Our immigration system has been broken for decades. That is why President Biden and I have spent the last three years putting forward solutions to fix it and address the root causes of migration.

On the first day of our Administration, we sent a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress that included an increase in funding for border security and a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, such as Dreamers who have been here for years.

We have partnered with countries in the Western Hemisphere to address global pressures that are forcing people from their homes, and worked with the private sector to promote investment in Central America. Last October, as part of our national security supplemental request, we asked for $14 billion for border security, which would increase personnel and technology to secure the border and provide assistance to cities to manage the influx of migrants.

At each step, we have been clear: Congress must act. Unfortunately, we have too often been met with those who sought to play political games instead of participating in solutions.

For the past two months, President Biden, members of our Administration, and bipartisan Senate negotiators have worked together. Thanks to their collaboration, additional solutions are now at hand. Congress must quickly pass this agreement.

This package will also ensure that the United States can continue to fulfill its role of global leadership by supporting the people of Ukraine in their brave fight against unprovoked Russian aggression; providing Israel what it needs to defend itself against Hamas terrorists; ensuring life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people; and strengthening our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.

This agreement on border security and immigration does not include everything we have fought for over the past three years — and we will continue to fight for these priorities – but it shows: we can make the border more secure while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation.

Let us remember: we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have always helped strengthen our country, grow our economy, and drive innovation. We know that in America, diversity is our strength. So rather than politicize this issue, let us all address it with the urgency and seriousness it requires.

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Image courtesy Collab New Haven

Collab is taking applications for its Spring 2024 Business Accelerator Program. This free, 12-week course offers education, mentoring, and technical help to entrepreneurs who want to build unique businesses and create positive change. 

Please email with questions, or visit Collab New Haven to apply by the March 10 deadline. 

Image courtesy CT Next

On February 9 from 1 to 6 pm at Kroon Hall on Prospect Street, the City, Yale University, and several local business organizations will host the Big CT Food Event, a pitch competition and networking opportunity for up-and-coming food business entrepreneurs. The event’s goal is to support such entrepreneurs and to connect them with industry representatives who can help them to take their business to the next level. In addition to the pitch competition and networking opportunities it will feature panel discussions, free business coaching, and product sampling. To register for this ticketed event, please visit CT Food Event.

Treasurer Russell Urges Connecticut Residents to Reclaim Lost Funds on National Unclaimed Property Day

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut Treasurer Erick Russell encouraged state residents to find and claim their lost or forgotten money on Thursday, the fourth annual National Unclaimed Property Day. 

“Unclaimed Property Day is a great opportunity to see if you have property waiting to be returned,” said Treasurer Russell. “We want to get this money back to its rightful owners, where it belongs. Finding your property and filing a claim has never been simpler. Don’t let this become a forgotten opportunity to reunite with your unclaimed property.”  

Connecticut’s official unclaimed property website is CTBigList.com. There is no cost to search for property or file claims and no time limit for rightful owners to do so. It’s estimated that one in seven Americans has unclaimed property waiting for them. 

Lost or forgotten money and other property is handed over to the Connecticut Office of the Treasurer for safekeeping until it can be claimed by its rightful owners. This unclaimed property can include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits and refunds, annuities, and more. Most unclaimed property owners are individuals, but corporations, municipalities, schools, nonprofits, hospitals, and small businesses are also among those who’ve found they have money owed to them.   

Connecticut has returned more than $1 billion to rightful owners through the unclaimed property program. Technological and process improvements put in place over the last year have resulted in a marked increase in claims paid. In Fiscal Year 2023, $72 million was returned to 72,981 rightful owners, tripling claims paid over the prior year. 

Treasurer Russell will be introducing legislation this year to further enhance the program’s ability to locate and contact potential owners and to guard consumers against scam attempts. 

“It's our goal to make finding your money and filing claims as easy as possible,” said Treasurer Russell. “We’ve made important progress in modernizing technology with more improvements to come. We’ve also expanded our outreach efforts for residents and local governments in partnership with stakeholders across the state. I’m proud of the work of our great Unclaimed Property team and our agencywide commitment to reuniting as many owners as possible with their funds.” 

Through a partnership with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, the state also participates in a nationwide unclaimed property lookup tool, MissingMoney.com, that allows users to search for funds in multiple states. 

“While there’s no time limit to claim your funds, I encourage everyone to make searching for unclaimed property part of your annual financial routine,” said Treasurer Russell. “Whether it’s your birthday, tax season, or National Unclaimed Property Day, find time at least once a year to search CTBigList.com and claim what’s yours so we can get your money back into your pocket.” 

For more information, or to search for unclaimed property, visit CTBigList.com or call 800-833-7318.

Private Residence
Miami, Florida

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Chris, thank you. And I have to tell you, I’m not going home. (Laughter.)

Folks — I want to thank you for chairing the — the Biden Victory Fund. You’re a great friend, traveling all across the country to bring so many folks into the process. And I mean that. We’re lucky to have you on the campaign trail with us.

And thanks to all of you for the support you’ve given us.

I’ll start with the simplest message: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re the reason I’m President of the United States. Not hyperbole. You’re the reason. (Applause.)

Kamala Harris is a — you’re the reason Kamala Harris is the first — historic Vice President, first woman to be in that position. (Applause.) You’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former President. (Applause.) And you’re the reason we’re going to continue to make him a loser again. (Laughs.) (Applause.)

Folks, in 2020, I ran because I thought this country stood at a — for — everything I believed in was at stake. I really mean it. I thought it was at risk.

