I applaud the UAW and Daimler for reaching a tentative agreement for a record contract. The UAW workers at Daimler are building the trucks and school buses of the future right here in America.

My Investing in America agenda will continue to create good jobs. This agreement is a testament to the power of collective bargaining and shows that we can build a clean energy economy with strong, middle-class union jobs.

Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the heart and soul of our communities. They employ nearly half of all private sector workers and contribute to every industry. Getting them what they need to grow is one of the best investments our country can make. During National Small Business Week, we celebrate the grit and strength of every entrepreneur who has chased a dream and put in the hard work each day to see their business and our Nation thrive.

When I took office, the pandemic was raging, and our economy was reeling. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses had closed forever, and millions more hung on by a thread. Too many families faced the possibility of losing not only their life's work but also their hopes of leaving something behind for their kids. But we turned that around. My Administration reformed the landmark Paycheck Protection Program, which got quick help to thousands of small businesses so they could keep paying their workers. We delivered $450 billion in relief to help 6 million small businesses cover their bills and stay afloat. I signed the American Rescue Plan, which provided additional support to 100,000 restaurants and to 225,000 child care centers, which so many parents rely on to be able to work themselves.

Three years later, America is in the midst of a historic small business boom. Americans have filed a record 17 million new business applications — and every one of them is an act of hope. The share of Black-owned businesses has more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, and Latino business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in at least a decade, generating new jobs and new wealth in local communities. In all, our economy has added 15 million new jobs since I took office. Growth is strong, wages are rising, and inflation is down. We are witnessing a small business boom. Across the country, we are experiencing a great comeback story — and small businesses are playing a key part.

From day one, they have been at the heart of my plan to grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up. That is why — as my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes the biggest investment in our Nation's infrastructure in generations, rebuilding roads, bridges, ports, public transit, and more — we are relying on America's Main Street entrepreneurs to help us rebuild. We set a goal of awarding $37 billion in these investments to small businesses so they can benefit from these projects and create good-paying jobs. We are making sure every home and business in America has access to affordable, high-speed internet by the end of the decade so entrepreneurs everywhere can access more customers and have a fair shot. We passed the CHIPS and Science Act to expand semiconductor manufacturing and ensure industries of the future are Made in America, creating tens of thousands of jobs, strengthening supply chains, and supporting small suppliers and businesses across the country. As our Inflation Reduction Act makes the most significant investment in fighting climate change ever in the world, it is creating new markets for small clean-energy companies. Altogether, my Investing in America Agenda has attracted $688 billion in private-sector investments from companies that are bringing jobs back to America where they belong, helping to rebuild our economy, our supply chains, and our small businesses.

To help small businesses grow, we are also expanding access to capital and to markets by using the power of the Federal Government as both a lender and customer. Mom and pop businesses with only a handful of employees often need small loans of $100,000 or less, but not all banks offer them. That is why the Small Business Administration [SBA] is expanding access to low-cost small-dollar loans and increasing the number of lenders that offer affordable guaranteed loans. The SBA finalized rules that will provide rural and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small businesses with more affordable loan options by authorizing more non-traditional lenders, like Community Development Financial Institutions, to offer guaranteed loans. Because the Federal Government buys more goods and services than any entity in the world, we set a goal of increasing the share of Federal contracting dollars that must go to small disadvantaged businesses from less than 10 percent before I took office to 15 percent. Last year, we awarded a record-setting $76 billion to these businesses, helping level the playing field and close the racial wealth gap.

Meanwhile, we invested $10 billion in State-level small-business programs, which will catalyze tens of billions in private investments to expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Further, my Administration has invested nearly $70 million in the Women's Business Centers network, which is designed to promote and support women-owned businesses and can now be found in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Small businesses may only employ a few people instead of thousands, but together they make up 40 percent of our economy and 99.9 percent of all American businesses. They are the glue that helps hold our Nation together. In their dedication to their communities and in their courage, hope, sweat, and drive, small business owners embody the spirit of America and our boundless possibilities. This week, we recommit to making that future real and leaving no one behind.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28 through May 4, 2024, as National Small Business Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the American economy, continue supporting them, and honor the occasion with programs and activities that highlight these important businesses.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

A job is about more than a paycheck — it is about dignity and respect. Our Nation's workers built this country, and we need to have their backs. On the most basic level, that means every worker in this Nation deserves to be safe on the job. Too many still risk their lives or well-being in unsafe work conditions or dangerous roles. On Workers Memorial Day, we honor our fallen and injured workers and recommit to making sure every worker has the peace of mind of knowing that they are protected at work and can return home safe to their families every night.

