LIVE: President Biden Delivers Remarks on Investing in America 2024-05-02 20:52

Please welcome Paris Pugh second grade teacher at Bradley Creek Elementary School. I owe all my gratitude to God my mom and my dad for guiding me. I was raised in Clayton North Carolina where my mother a school social worker for over 30 years instilled in me a passion for education. She's not only my greatest inspiration but also my dearest friend. I graduated from UMC Wilmington in 2022 and followed my passion. I've cherished teaching second grade at Bradley Creek Elementary School right here in Wilmington North Carolina. It's not just a school. It's a community where we cherish each other and celebrate our differences. I am blessed to work alongside a dedicated team of educators. Led by an exceptional. And I am so proud to be a black educator who's nurturing the minds of the incredible young individuals in my classroom. Showing them that they too can stand in front of a classroom one day. But our kids can't prioritize their education. When they're concerned about having a safe and healthy place to learn. Recently we discovered that one of our school's water fountains was contaminated with lead. We swiftly resolved the issue. But no teacher or student should have to worry about their most basic needs like access to clean water. Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris. Students and teachers don't have to worry. Funding from their American Rescue Plan helped to replace our water fountain and so much more. They've made replacing lead pipes here in North Carolina and across the country one of their highest priorities. They know that everyone deserves clean and safe drinking water. They are fighting for us. That is why it is my privilege to introduce a leader whose compassion inspires us all. President Joe Biden. Please have a seat take a seat if you have one. Thank you Paris for that introduction. And by the way my father was here he said I apologize on my back. I apologize. Thank you very much. Look folks. Being a teacher isn't what you do it's who you are. And it matters. Before I get started I just came from Charlotte. I spent some time with some of the families of the eight police officers who were shot in the line of duty on Monday. Four of them were killed. Joshua Iyer. Alden. Excuse me. Elliott. Sam. And I'm just I'm going to mispronounce his name. Poleski. And Thomas Weeks. We pray for the loved ones of those left behind. They met their children. Their husbands. Wives. And their brothers and fathers. We pray for the recovery of the brave wounded as well. Every time an officer puts on that shield and walks out the door a family member wonders whether they're going to get that call before they come home. I'm serious. The entire nation is grieving these families. While crime rates are down nationally we've invested a record amount in public safety, violence interruption and we've also done much work to make communities safer. But to protect our officers we have to get them the resources they need to be able to do their job. And to keep the weapons of war out of the hands of people who without. To the men and women of law enforcement you represent the best of us. And I want to thank you. God bless you all. May he keep you safe. Governor Cooper thank you for having us today. I've been saying this for well over two years. You've got one of the best governors in the United States of America. And I mean this sincerely. When I think of the gov one word comes to mind. I mean this sincerely. Integrity. His absolute integrity. Mayor Sappo thanks for the passport to your city. By the way you ain't the only Wilmington in America. I'm from Wilmington, Delaware. And guess what? The mayor lived in Wilmington, Delaware. Delaware as well as here. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware. His daughter graduated from my alma mater, University of Delaware. And we lived where he lived is only about a mile and a half from where I live. And thanks to my favorite son of North Carolina who's doing a great job as an administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan. Folks, I'm here to talk about something very basic and fundamental to our communities, to our economy, to our basic human dignity. Safe, clean drinking water. For generations water was delivered through lead service pipe lines connecting the main water lines in the streets to the homes and schools and businesses in this city and around the country. These lead lines are tough, durable, but they do and they don't rust. But we've long since learned they leach poisonous toxins into our water. The science is clear. Lead service lines pose severe health risks, damaging brain and kidneys. In children especially, they stunt growth, slow learning, and cause lasting brain damage. We know we can stop it. We know how to do it. One study shows when you reduce lead exposure for children, their test scores actually improve in school as much as they would if they reduced the class size by a third at one-tenth the cost of doing that. It pays off across the board. But today, 9 million lead service lines connect water mains to our homes, schools, daycare centers, businesses. That includes some 300,000 lead service lines here in North Carolina alone. 