was to figure out how to "strengthen our domestic semiconductor industry and secure the American supply chain."   Earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, speaking to reporters, said, "This isn't a meeting where we expect a decision or an announcement to come out of, but part of our ongoing engagement and discussion about how to best address this issue over the long term, but also over the short term."