March 7, 2025
Takeaways from Presidential Address to Congress
On Tuesday, March 4, forty-three days into his second term, President Trump delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress, using the opportunity to call on both chambers to work diligently to advance his agenda. While President Trump spoke on a host of issues, below are three highlights that cities can take away from his speech.
CHIPS & Sciences Act
The president put a target on the CHIPS & Sciences Act passed in 2022, intended to unlock a total of $280 billion in funding to boost the competitiveness of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, strengthen innovation, move research and development stateside, and increase overall national security.
Alongside Georgia’s business-friendly environment and state investments, the incentives from CHIPS have aided major economic development projects in our state, creating jobs and strengthening communities. For instance:
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Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a $100 million grant to Absolics, a company that manufactures materials for computer chips. This grant adds to a previous $75 million award the company received and will go towards supporting a 120,000 sq. ft. facility in Covington, Georgia with 1200 jobs expected to be created.
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In December, the U.S. Department of Energy closed a $1.45 billion loan to Qcells for a solar manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia. The project has an expected economic output of over $2 billion.
Although the bill passed with support from 17 Republican Senators and 24 Republican House members and was touted as a bipartisan success, President Trump in his Tuesday speech called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to eliminate the subsidies and take whatever is left to reduce federal debt levels.
Tariffs
In his address, President Trump discussed the tariffs that took effect that same day – an additional 10% on Chinese imports, 25% on Mexican and Canadian imports, and 10% on imports from other countries. The Administration’s economic agenda includes tariffs intended to restore domestic jobs and economic wealth.
Tariffs have supporters and detractors. While the Administration believes the tariffs will benefit domestic businesses and employees, opponents believe the tariffs will add to the price tag of foreign goods, making it more expensive for U.S. businesses to import products. Costs of the tariffs may ultimately be shouldered by consumers through higher prices for everyday goods.
Reducing Federal Government
Early on in his address, President Trump reiterated calls for reducing the size of the federal government, namely in the staffing of agencies and the promulgation of federal rules and regulations, referencing the “10-for-1” rule (one in, ten out) from a recent executive order. He praised the Department of Government Efficiency that is spearheading the government reduction efforts currently being enforced by different agencies and offices.
Changes Under Fair Housing Rule
Separate and apart from Tuesday’s speech, the new HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced that the federal housing agency will overturn the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule from the Obama-Biden administration. The stated rationale for the rescission of that rule is to “return decisions on zoning, home building transportation, and more to local leaders.”