I made a couple speeches I got criticized for, saying I thought our democracy was at stake. I think people thought I was being hyperbolic at the time. “Joe, what do you mean democracy is at risk? What do you mean we’re in a battle for the soul of America?” Well, people don’t say that anymore.

You know, I don’t think anyone today doubts democracy was at risk in 2020. And thank God, because of you and supporters like you, we won.

Just think back to the mess that Donald Trump left this country in: a pandemic that was raging, an economy that was reeling.

Look how far we’ve come. We vaccinated America to get through that pandemic. Less than 2 million people were vaccinated when we came into office. Today, 270 million Americans have gotten that COVID vaccine. (Applause.)

We created 14 million new jobs — new jobs — more than any president has in the first term — to get this economy going strong.

We passed the American Rescue Plan to put $1,400 in people’s pockets at the time, who were in real trouble, and $300 checks per child for families — of hardworking families — with thousands of dollars in people’s pockets through the re- — what was then a real crisis. And that money helped cut child poverty in half.

And we have to do more. Everyone is feeling the consequences of these investments and progress — not everybody is feeling it yet. And yet, inflation is now lower in America than in any other country [major economy] in the world.

In recent weeks, we’re starting to see real evidence that American consumers are beginning to feel confidence — renewed confidence in the economy we’re building. Just this morning, we learned that consumer confidence surged to its highest level in two years.

The Washington Post headline from this weekend is: Falling inflation ri- — rai- — rising growth in U.S. gives world the best — gives U.S. the best recovery in the world.

Look, let me tell you who else is noticing: Donald Trump. He recently said, “When the crash occurs, I hope it’s in the next 12 months.” “When the crash occurs, I hope it’s in the next 12 months.” It’s unbelievable. It’s un-American.

How can a former President or anyone say that an economic crash that would devastate millions of people is a good thing?

Here’s what he really means: Donald Trump knows the economy we’ve built is strong and getting stronger. And he knows that, while it’s good for America, it’s bad for him politically.

Trump also said one of the — one president does not — he said, “I’m the one guy that doesn’t want to be a Her- — Herbert Hoover.” Well, I’ve got news for him — bad news. He’s already Herbert Hoover. (Laughter.) The only president other than Donald Trump that lost jobs during an administration was Herbert Hoover. So, Donald “Herbert Hoover” Trump is — (laughter) — is moving right along.

Folks, I promised we’d beat Big Pharma. You know, they charge more for prescription drugs in America than they do anywhere else in the world. You have a prescription — the same exact prescription taken to a drug store here, I take you to one in Toronto, Berlin, anywhere around the world, and it’s somewhere between 60 and 40 percent less.

We said we’d beat them, and we did. Thirty-five-dollar-a-month insulin for seniors with diabetes instead of $400 a month. We tried to make it 35 bucks a month for everyone because it only costs 10 bucks to make and — and the total packaging cost 13 bucks. And they’re still making a significant progress [profit]. But our Republican colleagues pushed back on everybody having it. But with your vote in 2024, we’re going to make it available to everyone.

Out-of-pocket costs for seniors for prescription drugs, beginning in 2024 [2025], are capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how big they are. You all know somebody who is taking a cancer drug. It could be $12-, $15-, $16,000. Well, it’s going to be capped at $2,000 maximum. And it matters.

I promised we’d help ease the accumulated student debt in America that Americans carried during this economic crisis and pandemic. The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me. I found another way, a legal way, to do it. That is three m- — 3.7 million people, $130 billion relief and counting.

Here’s what we did. We went back and fixed what’s called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was designed to help public servants — like teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers — get their student loans forgiven. If they make 10 years of payments without miss and they’re involved in public service, they get their debt forgiven.

By the time I took office, the program had been in place nearly 15 years. Behind red — because of red tape, only 7,000 borrowers had been helped.

Thanks to — today, we have 700,000 borrowers helped. And guess what? It’s growing the economy. (Applause.) They’re out buying homes. They’re out paying their debts. They’re out doing things that make a difference.

And all of you here in Florida knew how lucky America would be when I kept my promise to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. (Applause.) Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson of Miami, Florida — she’s making us proud.

And, by the way, I’ve appointed more Black women to the federal appeals courts than every other president in American history combined — every single one combined. (Applause.) All told, we’ve gotten 171 federal judges confirmed, and two thirds of them are women. (Laughs.) (Applause.) Well, it’s real simple. I got it right. All the women in my family are smarter than all the men, so I figure. (Laughter.)

Look, the fact is that we have a lot more work to do, but I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. I mean it.

An example: Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that I signed, there are 40,000 infrastructure projects all across America.

How in God’s name can we be the most important country in the world, the most economically prosperous, and be ranked number 14 in infrastructure? It’s not possible.

We’re rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports. And we’re bringing affordable high-speed Internet everywhere in America; ripping out every poisonous lead pipe that exists so every child in America can turn on a faucet and drink it without having any brain damage. (Applause.)

We passed the most significant gun safety law in decades. And I will not stop until I once again ban assault weapons in this country. (Applause.)

We’re saving the planet with the most significant investment in climate change ever, anywhere in the history of the world. We’ve tripled sales of electric vehicles, built a national network of 50,000 [500,000] EV charging stations, put on a path to carbon emissions — to reduce by 50 percent by 2030. I could go on, but you’re standing. (Laughter.)

Now imagine the nightmare if Trump returned to office.

