White House touts historic investments in industry and infrastructure with new website

The White House on Tuesday launched a new website, Invest.gov, which is being used to highlight public and private investments enabled by policies signed into law by President Joe Biden. The site details how $479 billion in manufacturing investments and $220 billion in public infrastructure spending is being allocated in different states.

“President Biden has overseen the strongest jobs recovery in history, is rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, and is bringing manufacturing back to the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

When Biden took office in January 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.3%. In the most recent jobs report for May 2023, the unemployment rate was 3.7%.

The new site emphasizes that the jobs being created for new manufacturing ventures and infrastructure projects are often unionized and do not require a college degree. Four major bills signed into law by Biden are credited with creating conditions for economic growth: the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Invest.gov notes, “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is mobilizing historic levels of private sector investments in the United States.”

Announcements of new investments since Biden took office have been made by companies that manufacture semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries, as well as by companies involved in biomanufacturing and clean energy. Infrastructure spending cited in the report includes $156.4 billion allocated for repair of roads, bridges, and other transportation-related items, as well as $13.5 billion to improve community preparedness for climate change and other environmental hazards.

The report summarizes investments from both public and private sources for every state, territory, and Washington, D.C.

In Michigan, the federal government has invested $5.7 billion for the state to spend on infrastructure projects. This includes $479 million from the Army Corps of Engineers to upgrade the Soo Locks, which connect Lake Superior to the rest of the Great Lakes and which is a major entry point to the U.S. for both commercial and military needs.

A further $22 billion in privately financed manufacturing-related projects has been announced in Michigan since Biden took office, including General Motors’ announced plan for a $7 billion investment in the state. GM said it intends to use those funds for four sites involved in electrical vehicle and battery production, and has projected the creation of 4,000 new jobs as a result.

Companies have announced over $3 billion in Wisconsin-based investments, in both clean energy and biomanufacturing projects. The federal government has directed $3.1 billion for infrastructure work there, including $5.1 million from the Federal Aviation Administration to repair the roof of Concourse D at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport.

Pennsylvania is receiving $8.9 billion in infrastructure investment authorized by the infrastructure law and has seen $2 billion in commitments for manufacturing.

A $1.1 billion plastic recycling facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania, is among the projects that have been announced. Encina, the company behind the project, recently signed a partnership agreement for the endeavor with the Central Pennsylvania Building Trades Council, a coalition of 34 unions in the region. CEO Dave Roesser said he expects the project to employ 600 to 900 people during construction and 300 people once it is operational.

Republicans in Congress have opposed most of the legislation the administration has credited for the manufacturing and investment boom.

Republican lawmakers opposed the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, and those laws passed Congress with only Democratic votes. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act received some Republican support, but a majority of the party in the House and Senate opposed the bill. The CHIPS and Science Act passed the Senate with bipartisan support, but only one Republican in the House voted for it.

After taking control of the House with a narrow majority in 2023, Republicans voted to repeal provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act designed to make investments in green energy with their Limit, Save, Grow Act.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber would not take up the legislation for a vote.

“It is DOA, plain and simple,” Schumer said in an April 26 speech on the Senate floor.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.