Sen. Kennedy questions Intel proposal to build chip production plant in Ireland

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) questioned why Intel announced plans to build its latest chip manufacturing facility in Ireland, rather than the United States, in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.

Key excerpts of the speech are below: 

The Department of Commerce gave Intel $8.9 billion cash in return for 10% of the company. Well, here’s why I think Intel might have rinky-doo’d us. Intel just announced they were taking $5 billion of that. And you know what they’re doing with it? They’re building a chip manufacturing plant in Ireland. 

I mean, I don’t get it. And I know Intel’s going to say, ‘Well, it wasn’t the $8.9 billion that the American taxpayer gave us that we took and helped the Irish economy.’ Money is fungible, folks. Money is fungible. And they can say all they want, ‘Oh, it wasn’t American taxpayer money, it came from a different pot of money.’

Now, if this is true, and I saw it announced publicly that they’re building a $5 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ireland after $8.9 billion of American taxpayer money was given to them, as far as I’m concerned, this deal is a breech birth.”

I hope I’m wrong. Intel, if you’re listening, I hope you’ll explain all of this.

As far as I’m concerned, the way it looks to me right now, we gave them $8.9 billion of American taxpayer money, and they said thank you very much and went and decided to spend it in Ireland. Where I come from, we call that a three-wheeled shopping cart. 

So, Intel needs to build that manufacturing plant in America, or they need to give the American people their money back. And they need to do it now. And they need to explain to the American people.