At a recent — at a recent deadly school shooting in Perry, Iowa, three people died, including one sixth grader and the school principal. You know what Trump said? It’s hard to believe he said it, but he said it. You just got to “get over it.” You just got to “get over it.”

I’m not going to get over it. I’m going to stop it. I’m going to stop it. (Applause.)

Trump and his MAGA friends want to repeal the historic climate legislation. Maybe they don’t think climate is a real problem, but the rest of us know it is.

I’ve spent more time traveling the world — traveling the United States in the three years, looking at the forest that had been burned to the ground and is equivalent to the entire state of Maryland, burned to the ground. Now after — and you see what the rising tides are doing. You see what’s happening here in Florida. And we’re trying. And we’re trying.

Failing more than 60 times —

You know, look, how can I — I want to be — I don’t want to lose my temper here and say something I shouldn’t.

After trying and failing more than 60 times, Trump and his MAGA friends are promising to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, the only law that exists for people of modest means to be able to get insurance and not be denied because of preexisting condition. And they want to take that away.

Seniors here in Florida and all across America should know this: Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to take away the $35-a-month insulin payment and make it no longer the law, as well as the $2,000 cap on all prescription drugs.

Instead of saving Social Security and Medicare, Trump and his MAGA friends want to give another massive multibillion-dollar tax cut and not pay for it at all.

Look, you know, Trump and his MAGA friends are determined to take away your freedom as well. Today, they’re attacking voting rights — voting rights all across the country.

And now Trump is bragging about having overturned Roe v. Wade, taking away a woman’s right to choose. And now they’re planning a national ban on the right to choose. You know it here in Florida from your governor.

I made it clear: If MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on the right to choose, I will veto it. It will never go into effect. (Applause.)

And if you reelect me and Kamala and a Democratic House and a bigger Senate majority, we will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land everywhere — everywhere. (Applause.)

Look, you’re all standing for a long time, running out of po- — let me close with this.

Trump and his MAGA friends are dividing us, not uniting us; dragging us back into the past, not leading us to the future; refusing to accept the results of a legitimate election; seeking, as Trump did — says, to “terminate” elements of the Constitution; embracing political violence — embracing it.

I sit, next to my office, in the Oval Office — two — two doors — literally, doors to my office down is that dining room where he sat and watched on the 6th of — of January, watched that riot go on, watched those people being killed — watched the cops being killed, watched what’s happening.

You know, I was — shortly after that, I was — as President, I was in London — outside of London at a G7 meeting. And I sat down, and I said, “America is back.” And the French President looked at me, and he said, “For how long? For how long is it back?”

And then, Olaf of Germany looked at me — the Chancellor — and he said, “What would you say, Mr. President” — true story — “What would you say, Mr. President, if we woke up tomorrow morning and here in the London Times said, ‘A thousand people stormed the gates of Parliament, broke down the doors to the House of Commons, and stopped the election of a Speaker — of a Speaker — stopped the election of a Prime Minister’?”

And I started thinking about it. What would we think? What would we think had happened? The rest of the world — everywhere I — I know I’ve — because I’ve been around a while — I know I don’t look it, but I’m a little older. (Laughter.) But I’ve been around. I know every one of these former and present presidents of nations. I mean it sincerely. I’ve been in over 140 countries. I know them personally.

Every meeting I go to, from the G20 on, as I’m leaving, one of them pulls me aside and says, “Joe — Joe, you’ve got to win. You can’t let him back. My country is at stake.”

No, I — no, and a lot of you travel internationally. Find me some other leader in the — in the free world that is rooting for Trump to come back.

Folks, there’s a truth and there’s lies. We have to make clear we stand with the truth and we’re going to defeat the lies. We must make clear that America still — we believe in honesty, decency, dignity, respect. We believe that we’re all created equal. We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before. We’ve never walked away from it before.

You know, we leave nobody behind. We believe everybody deserves a fair shot. We don’t give hate a safe harbor. We believe in America.

I mean, it sounds corny, but think about it. We believe in the idea of America.

I know what’s at stake. We must keep the White House, keep the Senate, and win back the House. And then to win up — (applause) — up and down the ticket at state and local offices.

Here in Florida, we have to organize, mobilize, and vote. And if we do, we will win Florida. (Applause.)

When we do that, we’ll be able to look back and say something few generations can say: America’s democracy was at risk, like it was in 2020, but we saved it.

We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. (Applause.) And there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. And that’s what we have to do.

So, God bless you all. Sorry to make you stand for so long. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

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

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

All the way back there, thank you. Thank you, thank you.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I don’t want to go home. Thank you. Thank you, all. Bye-bye.

Vice President Kamala Harris today met with Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago at the White House.  They discussed continued progress under the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis (PACC 2030) and other key priorities, including regional security issues and the imperative of addressing firearms trafficking. They also discussed Venezuela and the Vice President stressed the need for Nicolas Maduro and his representatives to meet their commitments under the democratic electoral roadmap and support the aspirations of the Venezuelan people for a democratic future. 

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Fifteen years ago Monday, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the law of the land, in a landmark victory in the fight for equal pay. Lilly worked hard, with dignity and pride, only to find that for years she had been paid less than her male coworkers. This needed to change. This law, the first bill signed during the Obama-Biden Administration, expanded important protections against pay discrimination, and was named after her in recognition of her long fight for equal pay.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Definition, History, Impact

Despite this progress, the fight for equal pay continues. Women workers are still paid on average 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the disparities are even greater for many women of color. Today, my Administration is taking new actions to advance pay equity for the federal workforce and employees of federal contractors. These new actions adopt commonsense policies that will help pay millions of workers fairly, close gender and racial wage gaps, and yield tangible benefits for the federal government and federal contractors. These policies are good for workers, our economy, and for families.

