This week, as President Biden showcased US leadership on the world stage, Biden-Harris’ cabinet members and administration officials led a nationwide economic travel flash to highlight how the president’s economic agenda is delivering results to local communities here in the states.
Biden-Harris officials waved across the country – from Alabama to Alaska – and spoke directly to the American people about the actions the Biden-Harris administration is taking to tackle inflation, reduce family costs, create high-paying union jobs, and how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Bipartisan Innovation Act will help America win the competition for the 21st century.
See below for a selection of what Americans are reading in the states after this week’s economic travel flash.
Transport Secretary Buttigieg, Office of Management & amp; Budget Director Young, EPA Administrator Regan and Infrastructure Coordinator Landrieu in Louisiana
New Orleans Attorney: Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg has a list of Louisiana projects to be considered Louisiana will receive its share of more than $ 1 trillion in infrastructure spending that President Joe Biden and Congress send to states, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday. “Many of the passenger train options are in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast,” Buttigieg said. – Part of it is financing, but part of it is to have the right support for passenger trains when it runs on lines owned by the freight lines. Freight railways have a business responsibility, but they also have a legal responsibility to be good hosts for passenger trains when it’s on their metal. “
Times Picayune: Shalanda Young found the way from Clinton, via Loyola and Tulane, to head the federal budget office “This” was to become in March the first black woman to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget, a little-known federal agency outside Washington, but who make spending and regulatory decisions that affect all Americans. Young spoke on Friday after appearing on a panel at the Essence Festival along with two other Biden administration cabinets – Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan. When asked about the one Louisiana problem that caught her attention at OMB, Young replied: “Disaster, disaster, disaster response. It’s something personal to me. After Katrina, I started working with assistance as a grant employee. I have maintained that interest throughout my career and have worked with the Louisiana delegation to ensure that Louisiana has the resources. ” [….] Young noticed that President Biden visited Lake Charles in May 2021, in the wake of Hurricanes Laura and Delta, and said: “I get to work with someone who wants to deliver for everyone. There should be no party-political policy in response to disasters. “
NOLA.com: EPA chief says Supreme Court ruling will not block efforts to curb climate change. With the EPA taking a leading role, President Joe Biden’s administration aimed to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and ultimately steer the power sector towards a emissions-free target by 2040. Regan says the target is still achievable. The EPA is still considering the full impact of the decision on its ability to regulate power plants, but Regan said the agency could take an even more aggressive approach to other sources of emissions, including vehicles and the oil and gas industry. “We have already (adopted) the strictest emission standards for light vehicles, and we are proposing more for heavy vehicles,” he said. “And we have proposed methane emissions regulations for the oil and gas industry that are the strictest in history.” The agency also limits the use of hydrofluorocarbons, the climate-warming chemicals used in air conditioners and refrigerators.
Secretary of Commerce Raimondo at the SelectUSA Summit in Maryland
Reuters: US Secretary of Commerce presses lawmakers to give $ 52 billion green light for chipmaking
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Monday stepped up pressure on Congress to approve $ 52 billion in chipmaker financing to expand the business, warning that companies would abandon US expansion plans without legislation … Raimondo’s warning came after Taiwan’s GlobalWafers announced plans earlier on Monday to build a $ 5 billion plant in Sherman, Texas to produce the silicon wafers needed to produce chips. Raimondo said the company’s CEO told her the investment was conditional on Congress approving the funding.
Bloomberg: Taiwan’s GlobalWafers build $ 5 billion chip plant in Texas At an investment summit on Monday, Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo said the United States currently produces 10% to 12% of the world’s microprocessor chips, down from nearly 40% in previous years. “We took our eyes off the ball,” said the secretary. “We stopped investing in chip production and chip research. And in search of cheap labor, we saw much of our production leave our shores.” For several months, the Biden administration has been seeking to pass a $ 52 billion bill for domestic semiconductor production, which will provide billions of dollars to increase research and development with a view to creating new technologies to help the United States stay afloat. at the forefront of a growing China.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Fudge in Florida
WFOR (CBS Miami, FL): HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge visits South Florida to look at housing crisis. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge’s first stop was Lauderhill Point, a HUD apartment complex for 176 low-income families currently under renovation. “It’s so different when you see it for yourself, that’s why I’m here, it’s important that we address the housing crisis,” she said … The Biden administration has allocated $ 10 billion in housing subsidies administered by HUD and has asked about $ 30 billion more. Millions of dollars are on their way to Florida …
Florida Times-Union: HUD secretary calls Hilltop Village a “success story” after turnaround in Jacksonville apartments. Local, state and federal officials gathered in Jacksonville on Monday to tour several federally supported housing complexes and present positive changes made to the Hilltop Village apartments, a complex that has been full of problems for years … During a tour after the tours at St. Clair Evans Academy, Fudge said Hilltop has had a new management company for the past five months and work has continued to improve the complex and get rid of a rodent attack. Several residents of Hilltop also spoke and agreed that living conditions at the apartment complex have improved.
