AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A tiny chip that could mean billions of dollars for the computer industry, plus money and jobs for Augusta.
We talked to Georgia Senator Raphel Warnock, who co-sponsored a $52 billion bill to help repair production.
Warnock says the bill specifically allocates funding for cyber security research, which will lead to the creation of jobs and make existing technology jobs easier.
Cyber security experts at the Georgia Cyber Center tell us why this is important for accomplishing these goals.
“The research funding allows us to recruit more PhD students, train more people, and that all helps feed national defense,” says Gagan Argrwal, Georgia Cyber Center.
But it’s more than just recruiting, it opens the doors for research.
“It is heavily funded by the federal government so additional funding that the congress passes is always good news for us,” says Argrwal.
We spoke to Warnock just moments before the vote. He says this bill will be crucial for our area.
“With Fort Gordon, being right there with Augusta University and the need to invest in cyber security, this bodes well with our opportunity right there in the Augusta area,” said Warnock.
Cyber security is not its sole focus.
“This means investments in innovation and microchips which we see in every aspect of our economy,” he says.
This is helpful for businesses like Cyber City Circuits which were hit hard by supply chain impacts.
David Ray, general manager of Cyber City Circuits, said: “It would cost $20 to get something shipped, it was costing $60 and where it used to take three to five days to get stuff from overseas then it went to three weeks.”
More funding going towards these products could help prevent that in the future.
“The hope is with bringing semiconductor and passive component manufacturing back to the United States is that we won’t have major supply chain issues like we did back during the pandemic,” says Ray.
The non-partisan bill totals more than $52 billion and passed in the Senate.
Warnock says they were thrilled to see it go through after months of working on it.
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