In addition, my Administration will continue to call on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, to increase pay transparency and strengthen our tools to fight sex-based pay discrimination. Today and every day, Vice President Harris and I remain committed to building on the promise of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and strengthening the economic security of women across the country.

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White House announced 10 U.S. regions that are emerging as innovation ecosystems and receiving over $530 million of investment catalyzed by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program. The Biden-Harris Administration is awarding the 10 NSF Regional Innovation Engines $150 million ($15 million each) in federal investment, with over $365 million in matched contributions from non-federal partners. Over the next decade, these 10 NSF Regional Innovation Engines will be eligible to receive upwards of $2 billion, with a goal of stimulating economic growth across a range of sectors, including semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, sustainable textiles, climate-resilient agriculture, regenerative medicine, and more. The NSF Regional Innovation Engines program was authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act – signed into law by President Biden in August 2022 – and is part of the President’s Bidenomics agenda to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up.
 
On Friday, First Lady Jill Biden and Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation Sethuraman Panchanathan visited Forsyth Technical Community College to announce two NSF Regional Innovation Engine awardees in North Carolina, focused on driving innovation in textile manufacturing and regenerative medicine.
 
The 10 NSF Regional Innovation Engines will build on regions’ scientific and technological strengths to build new industries and workforces, creating more possibilities for Americans to participate in the 21^st-century economy without having to leave their communities. The NSF Regional Innovation Engines bring together private industry, venture capital, state and local governments, institutions of higher education including community colleges and technical schools, labor unions, Tribal communities and nonprofit organizations to transform their communities and regions over the next decade. This program is critical to the President’s economic vision of supporting regional economies, bringing communities together to tackle economic and science challenges, and bolstering industries of the future.
 
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has leveraged public investment to catalyze private sector investment and job creation in key areas driving American competitiveness. Since President Biden took office, private companies have announced more than $640 billion in clean energy and manufacturing investments, including over $230 billion in semiconductor manufacturing, $150 billion in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, $75 billion in clean energy manufacturing, and $20 billion in biomanufacturing; all of these sectors are represented by the NSF Regional Innovation Engines announced today. These investments will further position U.S. businesses and workers to outcompete the world in the economy of tomorrow and strengthen our national and economic security.
 
NSF Regional Innovation Engine Awardees:

• The Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine will build a next-generation semiconductor technology innovation ecosystem and sharpen our nation’s competitive advantage in the emerging field of semiconductor advanced packaging, ensuring that America maintains reliable and secure access to the chips that underpin nearly every aspect of our economy. 
• The Great Lakes Water Innovation Engine will develop smart water recovery systems to save water and make the region’s booming manufacturing industries more sustainable. 
• The Louisiana Energy Transition Engine will advance technologies critical to the energy transition, including commercializing new approaches to use carbon dioxide and hydrogen as feedstock, advancing the use of carbon dioxide to produce biofuels or bioproducts, and creating sustainable manufacturing practices for the clean energy industry.
• The North Carolina Sustainable Textiles Innovation Engine will revolutionize the $90 billion textile industry by advancing technology in textiles and wearable tech to developing textiles that can be used in innovative ways for protection or in the medical field.
• The North Dakota Advanced Agriculture Technology Engine will reinvent the way we feed our nation, combining advanced crop data, genetic data, climate modeling and sensor technologies to adapt our food systems to the challenges and technology of the 21^st Century.  
• The Paso del Norte Defense and Aerospace Innovation Engine will bolster America’s competitiveness, national security, and space supply chains.  
• The Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine will tap the world’s largest regenerative medicine cluster to create and scale breakthrough clinical therapies.
• The Colorado–Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine will develop advanced, trustworthy, and scalable methods to monitor and predict methane emissions, soil carbon capture, wildfires, and more, advancing essential technology to help the world adapt to a changing climate. 
• The Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine will deploy new solutions to extreme regional dryness and heat, enabling equitable water and energy access. 
• The Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine will accelerate advanced energy storage technologies, unleashing the potential of U.S. battery manufacturers. 

In addition to investing in the 10 NSF Regional Innovation Engines, NSF is also inviting 15 other teams to pursue NSF Regional Innovation Engine Development Awards – adding to the set of 44 such awards announced in May 2023 – to seed communities that will grow their region’s economies through research and partnership and compete for future rounds of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program.

NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program, comprising Engines and Development Awards, represents the full diversity – and potential – of America, selected from more than 120 applications spanning nearly every U.S. state and territory. The NSF Regional Innovation Engines will deliver the benefits and opportunities of scientific and technological innovation to communities across the country, with nearly all significantly benefitting small and rural areas and likewise directly supporting historically underserved communities, including states and territories that have traditionally received less investment from the federal government. President Biden believes the U.S. economy is more resilient if we ensure no community is left out or behind by Federal programs. NSF is further partnering with workforce organizations such as labor unions, helping to enable the creation of good-paying, union jobs in the communities where workers live.

