U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Semiconductor Caucus, today welcomed a panel of tech industry experts to the Capitol for a briefing on critical issues in the semiconductor industry. The panel, which included Steve Pawlowski, VP of Advanced Computing Solutions at Micron Technology, Inc., based out of Boise, discussed how memory development can enable the U.S. to build faster and more efficient machines essential to future technologies and industries.

“As building blocks of modern technology, semiconductors have played a key role in improving the lives of every American,” said Senator Risch. “Idaho, in particular, has seen the incredibly positive direct and indirect impacts that the industry has on this country. It is an honor to co-chair the Semiconductor Caucus and to host events like today's that serve to highlight the many positive contributions this industry makes to our economy.”

Semiconductors are the building blocks of integrated circuits that are present in nearly every electronic device, and therefore this technology directly or indirectly enables most of the economic activity in a wide range of sectors. The semiconductor industry employs nearly 250,000 workers in America and semiconductors are a top U.S. export. The industry spends more than $30 billion on research and development each year and nearly 77 billion semiconductors are sold in the U.S. annually.

The Semiconductor Caucus aims to increase awareness of the semiconductor industry and the vast scope of products that contain semiconductors. The caucus is co-chaired by Senator Angus King (I-ME), Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

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