I am proud to be the most pro-labor President in history, and from day one, my Administration has fought to make workplaces safer and fairer. Our American Rescue Plan invested $200 million into keeping workers safe during the pandemic and guaranteeing that workers had sick leave available if they got COVID-19. We also used the full power of the Defense Production Act to deliver personal protective equipment to workers who needed it. We vaccinated 230 million Americans so they could return to offices, stores, factory floors, and more without worrying about their health.

Strong unions are at the core of all of this work. Every major law that protects workers' safety passed because unions fought for it. That is why, as my Administration makes the biggest investment in our Nation's infrastructure in generations, we are also incentivizing companies to hire union workers, pay prevailing wages, and support pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships that help workers learn how to safely do the job. At the same time, my Administration finalized a rule requiring Project Labor Agreements for most large-scale Federal construction projects, helping ensure these projects are completed safely, efficiently, and on time.

I am proud of my work standing up for unions, from being the first sitting President to walk a picket line to nominating union advocates to the National Labor Relations Board, which has helped protect the right to organize. I also signed Executive Orders restoring and expanding collective bargaining rights for the Federal workforce, and I re-established labor-management forums at Federal agencies to ensure Federal workers on the job are heard. I signed the Butch Lewis Act, protecting the pensions that millions of Americans worked their whole lives for. I have expanded coverage through the Affordable Care Act and slashed prescription drug prices, making health care more affordable for millions of working families.

At the same time, the Department of Labor has also made it easier for whistleblowers to report unsafe working conditions, regardless of their immigration status, and are hiring and training hundreds of workplace inspectors to ensure employers are meeting health and safety requirements. Last year, my Administration issued the first-ever heat Hazard Alert to protect millions of farm, construction, and other workers who spend their days outside in increasingly extreme heat. We also finalized a new rule to limit miners' exposure to toxic silica dust — protecting more than 250,000 from its harmful effects. The Department of Labor has also ramped up the enforcement of heat-safety rules, conducting more than 4,000 heat inspections in the past 2 years. They have also completed over 65,000 workplace safety and health inspections since 2022, helping keep workers in high-risk industries safe. Further, my Administration published a rule that allows workers to choose a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration official during a workplace inspection, ensuring workers are being heard. The Department of Labor is working to develop a national standard to protect indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat that can be hazardous to their health.

We are also fighting for the courageous first responders who routinely run toward danger to protect the rest of us. The Department of Labor proposed a rule that would strengthen safety standards for emergency responder equipment, training, and vehicle operations for the first time in more than 40 years. These new standards would transform many current industry best practices to requirements and could prevent thousands of injuries for more than one million brave first responders across the country. I was also proud to sign the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, which boosted pay for over 10,000 Federal firefighters to help recruit more to the job, because I know that nothing keeps firefighters safe like more firefighters. We are also committed to protecting firefighters from the harmful effects of toxic "forever chemicals", which are still too often found in firefighting equipment and fire suppression agents. I signed legislation extending the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program to firefighters who are permanently disabled and to families of firefighters who die after experiencing trauma like PTSD — it will not bring their loved ones back, but we owe them.

Today, our Nation is in the midst of a great comeback. Our economy is growing, wages are rising, and inflation is down. We have created a record 15 million jobs. On Workers Memorial Day, we recommit to making sure that every worker in this country is safe on the job. We honor those who lost their lives or have been injured on the job; we stand by their families; and we stand with the labor unions that are fighting to guarantee every worker safety, dignity, and respect.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2024, as Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs and ceremonies in memory of those killed or injured due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

South Lawn

3:52 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello. That's me. [Laughs]

Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. [Applause]

I want to thank Elliot for that introduction. I just love seeing all of our young leaders here today. And on behalf of our President, Joe Biden, and all of us at the White House, a warm, warm welcome to you.

And to all of the young leaders who are here today, part of why I wanted to come out and see you is to thank you for letting your parents and your godparents and your aunts and uncles and big sisters and brothers and your family members — thank you for letting them work here. You guys, by giving them permission to work here, you are helping children around our country and around the world.