Supporting NSF Regional Innovation Engines Through an All-of-Government Strategy

These groundbreaking investments represent one of the broadest and most significant investments in regional science and technology innovation capacity in our nation’s history, since Congress created the modern university system over 150 years ago with the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. To ensure these NSF Regional Innovation Engines have the tools they need to compete on a global scale, the Administration is bringing the full resources of the federal government to identify and provide funding, technical assistance, and planning for the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, including:

• The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) will partner with NSF to facilitate interactions between the two agencies and their investments in place-based innovation. EDA and NSF will closely align and coordinate benefits and resources if a region has received both an NSF Engine award and a Tech Hubs designation, including regular coordination between EDA and NSF teams to ensure that these investments are catalytic and not duplicative.
• The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will partner with the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program to advance shared Good Jobs Principles and develop equitable workforce development pathways for talent in NSF Engines communities. NSF and DOL will promote job quality, worker empowerment, and equal employment opportunity standards through Regional Innovation Engines to spur inclusive economic growth.
• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), working with NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines, will enhance the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic climate legislation by undertaking a place-based approach to spurring innovation, helping build a 21st century workforce, and strengthening community engagement in collaboration with DOE-funded clean energy projects.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will work with the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program to advance the best available technology and the latest, commercially viable innovations to achieve the nation’s drinking water and clean water goals – including increasing water efficiency and reuse, reducing energy consumption and emissions across the water sector, and ensuring that treatment technologies meet health benchmarks across a range of water quality challenges.
•  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will partner with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to ensure employment opportunities generated by the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program align with accessible and affordable housing goals and support strong, sustainable, inclusive communities. HUD will work with NSF to inform grant recipients about their market housing needs and challenges and offer examples of best practices that lower the cost and speed up the production of new housing, including through innovative housing technologies.
• The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which funds transformative R&D to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone, commits to facilitating connections between NSF Regional Innovation Engines and our ARPANET-H nationwide health innovation network, which connects people, innovators, and institutions.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure (ARPA-I) commits to supporting NSF Regional Innovation Engines in the transportation sector. ARPA-I support will include connecting teams to DOT technical experts, testbeds, and pilot deployments, as well as assisting with technology commercialization and deployment in partnership with public and private stakeholders across the transportation ecosystem.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will collaborate with the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program to support thriving local ecosystems with equitable opportunities for the aerospace industry. NASA support may include connecting teams with the agency’s technical experts and technologies and local NASA awardees and sharing knowledge around space and aeronautics.
• The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will collaborate with the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program to support thriving local ecosystems with equitable opportunities for arts integration and practice. NEA support may include technical assistance on arts-based and culturally-relevant community engagement processes, advising the NSF Regional Innovation Engines teams on future funding opportunities, providing connection to local grantees, and sharing knowledge around innovation and the arts.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will partner with NSF to integrate humanities perspectives into the NSF Engine program. This collaboration encourages broader reflection across a wider range of academic disciplines, including history, ethics, and other relevant fields that complement the scientific development of new technology, and fosters innovation ecosystems across the U.S.
• The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for the regulation of cell and gene therapy products, commits to facilitating scientific and regulatory interactions with the agency, allowing sponsors to take advantage of the full breadth of available regulatory programs to advance product development. 
• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will provide technical assistance for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to increase private investment in small businesses located in NSF Engine regions, convene SBIC funds with NSF Engine leaders, and facilitate connections for NSF Engines with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ecosystem.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Offices and their State Directors will work with the U.S. National Science Foundation, including direct engagement with rural-focused awardees, to identify relevant USDA Rural Development programs and networks, such as Rural Partners Network Community Networks, that could help ensure rural communities can benefit from and engage with the NSF Engines awardees.
• The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate will work with the NSF Regional Innovation Engines to identify any relevant materials, additive manufacturing and Directed Energy technology that could help strengthen the supply chains for technology, widen the talent pool for Directed Energy at a national level, and identify collaboration opportunities to strengthen industry-academia-government ties for advancing state-of-the-art strategies in Directed Energy Science and Technology.

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Earth Rider Brewery
Superior, Wisconsin

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  If you have a seat, take it.  (Laughs.)

Hello, Wisconsin.  (Applause.)  And from across the Bay, hello, Minnesota.  (Applause.)  Tim, thank you for the introduction.

I got to m- — I got to meet his twins and his wife.  And no wonder he’s here.  I tell you what, they’re going to keep him here.

Look, I’m honored to be with the two best governors in America — in the United States of America today — (applause) — the governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers — Tony, stand up — and, also, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz.  (Applause.)

And thanks to the outstanding senators: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin — (applause) — Tammy (inaudible) — and Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith from the state of Minnesota.  (Applause.)  If I have all three of them on my side, I don’t worry about anything.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And two great mayors: Mayor Paine of Superior, Wisconsin — (applause) — and Mayor Reinert of Duluth, Minnesota.  (Applause.)  Stand up, guys.  (Applause.)

Folks, I’m here today to talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention: the progress we’re making to invest in America — in American workers, in American products — to invest in America.  That’s what we’re doing: bringing work, opportunity, and hope to people and communities all across this country.

Just last week, we saw the biggest jump in 30 years in how positive consumers are feeling about the economy.  Things are finally beginning to sink in.

We passed a lot of really good legislation.  We knew it was going to take time for it to begin to take hold.  But it’s taking hold now and turning the economy around.

We also just learned that America fi- — filed 16 million new business applications since I’ve become President.  That’s a record.  (Applause.) 

And the reason I mention it — when someone files for a new business, it’s a — it’s a — it’s an example of hope, something they believe in.  They believe that they can get something done and of consequence.  You know, and Tim’s business right here is that act of hope, as well — started a while ago.

