LIVE: President Biden Delivers Remarks on His 'Investing in America' Agenda

I'm a member of the state wide union a state wide organization what representing family farmers. My wife and I have two kids and four grandkids. We've lived on our dairy farm for my entire life. And my dream has always been. To pass it on to my son and our grandchildren. But before president Biden came to office. I was losing hope that that would happen. Things are becoming more expensive. And the farm situation was not what we desired- we actually were thinking that maybe at some point you might have to sell it. But then when I met the president Biden four years ago. During a town hall five style campaign. He wasn't. As I shared the issues that impacted our community. It was clear we matter to him. He shared with me his comments to invest in all of rural America. Four years later he's keeping that commitment. When he came to office I and many other farmers were dealing with the wait times of a year or more at the local meat processors. Which hit our bottom lines. And limited our ability to get independent or get local meat to our communities. But then he strengthened independent meat and poultry processing capacity. And made a real difference for family farmers like mine. And that's just one win. I put on many miles as farmers union president and I see the- here's the Biden Harris administration's handiwork in the infrastructure improvements. From our bridges and roads to renewable energy. As I prepare to transition my family farm to my son Brett and his family the fourth and fifth generation on the farm. I know that these efforts will smooth the way for those that follow. We have a solar array on our farm which is helping to trim our electric costs right now in half. We are able to pay for that system in eight years and eight months. We hope that the actions that are happening today in the program will help to continue to their- story to diversify and improve our energy supply. There are naysayers out there saying that solar and wind are two costs prohibitive for a regular job. But that's not true. President Biden's historic laws have led to critical renewable energy projects right here in Vernon county. It's been an exciting past four years for farm country. President Biden has sparked some real positive change across the rolling hills of Westby and Vernon county. My business is now prospering more than it ever was and I can finally have peace of mind knowing that I'll be able to pass my farm on to my son and my grandchildren. With this it's now a true honor to introduce someone who feels like a regular Joe to us. And who has made this all possible for my family and for so many others across rural America. President Joe Biden. Hello Wisconsin. First time I was here was about a hundred eighty years ago with William Proxmire when I was a thirty one year old senator. I'm only forty now but you know please have a seat if you have one. It's great to be back. Before I began with your permission I'd like to say a few words about the school shooting yesterday. In Winder county Georgia. You know- my wife Jill and I are here. This morning the four gunned down. Two students and two teachers. Wounded and hospitalized nine others I'm sure you are as well. You know students just young teenagers educators just doing their job. Community like so many around the country just getting back to school. And a joyous and exciting time absolutely shattered shattered. I directed my team to immediately ensure that we're doing everything we can to provide support. Department of Justice and the FBI are working closely with the state and local law enforcement investigating this. We have a lot of information not all of it. We're grateful school personnel and first responders who proved and prevented more people from being killed or injured. Brought the suspect to custody. But as a nation we cannot continue to accept the carnage of gun violence. I'm a gun owner. I believe strongly in the amendment. We need more thought more than thoughts and prayers. Some of my Republican friends in Congress just finally have to say enough is enough we have to do something. Together let's ban assault weapons. My dad is a hunter. I don't know a whole hell of a lot of deer wearing Kevlar vests. I'm serious about this high capacity magazines once again what do we need them for in terms of domestic use. There are too many people who are able to access guns that shouldn't be able to. So let's require safe storage of firearms. I know I have mine locked up. How could you have an assault rifle a weapon in a house not locked up and no one your kid knows where it is. Got to hold parents accountable if they let their child have access to these guns. Let's enact universal background checks and then immunity and then immunity for gun manufacturers. I realize I'm in a rural area like the rural parts of my state where guns we all have them and it's not popular to talk about it. But the truth is there's a difference between rational and irrational. Imagine you know the only outfit in the world that we can't sue and by law passed by law for gun manufacturers. How about if that was the case of big tobacco. What do you think would happen. We're not able to sue tobacco. How many more people would be dead now. What about the ability to change the law. Folks common-sense measures supported by responsible gun owners. You know I won't