Miami Herald: Biden’s housing director calls Miami ‘the epicenter of the housing crisis in this country’. The nation’s top housing official visited Miami on Tuesday, calling the city the “epicenter” of a housing crisis in the United States. “I decided to go to Miami, to the epicenter of the housing crisis in this country,” said Marcia Fudge, secretary of housing and urban development, during a visit to the Miami-Dade County Liberty Square complex. In Miami-Dade, HUD funding provides the bulk of the state’s $ 700 million budget for public housing, which includes complexes like Liberty Square and rental coupons under the federal Section 8 program, which subsidizes rent for low-income residents with requirements for stable rents and price caps.
Energy Secretary Granholm, Pennsylvania
TribLive: Officials say Western Pa. can lead in the clean energy industryTuesday, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited the Pittsburgh region to meet with regional leaders to discuss Southwestern Pennsylvania’s future in the clean energy sector … First, Granholm toured a former steel plant in Leetsdale that has been converted into a solar power plant. U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Representative Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon… Granholm then joined a round table at the United Steelworkers Building in downtown Pittsburgh to discuss the region’s efforts to rebuild the energy sector by embracing energy storage technology, hydrogen, natural gas, nuclear power and green buildings.
WPXI (NBC Pittsburgh, PA): US Secretary of Energy Senator Bob Casey in Leetsdale to celebrate the grand opening of a new U.S. steel plant. Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) were in Leetsdale, Allegheny County on Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening of a new BCI Steel production facility on the site of a former Bethlehem Steel facility … “Pittsburgh is the symbol of community which has risen from the ashes, like a phoenix, “Granholm said …” It will put many of our people to work, but it will also demonstrate our commitment to invest in the future, “said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: U.S. Steel meets US solar energy at Leetsdale production facility. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm knows how to create a metaphor … “This facility built a landing craft for the invasion of Normandy,” she said Tuesday … “What you want to deliver can be part of the largest peace plan in the world,” she said. ..Ms Granholm then went downtown to hold a round table on energy jobs at United Steelworkers headquarters.The Department of Energy released its annual energy job report on Tuesday, which estimated that Pennsylvania now has more solar jobs than coal jobs (5,339 vs. 5,062 ).
Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg, Alabama
Alabama Reporter: Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg visits Birmingham to announce US $ 1 billion program. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, along with Congresswoman Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, visited Birmingham on Thursday to announce the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new Reconnecting Communities program, a $ 1 billion plan designed to restore community contact to transportation and increase economic opportunities. “Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we have also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or community because of how it was built,” Buttigieg said. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are proud to announce the launch of Reconnecting Communities: the first ever dedicated federal initiative to unite neighborhoods living with the effects of previous infrastructure choices that shared them.”
WIAT (CBS Birmingham, AL): US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg promotes new Birmingham bus system as part of U.S. pilot program Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg stopped in Birmingham on Thursday to promote a new bus transport system as an example of what additional infrastructure funding could do to connect communities. The Birmingham Xpress will start in September, a 15-mile bus route between Five Points West and Woodlawn. Buttigieg was in town to support the $ 20 million project funded through the pilot program “Reconnecting Communities” which is part of the two-part infrastructure law passed last year. “This is an important milestone we have been working on throughout this administration,” Buttigieg said.
Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Landrieu, Colorado
KDVR (Fox Denver, CO): Police, state leaders highlight new money for Central 70 Project. The Central 70 Project, which completely rebuilt a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 70 through Denver and removed an aging viaduct in the area, will see a boost in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act … On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis joined Senator Michael Bennet , Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Congresswoman Diana DeGette to welcome White House Senior Adviser and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to highlight how the new Infrastructure Act will affect the massive improvement of the freeway.
CBS Colorado: Central 70 project celebrated, construction nearing completion Colorado Department of Transportation celebrates the completion of the Central 70 project. The White House Infrastructure Coordinator was invited to see the major milestone. The project improves safety through the 10,000-mile stretch between I-25 and Chambers Road by widening lanes and shoulders, as well as improving ramps and bridges … Governor Jared Polis, Senator Michael Bennet, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, rep. Diana DeGette welcomed everyone Senior Adviser and Infrastructure Coordinator at the White House Mitch Landrieu to Colorado on Wednesday morning.
