```

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3963-3965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00727]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

Advancing the Domestic Manufacturing of Semiconductors in 
Commercial Information Technology

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Request for information: Advancing the Domestic Manufacturing 
of Semiconductors in Commercial Information Technology.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This request for information (RFI) seeks input on ways the 
Federal Government can build the resilience of domestic semiconductor 
manufacturing and maintain this essential capability through the 
procurement of commercial IT end products that include semiconductors 
fabricated in the United States. Specific feedback is sought on 
potential procurement approaches to minimize supply chain disruption 
and increase fabrication of semiconductors in the United States.

DATES: Responses to this request for information will be accepted for 
consideration until March 17, 2025.

[[Page 3964]]

ADDRESSES: Responses must be submitted electronically through 
regulations.gov. Mailed paper submissions will not be accepted, and 
electronic submissions received after the deadline may not be 
considered.
    Instructions: Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov 
search ``Commercial IT Procurement RFI'' to submit your comments 
electronically. Information on how to use Regulations.gov, including 
instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and 
viewing the docket, is available on the site under ``FAQ'' (https://www.regulations.gov/faq).
    Privacy Act Statement: OMB is issuing this request for information 
(RFI) pursuant to its authorities under the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy Act, 41 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., and consistent with 
Executive Order (E.O.) 14005 and sec. 70933(1) of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58, which aim for every 
executive agency to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials 
produced in, and services offered in, the United States. Your response 
to this RFI and submission of comments is voluntary. OMB will use your 
feedback to inform sound decision-making on topics related to this RFI 
regarding potential government-wide actions to revitalize the domestic 
manufacturing base, create new opportunities for U.S. firms and 
workers, and position U.S. businesses to compete and lead globally in 
strategic industries. Please note that submissions received in response 
to this notice may be posted in the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov or otherwise released in their entirety, including 
any personal and business confidential information provided. Do not 
include in your submissions any information of a confidential nature, 
such as personal or proprietary information, or any information you 
would not like to be made publicly available. The OMB Public Input 
System of Records, OMB/INPUT/01 at 88 FR 20913 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/07/2023-07452/privacy-act-of-1974-system-of-records) includes a list of routine uses associated with 
the collection of this information.
    Comments containing references, studies, research, and other 
empirical data that are not widely published should include electronic 
links to the referenced materials, if they are available online.
    Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response 
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the 
response. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding 
commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please direct questions regarding this 
Notice to Eddie Garcia, Procurement Analyst (telephone: 202-881-7508) 
or email the Made in America Office at [email protected] with 
``Commercial IT Procurement RFI'' in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 
2022, Public Law 117-167, made historic investments in American 
semiconductor manufacturing to strengthen U.S. supply chains and help 
address vulnerabilities identified in the Information and 
Communications Technology (ICT) review of critical sectors conducted 
pursuant to E.O. 14017, America's Supply Chains.
    This RFI is part of a series of government-wide actions the 
Administration is taking to build an essential domestic manufacturing 
capability for semiconductors. This RFI complements related efforts to 
minimize risk to U.S. economic and national security, which includes 
potential rulemaking by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to 
prohibit Federal agencies from procuring or obtaining semiconductors 
manufactured in certain countries.
    OMB's Made in America Office (MIAO) and Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy (OFPP) seek to understand how the Federal 
acquisition system can best leverage domestic sources for 
semiconductors to ensure a safe and secure supply chain for U.S. 
government procured commercial IT products and services (hereafter 
referred to as ``commercial IT''). Market segments of interest include:

--Telecommunication infrastructure and services
--Cloud/data center infrastructure and services
--ICT devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops)
--Transportation/vehicles

    MIAO and OFPP are especially interested in obtaining your views 
regarding the impact of using contract requirements for dual sourcing, 
potential agency reliance on the industrial mobilization exception to 
full and open competition, or other contracting methods to create and 
preserve this essential capability, mitigate the risk posed by undue 
dependence on foreign manufacturing and help reduce costs currently 
associated with domestic fabrication, assembly, test, and packaging 
(hereafter referred to as ``manufacturing'').
    Dual sourcing. Dual sourcing refers to the supply chain management 
practice of requiring contractors to utilize at least two suppliers to 
provide a specific component, material, or product for the purpose of 
helping to build alternative sources of supply and reducing supply 
chain disruption risks associated with relying on a single source.
    Industrial mobilization. Procurement law and regulations have long 
recognized exceptions to full and open competition for a period of 
time, including when an agency can demonstrate that an exception is 
necessary to award the contract to particular sources in order to (a) 
maintain a facility, producer, manufacturer, or other supplier 
available for furnishing supplies or services in case of a national 
emergency or to achieve industrial mobilization; or (b) establish or 
maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability 
to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a 
Federally funded research and development center. 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3), 
41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3); FAR 6.302-3. Limiting competition to domestic 
sources for a period of time to create or maintain the required 
domestic capability for production of critical supplies has long been 
identified in the FAR as a recognized application of the industrial 
mobilization exception to full and competition and can help to address 
the cost differences between domestic and foreign production by 
building the competitiveness of the domestic market over time. For 
additional information on industrial mobilization, see OFPP & MIAO, 
Strengthening Domestic Sourcing for Critical Items (Mar. 13, 2024).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Strengthening-Domestic-Sourcing-for-Critical-Items.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To understand the potential impact of these or other strategies, 
OMB seeks feedback on the following questions. OMB is especially 
interested in feedback as it pertains to data centers, telecom, and 
other IT infrastructure and services, mobile devices, laptops, servers, 
and workstations, as well as automobiles and other vehicles, but 
welcomes feedback on any commercial IT that uses semiconductors.