bring back those children but thousands of children have been gunned down. You know more children are killed or die from a gunshot wound than any other reason in the entire United States. Every disease, every accident, everything. More die as a consequence of a bullet in the United States of America. But to help save lives if we do the things we're talking about and prevent communities from being ripped apart. We can do if we do it together. And I really think so. I just wanted to say that before we began. And now to our event today. Thank you Darren for that introduction and for sharing your story as a family farmer. And thank you to one of America's best I say one of the three best governors in the entire United States of America. Where is it? There it is. Tony you're the best pal. When I think of Tony, I mean this sincerely. One word comes to mind. Integrity. Integrity. And sitting next to him is a former governor not far from here from Iowa named Tom Vilsack who's a and his wife Christian. Yeah there you are. She's smarter than he is. Just like Jill smarter than I am. But Tom's doing a hell of a job as Secretary of Agriculture. Thanks to all the local elected labor and community leaders that are here. And a special thanks to Brent Ridge CEO of Dairyland Power Cooperative for hosting us today. You know I come from the state of Delaware everybody thinks of the eastern industrial state. Our largest industry in Delaware and I served as senator there for 36 years. I know I don't look that old but I am. For 36 years is agriculture. It's a four billion dollar enterprise in the Delmarva Peninsula. And it's co-ops made it happen. Millions of Americans rely on co-ops like yours for electricity every single day and it matters. In June of 2021 five months after I came to office I went to nearby La Crosse Wisconsin. It was the 65th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the bill that created the interstate highway system. I talked about my vision to do something just as historic to invest in infrastructure and clean energy and so much more in rural America. To invest in all America and all Americans. To propel us into the future creating millions and I mean millions of good paying jobs. I'm positioned in America to win the economic competition of the 21st century. I'm back again today to begin a series of trips and events showing that progress we've made together by our investing in America agenda. An agenda that has come to fruition over the last decade. Invest in America. Invest in American workers. Here in Westby you know I'm proud to announce that my my investments that through my investments the most significant climate change law ever and by the way it is a $369 billion dollar bill. It's called we should have named it what it was but at any rate the Department of Agriculture is able from that legislation to announce $7.3 billion dollars in grants to 16 electrical crops nationwide to help rural communities transition to clean affordable reliable energy. It's the most significant transformative investment in electricity and electrification and clean energy for rural America since FDR's New Deal nearly 90 years ago. That's not that's a fact. And it includes Dairyland Power Cooperative that will receive 580 million dollars to develop and purchase solar power, wind power, energy stores right here in Wisconsin and all across the Midwest. And here's why it's a game changer. Before the New Deal private companies refused to provide affordable electricity to rural communities. As a result 1 in 10 rural households only 1 in 10 had electricity before FDR came to power. So farmers had to organize electric co-ops to distribute electricity to their families and their communities. With help from the New Deal there are now more than 800 rural electric co-ops to provide electricity for 40 million Americans in 48 states. But key challenges they've overcome them but they're still the co-ops are still non-profits. They don't have the same resources that private utility companies have to modernize their energy infrastructure. And for decades they couldn't access tax credits to make clean energy more affordable. That's why Campbell and I ensure that for the first time in American history that these non-profit co-ops can benefit from clean energy tax credits just like for-profit utilities have for decades. We're also creating new tools for co-ops to refinance prior debts so they can go out there and not be held back from investing in their future. Today's historic announcement of $7.3 billion for rural electric co-ops builds on those steps. It means clean affordable electricity for over 5 million rural households and businesses across 23 states. It means 20,000 jobs, good-paying, high-quality jobs, including union jobs, so rural America is empowered to lead our clean energy future. It means covering the upfront cost of clean energy so rural families can save on their energy bills and get just a little more breathing room at the end of the month. And it means rural entrepreneurs and manufacturers who are so fundamental to our economy are powered with reliable, affordable energy, and they can create more job opportunities in their communities. And guess what? It's also good for the environment as well. Because of our historic actions, we're going to reduce by 43 million tons greenhouse gas pollution every single year as a consequence of these investments. That is the equivalent of removing pollution from more than 10 million gas-powered vehicles. 