Washington, D.C. – President Biden will outline how his policies are growing the economy from “the middle out and the bottom up” during a speech from Chicago on Wednesday. He is expected to highlight his administration’s industrial policy efforts as the 2024 presidential campaign season kicks off.
Over the course of Biden’s presidency, the United States has added 800,000 manufacturing jobs, according to the White House. America has seen more than 150 battery plants and 50 solar plants announced, with $491 billion in private investment manufacturing commitments since President Biden took office, the White House states.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“American manufacturing is experiencing a welcome resurgence that offers our country’s hardworking men and women valuable, family-supporting jobs, with the potential to revive communities across the nation. But many Americans have yet to feel or appreciate this turnaround.
“It would be a mistake for the administration to view the industrial policy achievements as ‘mission accomplished.’ Only a fraction of the investments and new incentives have been fully implemented. Special interests are seeking to weaken Biden’s ‘Made in America’ requirements. The data shows ‘nearshoring’ and ‘friendshoring’ may crowd out efforts to bring production all the way back to the United States. Our nation still faces dangerous dependencies for medicine, rare earth minerals, and other critical goods.
“The Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act must be viewed as first steps, and not the last word.
“The United States cannot afford to lose any time in the global race to establish manufacturing leadership. China is aiming full-force at beating us to clean energy manufacturing and next-generation technology dominance. Not only is America’s economic wellbeing threatened, but also our national security. The United States suffered the consequences of our dependence on imports during the pandemic. Current global political instability could disrupt supply chains again, potentially debilitating our military at a critical juncture.
“While few voters are aware that factories are coming back to the United States, they overwhelmingly want stronger policies to do that.”
An overwhelming majority of American voters (70%) want the federal government to do even more to bring manufacturing back to the United States, according to polling conducted by Morning Consult for the Alliance for American Manufacturing. And 64% of respondents said they have not seen, heard or read about new factories coming to their communities. The polling showed that voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support a wide range of trade, procurement and industrial policies to boost factory jobs.
Read more about the poll results here.
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