The work that your parents do is about making sure that our children are happy and they're doing well and they have clean air and clean water and that they are safe. And you guys letting your parents do this work is helping so many children that you may never meet.

So, I wanted — on this day, when you're here with your parents while they're at work, I want to thank you for letting them do what they do. It means a whole lot to our entire country.

And with that, I will also say, when I was your age, I used to go to work with my mom. And it was really kind of neat to see what they do all day. Right? Wasn't it neat? Did you ask them lots of questions?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes, good. Did you get lots of good answers?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Are all of you skipping school today?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: [Laughs] It's a good day. Okay.

Well, welcome, welcome, welcome, and happy day. And I'm so happy to see all of you.

And to all of the parents, the godparents, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, the big sisters, big brothers, thank you all for the work that you do every day. Thank you all very much. [Applause]

END 3:55 P.M. EDT

Roosevelt Room

2:56 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I — before the press came in, I — I thanked the leaders who are at the table who will be sharing their stories with us this afternoon. And I mentioned to them that their stories are indicative of stories around our country of extraordinary people who have demonstrated the importance of us as a society understanding the power of redemption.

And so, we've asked these four extraordinary individuals to share their stories as a way to help people who are not in this room understand how we can do better, in terms of how we are thinking about the criminal justice system and who has been in it.

And so, I'll start by saying that I want to thank Kim for your advocacy and for using your platform in a way that has really lifted up the importance of talking about and being dedicated to second chances. And you are going to speak in a moment, but I really thank you for being here and Mayor Benjamin, of course, for moderating the conversation.

So I'm a big believer in the power of redemption. It's an age-old concept that transcends religions but is fundamentally about an understanding that everybody makes mistakes. And for some, that might rise to the level of being a crime. But is it not the sign of a civil society that we allow people a way to earn their way back and give them the support and the resources they need to do that?

And so, that's why we have convened today to talk about the power of individuals when supported by a community, by society — the power that they have to do extraordinary things that benefit all kinds of people in terms of where they live and the people they meet, their family members, and others.

So, again, I welcome the four of you for being here. And — and I'll tell you, I have worked on this issue my entire career, and I know it works. I know that it works to give people second chances.

Back when I was elected DA of San Francisco in — I was elected in 2003, started in 2004, and I've created one of the first reentry initiatives in the country. In fact, back then, the United States Department of Justice designated my program, Back on Track, as being a model of innovation for law enforcement in the United States.

And I designed it focused on first-time drug sales offenders — and most of them were in their 20s — and getting them into an initiative that was about job training — the building trades and the unions were very helpful and a great partner around apprenticeship programs; parenting classes; helping folks with housing. All of the things that any person needs to actually be productive.

And we proved that it worked. It was one of the first in the country. We reduced recidivism by 80 percent with that program in San Francisco. Then, when I became Attorney General of California, running the California Department of Justice, I created the first division on recidivism reduction and reentry, highlighting how state attorneys general but state — states as a whole and law enforcement, in particular, can and should be dedicated to this concept of what we can do around reentry and reduction of recidivism.

For a number of reasons, yes, it is about reduction but also is about public safety. Right? Reduction of recidivism is about reducing crime and doing it in a productive way, which realizes that sometimes we really ought to think more about what's the return on our investment, and we actually get a lot more out of our investment if we invest in the capacity of people instead of reacting after they've done things that might warrant a — a prosecution.

And then, of course, now, as Vice President, we have continued this work. Our President, Joe Biden, has a longstanding commitment to the issue of reduction, of recidivism. And while we have been here, then, at the White House, we've done a number of things that have been about allowing people second chances through understanding the obstacles that also still exist within society that prevent people from taking advantage of a second chance.

For example, there have been longstanding restrictions on access to opportunities such as small-business loans. So, recently, we announced that we are changing the way that we think about who is eligible for small-business loans and have, for the first time, said that folks with a criminal conviction can qualify for small-business loans.

Understand that we issue about $40 billion in small-business loans every year. The average is about $500,000. So, making this now available — and these are small business leaders, by the way — making this available, reducing and eliminating that restriction is going to mean a lot in terms of second chances and the opportunity for people to excel.

We have expanded Pell Grants for people who are currently incarcerated, understanding that there are a lot of folks who are inside who do, while they are there, want to enhance their education so that when they come out, they can get a job that allows them a — a quality of life and living that can allow them to take care of themselves and their families.