10 million. It's going to save $265 billion in health care costs because of better, cleaner quality of air. People aren't breathing polluted air and getting sick. That comes from the NIH. It matters, folks. You know it. And, folks, I've kept my commitment to be present for all Americans and all Americans, including rural America. Your communities are the backbone, and that's not happening. You're the backbone of this country. You deserve the same resources as folks in our cities and our suburbs. And that's what today's announcement is all about, generating rural power for rural America. But that's not all. Last year, I was next door with your good neighbor, Governor Waltz of Minnesota. I think the guy's gone places. I talked about we're making the most fundamental and significant investment ever in rural America, creating new and better markets, new income streams that are generators of rural Americas that can grow and thrive. For example, we're taking on big corporations, doing everything from increasing competition in the meat markets to boosting domestic fertilizer production. In fact, here in Wisconsin, that means 12 million dollars to lower fertilizer costs for farmers across the state, which also creates jobs and grows new businesses. Here in Wisconsin, we also invested $47 million to lower energy costs, install renewable and energy-efficient technologies like solar panels behind me on farms and rural small businesses. Darren just shared how that's cut his family electricity bill in half. We're helping farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs tackle the climate crisis, climate-smart agriculture such as cover crops, nutrient management, storing carbon in the soil. These practices reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and improve overall health of the soil and the water. They put us on a path to continuing to grow the food, the fuel, the fiber that will power our nation for decades to come. Through our bipartisan infrastructure law, it's a fancy way of saying that $366 billion for environment, the most significant investment in America's infrastructure. And what the infrastructure bill, by the way, the bipartisan bill, that was $1,200,000,000,000. And guess what? We're still lowering the deficit. At any rate, the most significant investment in America since Eisenhower's interstate highway system. We invested $4 billion so far in 350 projects to modernize Wisconsin transportation. Just in Wisconsin that's been invested. Infrastructure, three roundabouts on Route 14, U.S. 14, and the new bridge in County Highway M. Folks, look, just like we're making the most significant investment in rural electrification as FDR, we're also making the most significant investment ever in affordable high-speed Internet. Because affordable high-speed Internet is just as essential today as electricity was a century ago in order to be able to do business. And when things are shut down, the kid doesn't have to sit outside of McDonald's. Anyway, that's why we've invested $1.6 billion just in Wisconsin to connect everyone to affordable high-speed Internet in Wisconsin. Since I took office, 72,000 more Wisconsin homes and small businesses have access to high-speed Internet for the first time ever. We're going to keep it going. We've also invested $200 million to replace lead pipes across the state so a kid can drink clean water without worrying about brain damage and changing their schools as well. We've launched the Rural Partners Network, putting new federal staff on the ground to help communities access federal resources, let them know what they are, where they go, how to get it, because it's complicated. I want people on site being able to tell people how they qualify, how they apply, how they get it done. And after years of importing 90% of our semiconductor chips, which I might add America invented, we invented the computer chip. It's needed for everything from automobile engines to weapons. We passed the Chips and Science Act. It has led private companies from around the world to come back. We used to have 40% of the market not too many years ago. And now we've got down to virtually zero. Countries around the world, I travel from everywhere, from North Korea, anyway, South Korea, to across the world to get these computer chip factories to come. I asked when we convinced one of the companies in South Korea to invest in building these chips in America, I said, why would you do it? They're investing several billion dollars. I said because you have the most advanced workers in the world and it's the safest place in the world to invest. Well, our Chips and Science Act has led private companies from around the world to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new chips and battery factories and more than right here in America. With the leadership of your governor, you've already added 200,000 new jobs and attracted over $5 billion in Wisconsin in private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing. In fact, this spring, I was with your governor in Racine, where Microsoft announced a $3 billion investment, $3 billion investment to build a data center. It's about to operate one of the most powerful artificial intelligence systems in the entire world. It's going to create thousands of good paying jobs on site and across the