Democrats Seek Tighter Limit on Stock Buybacks in Chip Funds (1)

Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, urged the US Commerce Department to impose tougher rules to prevent semiconductor manufacturers from using new subsidies to enable stock buybacks.

The members of Congress want companies that accept money authorized by President Joe Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act to be restricted from engaging in stock buybacks for at least 10 years and to be barred from using government funding to directly or indirectly support buybacks, among other restrictions.

Elizabeth Warren

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

The law already bars companies that receive subsidies from using them for buybacks or shareholder dividends, but the lawmakers ...