300,000. The cost to replace them is consequential. But too many families only learn the threat to their children after they get sick. You know, this is for some time why I'm determined and determined to fix it. And we're finally moving. Until the United States of America, God love us, deals with this, how can we say we're a leading nation in the world? For God's sake, we're better than this. Let me say what I've said many times before. There's no safe level of lead exposure, none. The only way forward is to replace every lead service line that connects Americans to clean water. That's why Kamala and I are making sure the administration is the first ever to set out to do it, and we're going to get it done. As a consequence of the first major law I signed, that not many of the other teams signed up to support the American Rescue Plan back in March of 2021, we provided North Carolina with historic investments in clean water money. Governor Cooper dedicated $2 billion from the American Rescue Plan for 800 clean water projects all across this state. Not only includes removing lead service lines, but uses modern technology to sanitize storm and wastewater systems, in addition to connecting thousands of homes to clean tap water for the first time. These clean water projects include testing every water fountain in every school across the state, and removing lead hazards, as Paris mentioned. Now, look, our landmark bipartisan infrastructure law is allowing states across the nation to do more by investing a record $15 billion so far, nationwide, in lead pipe removal. Today, we're releasing a third installment of that funding, an additional $3 billion nationwide, which will bring the total to $250 million for North Carolina so far, including here in Wilmington. It's going to replace 300 lead pipe service lines connecting homes, schools, and business here in Wilmington. Governor, I hear you're breaking ground sometime today. Congratulations, pal. Congratulations. Folks, this is about safety, but it's also about basic fairness. Nationally, we're directing nearly half of the funding to disadvantaged communities. Half of them have been born in the brunt of lead poisoning for so long. Studies show communities of color have been the hardest hit. We have to make things right, and we're going to make them right now. And when we do, it will mean clean water, healthier communities, peace of mind, and jobs befitting those communities. Jobs of plumbers, pipefitters, laborers, engineers, good-paying jobs you can make a serious living with without a college degree to raise a family on. And, folks, protecting people from lead pipe contamination is just one of our nation's most ambitious water agendas ever. We're upgrading old water mains, treatment plants. Some of them are as old as 100 years old here in America, 100 years old. And finally, we're improving water systems on tribal land, where nearly half of the population — nearly half of the population still lack clean water. And we're detecting and removing so-called forever chemicals referred to as PFAS, P-F-A-S-DAS. They're discharged from companies and military bases into our water supply. They're very dangerous chemicals that shouldn't be near our water supply. Earlier this month, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Reagan and Governor Cooper here in Fayetteville, North Carolina, my administration, issued its first-ever national PFAS standard to get those dangerous chemicals out of our drinking water. But that's not all. Communities across the Cape Fear watershed know too well why this matters. As a consequence of PFAS, we've seen aggressive cancers emerge in that area. It's gone so far that we're advising and warning you can't eat the fish from the same water you drink. That's how far it's gone. My administration is investing an additional $9 billion more than ever in the history of America to finally get rid of PFAS chemicals now. And to get safe, clean drinking water to you and 100 million Americans across the country, presently exposed to PFAS. And all my infrastructure law makes the most significant investment in America's infrastructure in generations. It includes roads, bridges, ports, airports, public transit, and so much more. It includes a new passenger train from Raleigh to Richmond, which, by the way, reduces pollution by and takes thousands of vehicles off the road. And provide over 1,000 good-paying jobs. Good-paying jobs. Nationwide, 51,000 projects and 4,500 communities have been announced so far. To date, this has dedicated over $9 billion to North Carolina alone. $9 billion. In January, I was in Raleigh to announce the most significant ever investment in affordable high-speed Internet for every single person in North Carolina. Because high-speed Internet is today as important as electrification was a century ago. It's the means of communication, being able to compete. It's not enough to just have Internet access. It needs to be affordable. That's why my administration is saving families around $30 a month in the Internet bill. Over 900,000 households in North Carolina have saved a conglomerate of $550 million on their Internet. But that program, called Affordable Connectivity Program, runs out of money this month. Folks, for months now, I've asked the Congress to extend the funding, but my Republican friends in Congress have failed to act. Now I'm calling them to act now, so one in five North Carolina families don't see their Internet bills go up next month. This progress is part of my vision for an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up, not just the top down. I'm sick and tired of trickle-down economics. We weren't poor, but I come from a middle-class household, three-bedroom homes, foot-level home, my grandpa living with his four kids, my dad and mom. My dad used to say, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck, it's about your dignity, it's about respect, it's about being able to look a kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay. And it's about being able to have a little bit left over at the end of the month when everything's paid. And guess what? The plan we put in place is beginning to work. We've created a record 15 million jobs since I came to office. The American President has 15 million, including 460,000 right here in North Carolina. Unemployment is down in North Carolina from 5.6 percent to 3.5 percent. Lower than any year under the previous administration, and the lowest in 25 years. Wages are rising nationwide, up 3 percent in North Carolina. I realize there's more to deal with. There's more we have