state, creating even more opportunities in the rural community. Let's remember, my predecessor promised you that he would redevelop Foxconn factory in Racine. You been there lately? He didn't do a damn thing. Nothing. Folks, all these investments means family farms can stay in the family. Rural entrepreneurs can build their dreams. Their children and grandchildren won't have to leave home to make a living. I don't know how many of you have been confronted growing up where everything's going well and the son or daughter comes to mom or dad and says, I can't stay. There's not work for me here. I got to leave. That's stopping now because we're spreading opportunities to benefit everyone. Building a future where no one is left behind. Growing an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. If you do that, everybody does well. Everybody does well. My dad used to have an expression, Joey, a job is a bottle. My dad was a hardworking guy. Didn't go to college, row, red guy because of World War Two. Anyway, he worked like hell. He always come home to dinner before you go back and close the shop. And my dad used to say, Joey, a job's about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about being treated with respect. And it's about knowing you can look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay. You're not going to have to leave home to get a job. That's in stark contrast to my predecessor. When he was in office, he enacted a $2 trillion tax cut. $2 trillion tax cut. It overwhelmingly benefited the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and drove up federal deficit every single year of his presidency. He left office with the largest annual deficit in American history, $3 trillion. And by the way, I made a commitment when I got elected. My vice president made a similar commitment. No one making under $400,000 will see a single penny in their taxes raised. Not a single penny. Neighborhood I come from in Claremont, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvania, you say, well, that's too damn much. But the point is, is to make sure that we know it's not a — this isn't an attack on the wealthy. He left us with a pandemic raging and economy reeling. His allies in Congress, with all due respect, I've had this conversation with your senator, Ron Johnson, voted against every one of the things I talked about today. Every single thing I talked about in terms of rural economy. He voted against it. Voted against it. It's hard to imagine your senator voting against interest in the rural state is so large and so consequential as the state of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, your other senator, Tammy Baldwin, has done everything to take care of the state so she can be devoted to it. Vice President Kamala Harris fought like hell for all of you and for the future worthy of your aspirations. Look, just think about how far we've come. We have more to go. We have more to go. Too many people are still in trouble. For nearly four years that we've been President and Vice President, we've had one of the most extraordinary periods of progress in American history. COVID no longer controls our lives. We've gone from an economic crisis to the strongest economy in the world. Let me say it again. We have the strongest economy in the world and no one challenged that. We've got more to do. We're seeing something else. In thousands of cities and towns across the country and across Wisconsin, we're seeing the great American comeback story. The way I see it, and the other team talks about how bad off we are and how America's in trouble. The way I see it, today's announcement is about far more than just giving rural America the power to turn. It's about giving the power to shape our own future. In fact, Wisconsin has a strong, strong history of neighbor helping neighbor and forming cooperatives, which are literally owned and powered by the people of Wisconsin. Because of you, we're planting seeds today that grow and blossom for generations to come. That's what we're seeing here in Wisconsin. We stay with a proud tradition of rural communities leading our nation forward. Again, that's not an exaggeration. You've been a leader in the nation. Let me close with this. As I travel this state and the country, I hope you feel what I feel. Pride. Pride in our hometowns. Pride in making a comeback. Pride in America. Pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together. Folks, I've never been more optimistic about our nation's future. Just remember who the hell we are. We're the United States of America. That's who we are. Not a joke. We're the only nation in the world that's come through every crisis stronger than we went into that crisis. Because we're a hardworking, optimistic people, decent people. We know from experience that there's nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. Again, that's not an exaggeration. We work together. I remember the days when I first got started. A lot of Republican senators, my close friends, we worked together. We compromised. We didn't talk about things. It was a dire moment that democracy was at stake. We actually worked together. We fought like hell, but we worked together. We've got to return that for our children, because our democracy depends on it. I'm keeping you too long in the sun, but let me just say, God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you.