Congressional leaders share support for Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub at SMU event

DALLAS (SMU) – Congressional leaders gathered at SMU on Jan. 25 to express their support for the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub, a regional consortium charged with growing the regional economy and strengthening U.S. production of semiconductor chips and products.

The SMU-led Texoma Semiconductor Hub, one of 31 announced across the country, is being driven by a consortium of more than 40 members from private industry, local governments, colleges and universities, tribal communities, workforce development and nonprofit organizations. The consortium, representing North Texas and Southern Oklahoma, is working toward a Feb. 29 deadline to apply for up to $75 million in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act.

U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz appeared in recorded messages at the event, offering congratulations and support to the consortium members gathered on the SMU campus.

"This initiative will shape the future of the Texoma region, creating good jobs and supercharging our state’s economy for generations to come," said Cornyn, who served as a key negotiator of the CHIPS and Science Act. Cruz also stressed job creation as a regional priority: “It’s because of your commitment to bring manufacturing to Texas that the Lone Star state will continue to lead the country in semiconductor innovation."

U.S. Representatives Beth Van Duyne, Jake Ellzey and Marc Veasey attended the event in person, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred sent a recorded message.

Van Duyne emphasized the impact of semiconductor chips on the technology we depend on, noting that global competition drives the industry. "We're not just competing with other areas of Texas, we're not just competing with other areas in the country, we're literally competing with areas around the world," she said.

Ellzey said, "Today’s national security depends on the work that you’re going to do here, now and years into the future. So not only does our economy and our jobs in this region depend on it, our national security does as well."

Veasey struck a similar note: "Our nation’s security, our standing in the world, really depends on how we take innovation around this particular area seriously."

"In Texas, we can still do big things when we work together, and this Texoma Semiconductor Hub, led by SMU, proves that," said Allred via videotaped message.

Several Congressional leaders noted the pivotal role former U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson played in securing the CHIPS and Science Act. Johnson, who died Dec. 31, 2023, was chair of the House Committee on Science and pushed for the law to be passed.

The Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub is the only Tech Hub designation in Texas, following Phase I of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs competition. See more about the program and a full list of consortium members at TexomaTechHub.org.

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and more than 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.