to do. There's a lot of corporations are adding on costs that aren't justified. By the way, Walmart just announced that they're going to open a new store, and they just announced that they're going to charge the product for all the products that have the same exact price they were charged before the pandemic. Before the pandemic. And we're eliminating thousands of junk fees. It used to be, right now, you bounce a check in your bank, you're likely to be charged between $35 and $50 for that bank overcharge. Guess what? You can't now charge more than $8. Same with credit card fees. Look, manufacturing is booming. Nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs in the county. Where in God's name is it written we can't be the leading manufacturer in the world? Where is that written? It's not. Cities like Wilmington are coming back. We're doing all this at the same time, we're cutting the federal deficit. We cut the federal deficit by threatening to make the very wealthy and big corporations begin to pay their fair share. And by the way, I've been fighting for years as a senator. I know I look like I'm only 40, but I'm a little bit older. Taking on big pharma. You know, if any of you have a prescription that has to be filled, I could put you in Air Force One, you pick any city in Europe or parts of the Middle East or in Asia, take you that same prescription, get it filled in those countries in Berlin or in Toronto, Canada or in Rome, Italy. You'll pay 46% less than you pay here. How many of you know somebody who has a need for insulin because they have diabetes? Well, guess what? Now it costs not $400 a month, $35 a month. And by the way, they're still making 350% profit, it only cost them 10 bucks to make it. And by the way, when I first got this passed, it included everybody, not just the elderly. And guess what? Next term I'm going to make sure everybody qualifies for this. And by the way, what we passed already is saving the government, the taxpayers $160 billion over 10 years. Because guess what? Not only it helps the consumer, it means the federal government doesn't have to pay all that money to the drug companies. I'm serious. This is what they call, from my company, a big deal. Look, my predecessors and my MAGA Republican allies, his allies, have a very different view. Every single Republican voted against the American prescription, every one. That's providing hundreds of millions of dollars to deliver drinking water to all of North Carolina schools. The vast majority of them voted against the infrastructure law as well. In fact, your Senator, Ted Budd, called the infrastructure law, I don't know, he called it, the law, fatally flawed. Then he went on to say, and I'm quoting, a liberal Trojan horse for a socialist agenda, end of quote. I don't know about you, but I don't think ensuring kids can drink clean water to avoid brain damage is a socialist agenda. I think it's just plain decency, plain fairness. But as you might guess, the Senator hadn't been shy. He's asked on ten separate occasions for new funding in those very laws he voted against. Ten separate funds. As they say, God bless the boy. Remember, remember that the Trojan horse, socialist agenda, well, I don't know about Senators, I didn't think the Senator was a socialist, he keeps asking. But look, that's okay, I promise to be all kid in the side, president for all Americans, whether you voted for me or not. Because we owe it to the American people. The Senator, I'll see you at the groundbreaking. You may recall that my predecessor promised infrastructure week every single week for four years. He didn't build a damn thing, nothing. No, I'm serious. His administration rolled back wetland protections, making it easier to pollute our water supply. They gave mining companies wide leeway to contaminate our groundwater. They slashed the environmental protection agency budget, eliminated important programs that guaranteed clean water. At the same time, he and his mega allies in Congress were happy to give them very super rich, a $2 trillion tax cut disbursement. Two trillion, the benefit of the super wealthy and the biggest corporation while exploding the federal debt. You may remember that when I was trying to get these bills passed that we talked about, including the veterans bills and the rest, he said we couldn't afford it. I looked out there and there were 50 corporations in the Fortune 500 who made $40 billion, didn't pay a single penny in tax. No, no, I'm not making this up. As I said, look it up. But here's the deal, didn't pay a single, but I just was able to raise the tax to 15%. That's less than all of you pay. And guess what? Not only did it get everything passed, you're able to reduce the federal deficit. My predecessor, the guy running this time, racked up more federal debt than every previous president in history. More federal debt during his administration. He talks about saving money. Well, that's not how I see things. I believe doing what's always worked best for this country. Investing in all of America and investing in all Americans. Look, let me close with this. When folks see shovels in the ground on all these projects, when they see new pipes being laid and people going to work, I hope they feel pride. Pride in their hometowns making a comeback. Pride in America. Pride in knowing we can get big things done in America when we set our minds, big things. There's nothing beyond our capacity. Think about it. We're the only country in the world that's come out of every crisis we've entered stronger than we went in. Every single time. Folks, I've never been more optimistic about our nation's future. We just remember who we are. We're the United States of America. I mean it. And there's nothing, there's nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. So let's get out and work together and get this done. May God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you all.