We have now expanded Pell Grants for the people who are currently incarcerated. And we have invested nearly a billion dollars to include cities and local governments and nonprofits in money for job training — for increased job training and addiction recovery and reentry support.

And I will say this. Many Americans who have served their time still face obstacles to their success. And one way for us to remove some of those other obstacles is by issuing pardons and commutations. And so, that is the subject of our conversation today.

We have issued, as an administration, with President Biden's leadership, more pardons and commutations than any recent administration at this point in their term.

For example, on marijuana, we have pardoned all people for federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. Many of you have heard me say I just don't think people should have to go to jail for smoking weed. And these pardons have been issued as an extension of that approach.

We have also addressed unjust sentencing to the extent that we have issued pardons and commutations to address historic disparities in sentencing.

One of the examples that as well-known was the disparity — longstanding disparity in sentencing of crack versus powder cocaine. It was 100-to-1 disparity, and we have been dealing with that.

In furtherance of this work, to- — yesterday, the President issued a new round of pardons. And today, we are, then, here to honor some of the recipients of those pardons.

And — and I will close my comments, as I turn it over to Kim, by saying that, again, I think we know that we can be smarter with how we seek to, one, achieve public safety but also be smarter in terms of how we invest in the people of our country, especially when we do receive and understand the importance of a concept like redemption.

And so, again, I thank everybody for being here today. And I will now turn it over to Kim Kardashian, who has been a wonderful advocate on this and so many other issues.

END 2:56 P.M. EDT

Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology
Syracuse, New York

2:39 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, hello, hello. [Applause] It's good to be back in Syracuse. [Applause] I fell in love with this place, but I fell in love with a girl before I did that. [Laughter]

Come — please, all, have a seat.

Shannon, thanks for that introduction and thank you for your brothers and sisters in the — in the building trades, what they're doing to help build a future here in Syracuse.

You know, before I start, I want to take a moment to honor

two officers who have already been mentioned — two fallen heroes who were killed in the line of duty this month: Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and — County Sheriff Department — and Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen.

We pray for their loved ones, whose hearts have been broken. You know, every time a police officer puts on that shield every morning, their husband or wife, whatever it is, their child worries about will they get that phone call — will they get that phone call.

I got one of those phone calls in a different circumstance — find out you've lost part of your soul, lost part of your heart.

For — the entire Syracuse community is grieving, and we're grieving with you.

You know, to the men and women in law enforcement here and across the country, you represent the best of us. You really do. It's one of the toughest jobs in America — one of the toughest jobs. And to the families, who I hope to get to meet shortly, I say, "My heart goes out to you." Thank you. And God bless you all.

Folks, I want to thank Governor Hochul for having us here today and for her partnership. And thanks to Chuck Schumer, a relentless advocate for this project we — we're here to talk about today.

County Executive McMahon, it's good to be back in a place that meant so much to me in my life.

I also want to thank Governor Little of Idaho and — and Boise Mayor McLean for joining us.

Micron's CEO, Sanjay, thank you for your leadership and investment in America. We tried to entice you a little bit with a couple hundre- – you know, billions of dollars, but you came. [Laughter] It seemed to work.

And to all the union leaders here, including Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers, thank you for showing the world that we can do big things again in America.

And all — folks, all over the years I've asked business leaders like Sanjay –- because the other team kept criticizing me for wanting to make these investments, you know, things like the — the infrastructure bill, which was over a trillion dollars. And we're going to have in- — we have an Infrastructure Decade coming. The last guy had Infrastructure Week and never showed up. [Laughter]

But — but, you know, I asked him — I was told that, you know, "This is a government intervention." I said, "Sure in the hell is." [Applause, Laughter]

I ask every business leader I know — not a joke — "When the federal government makes a multi-billion-dollar investment in something, does that encourage you or discourage you from getting engaged?" Well, guess what? Every single solitary leader said, overwhelmingly, yes, it encourages them to get engaged. And so, that's why we're here today.

You know, during the pandemic, folks, everyone learned about supply chains. You may remember we had a global shortage of semiconductors — smaller than the tip of your finger, and now it's even smaller than that — that would help power everything in our lives from smartphones to cars to dishwashers, satellites.

We invented those chips here in America. We invented them. We made them move. We modernized them. But over time, we stopped — we used to have 40 percent of this market. And over time, we stopped making them.

