Ezra Klein

So, okay. So we have to issue the notice of funding opportunity within 180 days. That's step one. Step two, which all 56 applicants completed, is states who want to participate must submit a letter of intent. After they do that, they can submit a request for up to $5 million in planning grants.

So, okay. So we have to issue the notice of funding opportunity within 180 days. That's step one. Step two, which all 56 applicants completed, is states who want to participate must submit a letter of intent. After they do that, they can submit a request for up to $5 million in planning grants.

Then the NTIA, step four, has to review and approve and award, again, planning grants, not broadband grants, planning grants. And it's still at the NTIA.

Then the NTIA, step four, has to review and approve and award, again, planning grants, not broadband grants, planning grants. And it's still at the NTIA.

So the NOFO is being – the Notice of Funding Opportunity is being written. And in the book, I actually spent a lot of time on the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Chips and Science Act because that's not a small thing. And I don't have the NOFO for this in front of me. But the Notice of Funding Opportunity – NOFO.

So the NOFO is being – the Notice of Funding Opportunity is being written. And in the book, I actually spent a lot of time on the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Chips and Science Act because that's not a small thing. And I don't have the NOFO for this in front of me. But the Notice of Funding Opportunity – NOFO.

For the grants that will go to semiconductor manufacturers to locate semiconductor fabs, as they're called in America. That NOFO was long. I read it. And it is just full of stuff. Sure. Look, I call this everything bagel liberalism, the tendency like an everything bagel, you put a little bit of stuff on the bagel and it's great. Delicious. And you put too much.

For the grants that will go to semiconductor manufacturers to locate semiconductor fabs, as they're called in America. That NOFO was long. I read it. And it is just full of stuff. Sure. Look, I call this everything bagel liberalism, the tendency like an everything bagel, you put a little bit of stuff on the bagel and it's great. Delicious. And you put too much.

And if you saw the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, it becomes a black hole from which nothing can escape. So notice of funding opportunities can make a project very complicated. When Chips and Science passed, I, a naive and idealistic policy reporter, thought, oh, good, we're going to give a bunch of semiconductor companies money to locate their plants here.

And if you saw the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, it becomes a black hole from which nothing can escape. So notice of funding opportunities can make a project very complicated. When Chips and Science passed, I, a naive and idealistic policy reporter, thought, oh, good, we're going to give a bunch of semiconductor companies money to locate their plants here.

Which is like a totally fine goal, but does the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation know a lot about that? Or like, how are you gonna diversify your subcontractor chains? And there's a seven step process. And like one idea is maybe you can break deliveries into smaller subcategories. Like it's all this stuff. This is for your application. Yeah, this is for your application.

Which is like a totally fine goal, but does the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation know a lot about that? Or like, how are you gonna diversify your subcontractor chains? And there's a seven step process. And like one idea is maybe you can break deliveries into smaller subcategories. Like it's all this stuff. This is for your application. Yeah, this is for your application.

There's a thing about showing your plans to put childcare on site in the factories, which again, I have children, childcare is great. But you're trying to do something really hard. We have lost semiconductor manufacturing to Taiwan, to South Korea, to at a lower level, China, and we are trying to get it back. And one reason we've lost it is we've made it very expensive to do here.

There's a thing about showing your plans to put childcare on site in the factories, which again, I have children, childcare is great. But you're trying to do something really hard. We have lost semiconductor manufacturing to Taiwan, to South Korea, to at a lower level, China, and we are trying to get it back. And one reason we've lost it is we've made it very expensive to do here.

And so now we're putting more than $30 billion to make it cheaper to do here. And in the nofo, to get people to apply for the $30-plus billion, we are putting in a bunch of things that are going to make it more expensive. And they're going to make it harder to do the thing. Eventually, that money did go out, I want to say. But we'll see how it works out.

And so now we're putting more than $30 billion to make it cheaper to do here. And in the nofo, to get people to apply for the $30-plus billion, we are putting in a bunch of things that are going to make it more expensive. And they're going to make it harder to do the thing. Eventually, that money did go out, I want to say. But we'll see how it works out.

Yes, that is very true. I will say on the semiconductors, you don't have a lot of small semiconductor manufacturing. Right, in other areas. But in general, what you are saying is completely right. Okay, back to rural broadband. So the NOFO that comes out can have a lot of things in it that you wouldn't expect. It's going to try to achieve a lot of different goals. What are the workforce standards?

Yes, that is very true. I will say on the semiconductors, you don't have a lot of small semiconductor manufacturing. Right, in other areas. But in general, what you are saying is completely right. Okay, back to rural broadband. So the NOFO that comes out can have a lot of things in it that you wouldn't expect. It's going to try to achieve a lot of different goals. What are the workforce standards?

What are the equity standards? What are the subcontractor approaches?

What are the equity standards? What are the subcontractor approaches?