US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi offered hope an impasse on passing legislation which will provide billions in subsidies and tax credits to the semiconductor industry was close to ending, after telling politicians to prepare for a vote next week.

Pelosi wrote to politicians stating the CHIPS Act for America would boost the US economy, reducing domestic prices while improving the nation’s global competitiveness.

The US Senate approved a procedural measure on 19 July which could result in a vote on the Act being held this week.

This would leave the path clear for the House of Representatives to vote and for President Joe Biden to sign the Act into law, all of which could apparently happen next week.

In 2021, the Senate approved a $250 billion bill to fund US chipmaking to compete with China, but the House of Representatives never voted on it.

The measure passed by the Senate this week was a slender version of the original legislation.

Reuters reported the reworked plan involves subsidies of around $54 billion and a tax credit scheme covering construction of domestic factories.

The delay in passing the bill had already affected chipmaker’s plans, with Intel reportedly halting work on one new factory in the US and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co warning of delays to a site it hoped to bring online in 2024.