    For purposes of this RFI, the terms semiconductor and semiconductor 
manufacturing have the same meanings as set forth in National Institute 
of Standards and Technology regulations at 15 CFR 231.115 and 231.116. 
Examples of semiconductors include

[[Page 3965]]

memory chips, logic chips such as microprocessors and microcontrollers, 
complex systems-on-a-chip, and discrete, analog, and optoelectronic 
chips. The RFI encompasses in its scope leading-edge, current-
generation, and mature-node semiconductors as defined in CHIPS Program 
Office Notice of Funding Opportunities for commercial fabrication 
facilities, Feb 28 2023]. For instance, leading-edge logic 
semiconductors are those requiring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) 
lithography tools for production (and equivalent performance spec for 
memory chips); current-generation semiconductors are those that are not 
leading-edge, up to 28 nanometer process technologies, and include 
logic, analog, radio frequency, and mixed-signal devices; mature-node 
semiconductors include sensors, optoelectronics, discrete devices, and 
logic and analog chips not based on FinFET, post-FinFET, or any other 
sub-28 nanometer transistor architectures.

Questions

    1. If sufficient economic incentives existed, how quickly could you 
begin to use domestically manufactured semiconductors? In responding, 
please identify your market segment or segments (e.g., cloud services, 
cloud infrastructure, telecom services, telecom infrastructure, user 
devices, automobiles) and the type of chips you use most frequently.
    2. Once you have determined that there is sufficient domestic 
manufacturing of semiconductors, what factors, including economic 
incentives, would affect your willingness to take advantage of this 
supply? In responding, please identify your market segment.
    3. How much production is needed to constitute a sufficient 
domestic supply of semiconductors? In responding, please identify both 
your market segment and the any information regarding semiconductors 
that would be helpful to better understand your market segment needs.
    4. Last year, the Federal Government purchased approximately $10 
billion on IT hardware, including approximately 1.5 million mobile 
devices and 1.3 million laptops, around $14 billion of cloud computing, 
including data centers, and $5.43 billion of telecom services.
    a. What steps might agencies take that could effectively 
incentivize you to use domestically manufactured semiconductors in 
meeting this demand (e.g., agency competitions limited to offerors who 
use only domestically manufactured semiconductors; requirements that 
awardees must use two different sources for semiconductors and at least 
one source must provide domestically manufactured semiconductors; 
agency forecasts published well in advance of solicitation that inform 
interested sources of these competitions)? Please identify your market 
segment.
    b. Would you be willing to compete for an IT data center contract 
or a telecom contract that requires the service provider to use 
equipment with domestically manufactured semiconductors in the 
performance of the required service? If not, why not? Would your answer 
change if the statement of work required offerors to agree to use at 
least two different sources for semiconductors?
    c. What opportunities or challenges do you see for your market 
segment if you were to use only domestically manufactured 
semiconductors? Are there steps that could make the requirement more 
manageable, such as with a phase-in (e.g., requiring a certain 
percentage of semi-conductors to be domestically manufactured)?
    d. Many state and local governments adopt Federal standards with 
respect to their own procurement regulations. Would your responses 
change to any of the above questions, if State and local governments 
adopted, through their own authorities, complementary actions?
    e. What percentage of your current offerings rely on domestically 
manufactured semiconductors? Please identify your market segment.
    f. Are there particular categories of semiconductors that would be 
easier to source domestically or ones that would be more difficult?
    g. Are there particular categories of semiconductors that would 
constitute a larger portion of your purchased components and would be 
better sourced domestically?
    5. How far in advance of manufacturing must a purchase order be 
secured from a semiconductor fabricator to support production, or 
infrastructure build-out?
    6. What, if any, significant domestic supply chain vulnerabilities 
surrounding semiconductors are you aware of and what could be done to 
reduce or eliminate those vulnerabilities? Are there other 
vulnerabilities of which we should be aware?
    7. To meet Federal sustainability purchasing requirements, should 
domestically-produced commercial IT products with domestic 
semiconductors include specifications, standards, or ecolabels 
recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Federal 
purchasing or be capable of meeting EPA's Framework for the Assessment 
of Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal 
Purchasing for future inclusion?

Questions for Domestic Manufacturers of Semiconductors

    8. What is the anticipated timeline for domestic production and 
anticipated capacity of various types of semiconductors, including but 
not limited to memory chips, logic chips such as microprocessors and 
microcontrollers, complex systems-on-a-chip, and discrete, analog, and 
optoelectronic chips?
    9. How much time do you need from the placement of an order from an 
IT hardware manufacturer to deliver the semiconductors?
    10. What is the anticipated timeline for domestic production and 
capacity of associated components, including, but not limited to, 
packaging of chips, mother boards, etc.?
    11. What raw materials used in semiconductor manufacturing are in 
limited or constrained supply and could prevent scale up of your 
domestic manufacturing operations?
    12. What manufacturing equipment do you use that are in limited or 
constrained supply and could prevent scale up of your domestic 
semiconductor manufacturing and operations?
    13. What, if any, factors (for example, workforce, permitting, 
access to high quality power/water, etc.) are causing significant 
delays in bringing domestic manufacturing facilities online?
    14. What types of innovations can help make the manufacturing 
market more efficient?

Additional Questions for Interested Stakeholders

    15. What actions should the Federal Government take to enable 
strong small business participation by resellers offering commercial IT 
with domestically fabricated semiconductors?
    OMB intends to hold industry listening sessions in the coming 
months to discuss industry feedback. Listening sessions will be noticed 
through the Federal Register.

Christine J. Harada,
Senior Advisor, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Performing, by 
delegation, the duties of the Administrator for Federal Procurement 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2025-00727 Filed 1-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
```