And just today, we learned the economy of the United States grew by 3.1 percent last year.  I don’t wa- — (applause) — I don’t want to bore you all with detail, but, you know, the experts, from the time I got elected, were insisting that a recession was just around the corner.  Every month, there was going to be a recession.

Well, you know, we’ve got really strong growth.  Listening to this — here is this mo- — this morning’s headlines, from the Wall Street Journal and other papers.  Quote, “U.S. [Growth] Shatters Expectations.”  Second headline: “The U.S. Economy Boomed in 2023.”  Third: “U.S. Economy Grew at a Sh- — a Shocking Pace.”  (Laughs.)  I love that “shocking pace” piece.  (Laughter.)  But my favorite is from the Wall Street Journal.  Quote, “What Recession?  Growth Ended [Up] Accelerating in 2023.”  (Applause.)

Folks, look — and, by the way, the economic growth was stronger than we had during the Trump administration.

Our — my predecessor recently said he was actually hoping for the economy to crash.  His quote.  Hoping for the economy to crash.  And can you believe it?  Well — well, he said he’s hoping — because he hope it happens soon, while I’m still president.  That’s what he’s hoping for.

Well, thanks to the American people, America now has the strongest growth and the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world.  (Applause.)  It’s because of you.

We obviously have more work to do, but we’re making real progress, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up and not the top down.

I was raised in a household where there were — we had three-bedroom — it was a nice home — three-bedroom split-level home in a new development of 40 homes in suburbia with four — four kids and a grandpop living with us.  And — but trickle-down economics didn’t trickle down much on my ga- — dad’s kitchen table.

Because when we — when we — when we work from the middle out and the bottom up, the poor have a shot, the middle class does really well, and the — and the wealthy still do well.  But everybody gets a shot.  We all do well.

You know, as the Secretary of the Treasury, Jan- — Janet Yellen, just said today, and I quote, “The story of the middle class is not separate from the st- — state of the economy.  It’s at the heart of it.”  She went on to say, “I mean workers across industries and occupations — from firefighters to nurses to factory workers.”

That’s the middle class.  At least that’s where I come from.  And that’s what it’s all about.

So, I’m here to announce more progress that shows that we can get big things done in America if we start believing in ourselves again, if we start investing in America again.

Folks, look, our infrastructure used to be the best in the world — the be- — rated the best in the world.  But over a period of time, we stopped investing in America.  We stopped it.  We stopped investing in ourselves, and we slipped.  We’re now ranked the 13th best infrastructure in the world.  The United States of America, number 13 in the world.

How in God’s name can we have the strongest economy in the world when we don’t have the strongest and best infrastructure in the world?  It’s not possible.

So, we’re determined to turn that around.  We — we’re determined to turn that around in a big way.  And that’s exactly — (applause) — and that’s actually what we’re doing.

Two years ago, I came to Wisconsin — it was almost this very spot — to talk about the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that I signed with the support of your elected officials — the most sweeping investment to rebuild America in American history.

We’ve already invested $6.1 billion in Wisconsin so far, $5.7 billion — (applause) — $5.7 billion in Minnesota.  (Applause.) 

Two years later, I came back to the Blatnik Bridge.  I was here two years ago.

Well, last time I was here, I came with Tammy, and we’re now back this time because we know — we knew this bridge needed a — had — needed a lot of work.  Tammy didn’t let — let me forget that, either.  (Laughter.) 

You know, that bridge opened in 1961, and it connects Minnesota to Wisconsin — you know better than anyone in the world — and over the [St.] Louis Bay.

It’s a vital link in our nation’s economy.  Every year, 950,000 trucks use the bridge to carry 3.4 billion tons of goods all the way across America and into Canada.  Folks, every day 33,000 ve- — vehicles cross that bridge.

The flow of people is so critical to small businesses that rely on it to get customers, employers [employees], goods to the businesses — it’s critical — and local businesses like this brewery at the base of the bridge.

Think what Tim just told us.  Tim’s family has been here for four generations.  His great-grandparents moved here from Scandinavia to build a bakery just four blocks from here.

And as Tim just said, the bridge is critical to his business, his workers, his customers, to the entire local economy.  And it’s like that in other parts of the country as well.

This bridge is also critical to the largest port on the Great Lakes, serving critical industries like forestry, agriculture, clean energy, supporting so many communities.  I mean, it really is consequential.

But you also know this bridge is in badly corroded condition.  It’s unsafe for trucks to carry oversize, overweight loads, causing drivers lengthy detours, increasing costs and delays.

It’s outdated in design.  Tight curves have led to higher-than-average car accident rates, traffic congestion.

For decades, people talked about replacing this bridge, but it never got done, until today.  (Applause.)  Until today.  I mean it.

And I’m proud to announce $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used to build this new bridge, a new bridge that will increase capacity for large trucks and oversized loads; a new bridge with a modern design, wider shoulders, smother on — smoother on and off ramps; a new bridge with a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists.  (Applause.)

And I — and I want to credit your governors — and I mean this sincerely — and your state legislatures for coming up with the matching money to invest in this bridge.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t have gotten done with — with your own funding.

This investment is going to make a huge difference: less traffic, fewer car accidents, faster commutes to your jobs and schools, quicker response times from firetrucks and first responders when every minute counts.

Goods are going to get shipped quicker, and commerce will flow more freely, instead of having to detour for up to 10 miles.

Here’s what else it means.  It means that 10,000 new construction jobs — union jobs — (applause) — are going to be created.

We’re investing in America, in jobs for American workers, built with American products.

