President Biden visits Madison, Wisconsin to promote jobs: 'We are building an economy from the bottom up'

MADISON, Wis. — President Joe Biden visited battleground Wisconsin on Wednesday and told union workers at a training facility near Madison that the nation's trillion-dollar investment in infrastructure is working.

"For the first time in a long time, we are building an economy from the bottom up and middle out with products made in America with union labor," President Biden said.

The President hit on themes spelled out in his State of the Union Speech Tuesday night and they played well with the trade skilled workers in the crowd.

"These are good jobs, jobs you can raise a family on. Most of them don't require a college degree. Jobs that people don't have to leave home in search of an opportunity."

Patrick Semansky/AP

Democratic Representative Kaylan Haywood says the President's policies aren't just an investment in Milwaukee but an economic opportunity.

"I think we are seeing it impact workers all across the nation and here in Milwaukee," said Rep. Haywood. "We are seeing the jobs being created and we are seeing the (investment) being made."

The President says the Biden economic plan is working, calling it a 'blue collar blueprint' for America. But Republicans say the President misses the mark on inflation.

President Biden says inflation is coming down. The annual inflation rate last year was 6.5 % after hitting 9.1 %, a 40-year high last summer.

"The President talks as though he's on another planet," said GOP State Party Chair Brian Schimming.

Patrick Semansky/AP

He says Wisconsinites are still feeling the effects of inflation.

"So if the President thinks he's fooling anyone, go ask somebody who went to buy a dozen eggs at the store this week, and they will tell you they're not getting fooled," said Schimming.

TMJ4 looked at how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law impacted Wisconsin.

More than $2.1 billion in federal money went to the Badger state for transportation projects.

One example, Racine rolled out nine new electric buses in 2022, three of them made possible by Federal Transit Authority funds.

Morry Gash/AP

The buses are better for the environment and the budget, saving about $60,000 in diesel fuel costs each year.

Here's another look. The White House says the President's plan is also helping create manufacturing jobs.

Arrowhead Pharmaceutical has invested in its first fully dedicated drug manufacturing facility near Madison, adding 250 new workers.

Georgia-Pacific committed to expanding its Green Bay paper-production facility, bringing on 100 new employees.

Alliant Energy will build battery storage facilities at its south-central solar farms using union workers.

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ORIGINAL REPORT: President Joe Biden visited Madison on Wednesday following his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Biden discussed the Biden Economic Plan and the investments the plan has made in the state. The White House said since the president took office, companies have invested more than $4 billion in manufacturing across the state.

GOP State Party Chair Brian Schimming responded to President Biden’s economic speech in Wisconsin, saying people are “still feeling the effects of inflation. The President talks as though he’s on another planet," according to a statement.

In his State of the Union address, Biden said his plan had helped create 800,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs across the country since 2021.

He will also discuss the future infrastructure investments he has planned for the state, which includes the more than $2.9 billion that has already been announced. $2.1 billion of that will go to better transportation, and $150 million will fund efforts to increase access to clean water.

Biden will be meeting with workers who are training, or currently working, in roles that were created as a result of the president's American Rescue Plan.

President Biden is expected to land in Madison a little before noon, and speak around 1 p.m.

TMJ4 News will broadcast his remarks live on TMJ4.com, on social media, and anywhere you can get the TMJ4 News app.

Biden's visit is one of two stops he has this week and is part of a traditional post-State of the Union blitz to last at least 20 states by the president, vice president, and members of the Cabinet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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