President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to congress and despite confrontation to some topics, bipartisan agreement was apparent toward Bowling Green State University’s new partner, Intel.

President Biden’s address Tuesday, Feb.7, highlighted his bipartisan Chip and Science Act of 2022, providing more allocation of federal funds to be invested into U.S. energy and in turn will create jobs, lower costs and increase domestic manufacturing.

Intel, a Fortune 500 multinational corporation and the largest semiconductor chip manufacturer, announced in January of last year a $20 billion initial investment to build two new chip factories in Ohio.

“Intel is building semiconductor factories on a thousand acres. Literally a field of dreams,” said President Biden. “It’s going to create 10,000 new jobs paying an average of $130,000 per year and many of these do not require a college degree.”

In support of the development Intel made an additional pledge to invest with educational institutions to strengthen research. With Intel’s pledge, BGSU became a member of Midwest Regional Network to work in collaboration with 12 other universities to support the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductor chips are essential to innovation in technology and producing faster, cheaper and more effective results. Due to decreased production during the COVID-19 pandemic amid an increase in the demand for data-centered technology, the semiconductor industry is faced with a shortage in the chips.

The investment, made possible under the Biden-Harris administration, is aimed to increase production of the chips as well as create employment opportunities for Ohioans.

“Intel’s new facilities will be transformative for our state, creating thousands of good-paying jobs in Ohio. We are proud that chips – which power the future – will be made in Ohio by Ohioans,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

The State of the Union address did not receive similar agreement on all topics mentioned by Biden, with some verbal backlash aimed at the president.

A dissatisfied group of Republican lawmakers made their anger heard when Biden accused the party of wanting to make cuts to the Social Security and Welfare program and deny any threat to the programs.

The president’s speech continued to steer toward strengthening the middle-class and directed a lot of praise toward his presidency, meaning a 2024 campaign could possibly be on the horizon.