And that’s going to — with the help of your congressional delegation, especially Senator Tammy Baldwin, we’re making sure that that iron, that steel, that construction material to build this bridge is made in America.  (Applause.)
And this funding is part of a larger $5 billion investment led by the Department of Transportation for 37 major projects across America, including bridges, highways, ports, airports.  To date, 40,000 infrastructure problems have been — projects have been announced all across America.  And with the support of these great governors and congressional delegation, we’re doing other big things.

For example, we’re making sure every American, including all of you here, have access to affordable high-speed Internet.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Amy for her leadership in this issue.  She has been relentless.  (Applause.)

High-speed Internet is essential to today’s economy.  It’s as essential as electricity was when Franklin Roosevelt was president.  Not a joke. 

That’s why, nearly a century ago, Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act.  I know this sounds like it doesn’t make — doesn’t matter, but it matters a great deal.  He signed it to bring electricity to nearly every home and farm in America because it became essential — an essential part of the economic growth of the country, an essential way to access the modern life.  And so is high-speed Internet today.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, we’re investing $2.5 billion — $2.5 billion in high-speed Internet.  And we’re going to save — (applause) — and we’re going to save more than 600,000 families in these two states up to $30 a month on their Internet bills.  The household that I came from, that matters.  Those $30 extra at the end of the month — bills all add up when you’re living on a fixed salary.

We’re also investing $1.1 billion in your state to provide clean water and replace poisonous lead pipes.  (Applause.)  Every lead pipe is going to be taken out so you can turn on your faucet and drink clean water without getting sick. 

You know, a recent study shows that reducing lead exposure for children has the same effect on a student’s test scores as reducing the size of a class they’re in from 22 to 15 — one tenth the cost, it is.  It matters.  It affects the ability of the brain to function.

That’s why we’re going to eliminate every single lead pipe in America.  And I promise you that.  We got the money to do it now.  (Applause.)

And that’s on top of another billion dollars to clean up the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water to 20 million people — (applause) — 20 million people.  And, by the way, it used to make the beer brewed here — (laughs) — it is used to make the brewed beer here in this refine- — oh, Earth Rider, thanks for the Great Lakes.  I wondered why (inaudible) — (laughter).

What we’re doing in Wisconsin and Minnesota is just one piece of a much bigger story.  Look, 14 million new jobs since I became president — (applause); 169 [thousand] new jobs in Wisconsin, 200,000 in Minnesota; nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs nationwide — good-paying jobs. 

And [un]employment has been the lowest — been below 4 percent for the longest stretch in 50 years.  (Applause.)  And it’s even lower in Wisconsin and Minnesota, where it stands at 3.3 and 2.9 percent, respectively. 

That’s our economic plan: invest in America, invest in American products, build in America.  That’s what we call Bidenomics. 

My professor — well, I won’t get into my professor.  (Laughter.) 

But, look, my predecessor, though, he chose a different course: trickle-down economics, cut taxes for the very wealthy and big corporations, increasing the deficit significantly.  That’s exactly what happened.  That’s exactly what happened. 

And the fact is — well, I won’t get into it, but — I don’t want to get going.  (Laughter.) 

He stripped good-paying jobs and shipped them overseas.  Why?  Cheaper labor.  Rather than pay you a fair wage, ship it overseas, lower wage costs, and then import the product, denying Americans jobs.  He shrank public investment in infrastructure and education.  And then the process — in the process, he hollowed out communities, closing factories, leaving too many Americans behind.

Look, I grew up in the neighborhoods that many — many of you did, in regions where they had that factory that — maybe it only employed 600 people or 800 people, but it was the heartbeat of the community. 

And all of a sudden, one day, corporation owners decided it was cheaper to send that factory overseas because the labor was cheaper.  So, it sent the — closed the factory, sent it overseas, imported the product from overseas, paid more money for it, and they didn’t have to pay as much in labor.  That’s what happened.  That’s how we began to hollow out American labor.  For real.  Not a joke. 

You know, any rate —

He talked about infrastructure.  Every week, when — for four years, he was going to increase the infr- — “We’re at ‘Infrastructure Week.’”  Well — (laughs) — we have Infrastruc- — Infrastructure Year.  (Laughter.)  He didn’t get — on my watch, instead of Infrastructure Week, America is having an Infrastructure Decade.  (Applause.)

Look, we’re rebuilding factories, and jobs are coming back to America.

For example, you know, when we — you know that little computer chip that everybody needs for everything from your watch to your automobile?  Well, guess what?  We used to make — we invented them.  We s- — made them more sophisticated.  We used to have 40 percent of the market.  And all of a sudden, it was — we have nothing.  You know that — and so, guess what?  I got on a plane and went to South Korea. 

My staff went, “What the hell are you doing?”  I talked to the — the prime — the leader of South Korea.  I said, “You have a thing called ‘Samsung.’  You make a lot of these computer chips.  Come to America.” 

Well, not only did they, but a total of $50 billion — (applause) — is coming to America, building factories in America — in America.

There’s a place just outside of Columbus, Ohio.  They call it a “Field of Dreams.”  They’re building two of these — these fa- — these “fabs,” they call — factories.  They’re like gigantic football fields.  And guess what?  They hire a whole hell of a lot of people, not only building the facility but working there. 

You know what the average salary is?  One hundred and ten thousand bucks a year, and you don’t need a college degree to have the job.  (Applause.)  

The Midwest is coming back.  And these senators right in front of you here, they delivered it.  Amy delivered it.  Tammy delivered it.  Tina delivered it.  I mean it sincerely.  (Applause.)  And you, the American people, supported it. 