So, when the pandemic shut down the chips factories overseas, prices of everything went up at — here at home. That semiconductor shortage drove one third of the surge in inflation in 2021, caused long wait lines of all kinds of products.

Folks, I determined that I'm never going to let us be vulnerable to wait lines again. Wh- — if it's essential, we're going to make it here in America.

And together — [applause] — and, by the way, that's not hyperbole; that's literal. Together with Schumer, Leader and I, we took action to make sure these chips are made in America again, creating tens of thousands — and I mean tens of thousands — of good-paying jobs, bringing prices down for everyone.

In 2022, together with Sch- — Leader Schumer, we wrote the CHIPS and Science Act. We used to invest significant amounts of money in research and development. We stopped doing it, but I was determined we were going to do it again. It's one of the most significant science and technology investments in our history.

And two months later, I came to Syracuse to celebrate Micron's historic plan to build the biggest semiconductor manufacturing site in all of America, one of the biggest in the world.

As was mentioned, it's the size of — going to be the size of 40 football fields — 40 — big enough to fit four Carrier Domes inside and still have space leftover.

Today, I'm pleased to announce we're building on that commitment with a landmark preliminary agreement between my administration and Micron, a major chip manufacturer, which is building these fabs here in Upstate New York: $6.1 billion in chips funding paired with $125 billion from Micron to build these facilities here in New York and near Micron headquarters in Idaho.

And I — you know, by the way — [applause] — it's been mentioned before, it's the single-biggest private investment ever in the history of these two states — Idaho and, you know, New York.

So far from — not far from here, in Clay, New York, it's going to help build two to four manufacturing facilities planned by Micron'smega-labs[mega-fabs].

In Boise,Ohio[Idaho], it's going to help build new high-volume manufacturing fabs as well.

In all, it's going to create over 70,000 jobs across both states, at least 9,000 of which are construction jobs, 11,000 manufacturing jobs, tens of thousands more up and down the supply chain. And it includes 9,000 permanent Micron manufacturing jobs right here in Clay — not here, but near, in Clay, just a — just a little bit from here — many of them paying — catch this — $100,000 a year. And it doesn't require a college degree. [Applause]

These projects are governed by the largest Project Labor Agreement in the state's history. It makes one of the — and it makes sure that work is done on time with the highest quality and most significant safety standards. And I'm pleased that Micron is planning to sit down with unions to discuss the labor piece.

Look — [applause] — that's not all. And, by the way, I know I get criticized for being the most pro-union president in American history, but guess what? The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. [Applause]

These new — brand new facilities are going to produce the most sophisticated, powerful, leading-edge memory chips in the entire world. Each one has — has trillions — not billions, not millions — trillions of tiny features, each4,000[40,000] times thinner than a single hair on your head. And I've got some very thin hair on my head. [Laughter]

They require manufacturing precision down to the size of an atom. They posse- — they process enormous amounts of information at lightning speed. And they're critical to the emerging technology that will power tomorrow's economy, like artificial intelligence and advanced communications. They'll make everyday things faster, lighter, smaller, and more reliable. And it's about time.

Even though America invented these advanced chips, we don't make any of them today — zero, zero. All manufacturing of leading-edge chips moved to Asia years ago.

That's why, today, this is such a big deal. And it is a big deal.

We're bringing advanced chips manufacturing back to America after 40 years. And it's going to transform our semiconductor industry, a pillar of a modern economy. And it's going to create an entirely new ecosystem in research, design, manufacturing of advanced chips here in America.

Folks, where is it written — when I said we were going to have the lo- — become the manufacturing capital of the world again when I got elected, they looked at me, some of my friends, and said, "You're crazy." Well, where the he- — where the heck is it written — [laughter] — that American manufacturing can- — will not be the capital of the world again? It's going to be.

We've already created 8- — nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs since I took office. And, fol- — we're just getting started. And that's a fact. We're just getting started.

It isn't just about investing in America. It's about investing in the American people as well. [Applause] And that includes training folks for these high-paying jobs — highly skilled new jobs that we're creating. To do that, we're bringing employers, unions, community colleges, high schools together and workforce hubs where folks can learn the skills hands-on.

My Jill wi- — my wife, Jill, cares a lot about this as well. She's teaching at a community college right now. Last year, she announced our first five workforce hubs in — in the na- — in the United States in Pittsburgh; Phoenix; Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; and Augusta, Georgia. Thousands of workers will be trained in these facilities.