U.S. Trade Representative Tai in Alaska
KTUU (NBC Anchorage, AK): Leaders of the fishing industry in Alaska meet US trade ambassador in Anchorage. Ambassador Katherine Tai, US Trade Representative, and Senator Dan Sullivan held a roundtable discussion with leaders from the state fishing industry at the Hotel Captain Cook on Thursday. administration to level the playing field for the US fishing industry against countries such as China.
Secretary of Labor Walsh of Mississippi & amp; Arkansas
Arkansas Times: $ 2 million in federal funds goes to Little Rock Workforce Development BoardU.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh visited Philander Smith College on Wednesday to announce a $ 2 million grant to the Little Rock Workforce Development Board – one of 18 organizations receiving a nationwide grant. A total of $ 50.6 million of the federal funding – the Pathway Home grants – “will provide training and employment services to adults who return to the workforce after incarceration in a local jail or state penitentiary,” according to a press release. “These grants will help people who work for other opportunities,” Walsh said. “They are about reducing crime. They are also about meeting the needs of local labor markets, like here in Little Rock. “
Mississippi Public Broadcasting: Labor Officials Discuss How to Protect the Mississippi WorkforceMississippi is one of several states that restrict the right to organize, with laws allowing employers to dismiss anyone at any time. The state also does not have a labor ministry, and Secretary Marty Walsh with the United States. The Department of Labor says it places his office as the closest governing body. He talks to labor rights groups across the state about the obstacles facing the Mississippi workforce. “Hopefully, we work to support people, continue to fight for equal pay, gender equality, equal pay and other issues,” Walsh said. “In this country, the fact that we pay women less than men, and come up with excuses for whey we do, is just wrong. It’s 2022, it’s time to no matter what job a man has and a woman does the same job, she will get the same exact rate. “
Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack of Iowa
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Vilsack Announces $ 10 Million Grant Program to Develop New Waste Uses in the United States. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, during a visit to eastern Iowa on Tuesday, announced a $ 10 million initiative to help farms and businesses find uses for waste by-products. The grant program is part of President Joe Biden’s $ 1 trillion infrastructure law, passed in November.
Cedar Rapids Gazette: Vilsack Announces $ 10 Million Scholarship Program to Find Waste Uses. For US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, infrastructure is not just about investing in roads and bridges and broadband internet. It’s also about investing in the future and inspiring innovation, he says … At an event Tuesday at Dan and Debbie’s Creamery in Ely, the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and former Iowa governor announced funding for a $ 1,000 billion program created Topartisan infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden.
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Vilsack, Axne Encourages Iowa Farmers to Apply for Aid Derecho Farms across Iowa – and large parts of the Midwest – faced billions of dollars in damage in August 2020, when the windstorm destroyed crops, silos and barns. But farms do not have to recover from these injuries alone: they can benefit from the emergency aid program’s funds to recover financial losses, Vilsack and Axne said.
Secretary of Labor Walsh of Arkansas and Mississippi
KUAR (NPR Little Rock, AR): The U.S. Secretary of Labor announces job training initiative during visit to Little Rock Arkansas receives $ 2 million from the federal government to help adults re-enter the workforce after being imprisoned. Funding from the U.S. The Department of Labor will go to the Little Rock Workforce Development Board to provide training and employment services for people who have recently been released from prisons and prisons. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced the funding during a visit to Little Rocks Philander Smith College on Wednesday. “These grants will help people working for a second chance, they are about reducing crime. They are also about meeting the needs of local labor markets, like here in Little Rock,” Walsh said.
Clarion Ledger: U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh leads job discussion at Jackson State UniversityU.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh made his third stop in two days in the South on Thursday as he led a roundtable discussion on workers’ rights at Jackson State University. After stops in Little Rock, Arkansas and Greenville, Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, spoke to a room of nearly 100 people about the struggles many in the Mid-South and across the nation are facing regarding rights, compensation and conditions in the workplace. He noted the H-2A Visa program, which is intended to help employers find workers where there are not enough workers. Instead, in the Mississippi Delta, Walsh said farmers are using the program to bring in foreign workers at a lower wage to replace black farm workers who have been in place for many years. Walsh said that in his role as Labor Minister, he wants to help make life better for people and hopes honest dialogue will help educate people in the South and the rest of the country. “I take a lot of this with me back to Washington, D.C., and see how we can make a difference,” Walsh said.