Now, I worked with some Republicans to get the bipartisan law done.  And it got done.  But I’m sorry to say, the vast majority voted against it.  But you know what?  That’s okay, because we’re building projects everywhere, no matter whether they voted for it or not. 

I promised to be a president for all Americans, whether you voted for me or didn’t vote for me.  (Applause.)

Folks, but we have more — we have more work to do.  For example, does anyone think that the tax code in America is fair?  Raise your hand if you think the tax code is fair. 

In 2020, 55 of the Fortune 500 company corporations paid zero in taxes — zero in taxes.  You may heard me harp on this for a while.  Federal taxes on $40 billion in profit, they paid zero cents. 

But not anymore.  What I was able to do is provo- — provide for funding all of these programs by signing a — getting passed the tax of just 15 percent.  You pay more than that.  But just getting up to 15 percent — 15 percent tax on these 50 corporations making $40 billion.  And guess what?  As a consequence, we could pay for so many of these investments we’re making all across America without the deficit going up.  And we still brought the deficit down by $7 billion. 

Look, we have to do more. 

One of the other things that I want to mention — you know, I — I’ve been — I’m going to say this politely.  For my entire career, I have been going after the pharmaceutical corporations.  Pharmaceutical corporations in America are the best in the world.  They make the best product.  But whatever prescription you may be taking now, if I take that prescription for you — we’re going to fly to Toronto, Canada; London, England; any — Brazil; anywhere in the world — I will get that prescription by the same company filled for anywhere from one third to one half the cost. 

We get charged more than any other country in the world.  Not a joke.  And you pay for it not only in your prescription, but you pay for it because Medicare pays for a great deal of this.  So, I’ve been pushing to let Medicare negotiate and save (inaudible).  (Applause.)

Well, with the help of your Senate and congress- — congressional delegation, I finally won. 

And guess what?  Any of you — I’m not asking you to raise your hand — but you know anybody who has a — has a problem with diabetes, needs insulin?  Well, it used to be the average cost of that insulin shot a ye- — on a monthly basis was closer to $400.  Now they cannot charge more than $35.  (Applause.)

And, by the way, they’re still making 350 percent profit.  It costs 10 bucks to make it — 10 bucks to make it.  And the guy who invented it didn’t even want a patent on it because he thought it should be available to everyone.

I could take you down the list. 

And beginning in 2025, guess what else happens?  Anybody you know have parents or grandparents who are taking a cancer drug?  They may be paying anywhere from 6- to 13,000 bucks a month for the — for that drug.  They can’t do it.

And guess what?  No one is going to have — no senior is going to have to pay, no matter how many drugs have to take, more than $2,000 bucks a month, period — period, period, period.  (Applause.)

And they’re still going to make money.  They’re still going to make money.

And, folks, I was told that that’s an awful thing to do, man.  It’s a terrible thing to do.  Guess what?  Not only is it saving the individual money, it means you, as taxpayers, are paying billions of dollars less per month because you don’t have to spend that money on Medicaid.  You don’t have to spend that money on Medicaid because it’s a fair price.

We get thou- — look, we — you know, we now have — we used to — before the recession, before the — the pandemic, we had about 700 billionaires in America.  There are 1,000 billionaires now.  You know what their average tax rate is?  Eight percent.

Raise your hand if you want to trade your tax rate now for 8 percent.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m not joking.  I — I’m being deadly earnest.  You know, it sou- — it sounds like I’m making this up: 8 percent, what they pay. 

That’s why I proposed the billionaire minimum tax of 25 percent.  That’s not even the top rate.  (Applause.) 

If billionaires and big corporations paid even close to their fair share, we could strengthen Social Security and Medicare, bring down the cost of childcare, eldercare.  Working-class and middle-class people would all be better off.  And it wouldn’t cost a penny because they’re making — $40 billion would be coming in.

And — and it’s not — I mean, it’s just — it’s just basic fairness.  You know, it’s the right thing to do, and we can get this done.  And I’ll be damned, in the last year of this administration, I’m going to get it done.  (Applause.) 

Let me close with this.  I’m going on too long.  I apol- — I get a little tied up here.  (Laughter.)

This bridge is important, but the story we’re writing is much bigger than that.

When you see the shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky and people hard at work on these projects, I hope you feel re- — a renewed sense pride — pride in your community, pride in what we can do, pride in America, pride in knowing we can get big things done still together in America.

We’re the only county in the world that’s come out of every crisis we’ve gotten into stronger than we went in.  Not a joke.  The only country in the world.  For God’s sake, this is the United States of America — United States of America.

And the real heroes in this whole story, the American people, are starting to speak up.  American workers, American people doing the work to bring communities back to their country in ways that are — that it was before — in the future.

That’s what America does.  That’s why I’ve been never more optimistic about the future.  We just have to remember who in God’s name we are.  We’re the United States of America, and there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. 

Let’s start working together, for God’s sake.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  (Applause.)

President Biden White House administration

For too long, we all know the border’s been broken.
 
It’s long past time to fix it.
 
That’s why two months ago, I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators to seriously, and finally, address the border crisis. For weeks now that’s what they’ve done. Working around the clock, through the holidays, and over weekends.
 
Let’s be clear.
 
What’s been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country. 
 
It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.  And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.
 
Further, Congress needs to finally provide the funding I requested in October to secure the border.  This includes an additional 1,300 border patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border. 
 
Securing the border through these negotiations is a win for America.
 
For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it.
 
If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.

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