And today, I'm pleased to announce four new hub programs. One hub in Detroit and Lansing, Michigan, folks will make electric cars. Another hub in Philadelphia, one in Milwaukee will train workers that'll replace every — every poisonous lead pipe in America within the decade. And here in Syracuse — the Syracuse region, a new hub is going to train semiconductor workers for the future. [Applause]

And I know that Micron is also partnering with the American Federation of Teachers to develop a technology curriculum for high schools in New York state. Think about it, those of you who are as young as me, 40 — in your 40s or so. [Laughter] How many schools still have shop in them? How many folks have — where you learn how to work with your hands?

A significant number of public schools did away with it. So many young people who are qualified and want to and are capable who are going to never know that they had that capacity.

Well, I want to thank Randi and Sanjay for their work and Micron's leadership in workforce development, because it's going to make a big difference.

In all — [applause] — so far, my Investing in America agenda has attracted more than $825 billion — $825 billion in private-sector investment, not a penny of which existed before I got elected. I ignited a ma- — it ignited a manufacturing boom, a clean-energy boom, a semiconductor boom nationwide. And it's clear we have the strongest economy in the world, and that's a fact.

Fifteen million new jobs created in three and half years. [Applause] Unemployment did — has — hasn't been this low for this long for 50 years. Wages are rising. Instead of importing foreign products, we're exporting — and exporting American jobs, we're exporting American products and creating American jobs — [applause] — here in America where they belong.

And, folks, my predecessor and his MAGA Republican friends have a very different view. They oppose the CHIPS and Science Act that's powering this growth today.

In fact, your congressman, Brandon Williams, called it "corporate welfare."

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: Bless me, Father. [The President makes the sign of the cross] [Laughter]

And Elise Stefanik, a few counties over, called the CHIPS Act — she said it was, "Washington at its worst," end of quote. I guess they're not going to be here today to celebrate. [Applause, Laughter]

But now — now — [applause] — conversion is wonderful, isn't it?

Now they've seen the massive surge in investment and jobs that we've mobilized, and they're singing a different tune now. Now they say this is "critical." You got that? Stefanik said this is "critical."

Now they say what we're doing will, quote, "lead to a more prosperous, secure, and innovative America." Well, there's nothing, I said, like conversion. I agree. Welcome, welcome, welcome. [Laughter]

Folks, look, we got to stop this division. I promised to be a president for all of America, whether you voted for me or not. Today's investment helps Americans everywhere, in red states and blue states, and proof that we have — we leave no one behind.

Of the infrastructure jobs and pr- — and proposals, we have more of them in red states than in blue states. It's about America.

Let me close with this. The past few years, I've talked to folks all across America, in their communities and at their kitchen tables. They often tell me, back in 2020, they were down. They had lost their business.

How many — did you know somebody who worked at Carrier or another facility and a whole generation that worked there? And you're sitting there as a parent and — a mom — and the kid that comes home, well-educated, says, "I can't live here anymore. There's no job for me. I got to move. I got to move." They lost faith.

Syracuse is a good example. For decades — decades, it was a manufacturing boomtown full of good-paying jobs and a solid path to the middle class. I know; I lived here. I went to law school here. I married a wonderful woman from Lake Skaneateles who I came — that's why I came to Syracuse Law School. I felt it.

But over the years, trickle-down economics swept it all away. Under my predecessor, manufacturers left. Factories like BCS Automotive over in Auburn, where her family lived, shut down. Twenty-two thousand local jobs disappeared in the Syracuse region.

That's a story seen in community after community nationwide: hollowed out, robbed of hope. But not on my watch, thanks to investing we're making in America and the partnerships we've formed. [Applause]

American manufacturing is back. [Applause] New factories are going up all across the country. And communities like Syracuse are writing a great American comeback story — that's what it is: a comeback story — creating new jobs, new businesses, new hope.

Today, folks, when folks see shovels in the ground on these projects, people going back to work, I hope they feel the pride that I feel — pride in their hometown that's making a comeback, pride in America, pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together.

That's why I've never been more optimistic about this nation's future. We just have to remember who we are, for God's sake. We're the United States of America. [Applause] And there is nothing — nothing, nothing — beyond our capacity to get done when we work together.

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

This is a big deal day. Congratulations, Syracuse. [Applause] Congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you. [Applause]

Thank you.

2:55 P.M. EDT