President Biden announces new AI facility in Mt. Pleasant (2024)

OTHER POSITIONS. ALL RIGHT, LET’S GET BACK TO THAT. BREAKING NEWS ONE LAST TIME. NOW AGAIN, THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MICROSOFT AND PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAPPENING IN RACINE COUNTY GATEWAY TECHNICAL COLLEGE IN STURTEVANT, WHERE THE PRESIDENT IS JUST ABOUT TO SPEAK, THAT HYPE AND ALL THAT HOPE, THE PROMISE PROMISES MADE BY DONALD TRUMP FAILED TO COME TRUE IN RACINE COUNTY. BUT NOW OUR LUCK HAS CHANGED. MICROSOFT PLANS TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BUILD DATA CENTERS ON THE SAME PROPERTY. FOXCONN HAS ABANDONED. NOW, LOCAL 430 MEMBERS ARE INSTALLING TEMPORARY POWER AND LIGHTING ALONG WITH THE PRELIMINARY UNDERGROUND WORK. NEEDED. AND THIS IS JUST THE START. THEY ARE CALLING THIS SITE MICROSOFT’S CROWN JEWEL. THE BIGGEST FOOTPRINT OF ANY MICROSOFT FACILITY IN THE WORLD. THAT MEANS LONG TERM WORK FOR HUNDREDS OF SKILLED, PROFESSIONAL IB. E W ELECTRICIANS FOR 15, 10 TO 15 YEARS. NOW. NOW I HAVE THE GOOD FORTUNE TO HAVE THE JOB HERE AT HOME. ALL RISING ELECTRICIANS INTO THE IBEW. THANK YOU. THANKS TO JOE BIDEN, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING JOBS ARE COMING BACK TO AMERICA AND BACK TO OUR HOMETOWN. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO MICROSOFT FOR INVESTING IN AMERICA. AND HERE IN MOUNT PLEASANT AND ALSO TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, WHO PROMISED TO BRING INFRASTRUCTURE BACK, TO BRING MANUFACTURING BACK, TO BRING GOOD PAYING UNION JOBS BACK. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, JOE BIDEN KEEPS HIS PROMISES. IT IS AN HONOR FOR ME TO INTRODUCE TO YOU THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, JOE BIDEN. HELLO, HELLO, HELLO. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. HELLO. IS CONCERN. NICK, THANKS FOR THAT INTRODUCTION. LOOK, BEFORE I BEFORE I GET STARTED, I WANT TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. PLEASE SIT DOWN. I WANT TO A CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN DELAWARE TAUGHT BY THE NORBERTINE PRIEST FROM SAINT NORBERT’S COLLEGE. YOU KNOW, A LITTLE TINY LITTLE TEAM CALLED GREEN BAY. NOW, HERE’S A DEAL. WE WERE THE ONLY HIGH SCHOOL IN DELAWARE THAT OVERWHELMINGLY ROOTED FOR GREEN BAY. NOT A JOKE. I’LL TELL YOU WHY. EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY, NOT ONLY DID THEY HAVE GREAT TEAMS AT THE TIME, WE STILL DO. BUT NOT ONLY THAT, MY MY THEOLOGY PROFESSOR AT THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL I WENT TO, I NAMED RILEY LAST NAME AND HE HAD BEEN DRAFTED BY THE GREEN BAY PACKERS, AND HE DECIDED TO BECOME A PRIEST BEFORE THAT. SO HE DIDN’T GO. BUT EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY MONDAY THAT GREEN BAY WON, WE GOT THE LAST PERIOD OF THE DAY OFF. NOW WE CATHOLICS CALL THAT INDIRECT BRIBERY, BUT IT WORKED. IT’S ALWAYS GREAT TO BE WITH ONE OF THE BEST GOVERNORS IN AMERICA, TONY EVANS. THANK YOU. I THINK ATTORNEY I MEAN IT, I THINK A ONE WORD INTEGRITY. YOU’RE A MAN OF ABSOLUTE INTEGRITY. AND, UH, WHAT I’M REALLY DOING, I’M REALLY AUDITIONING FOR A JOB. WITH THE LITTLE COMPANY IS GOING TO BUILD SOMETHING OUT HERE. THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS. YOU MADE ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING TOGETHER. WELL, LOOK, WHILE SHE COULDN’T BE HERE, I WANT TO THANK THE BEST. ONE OF THE BEST U.S. SENATORS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, TAMMY BALDWIN. YOU ALSO GOT A GREAT MAYOR IN RACINE, CORY MASON. BRAD SMITH, PRESIDENT OF MICROSOFT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP FOR SHOWING HOW WE CAN GET THINGS DONE AND BIG THINGS DONE IN AMERICA. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP. I REALLY MEAN IT. LET’S SHOW THE PRESIDENT OF LCA. I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR BENEFIT AMERICAN UNION MOVEMENT. YOU KNOW, I GOT CALLED TO THE MOST PRO-UNION PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR IT. NO. I’M. MIDDLE CLASS BUILD AMERICA. BUT UNIONS BUILT THE MIDDLE CLASS. I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR A LONG TIME, FOLKS. I’M HERE TO TALK ABOUT A GREAT COMEBACK STORY IN AMERICA. AND I’M SURE YOU REMEMBER RACINE WAS ONCE A MANUFACTURING BOOM TOWN ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE 1960S, POWER COMPANIES INVENTED MANUFACTURING WINDEX FOR PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANERS AND SO MUCH MORE AND POWERED BY MIDDLE CLASS JOBS AND THEN CAME THE TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS CUT TAXES FOR THE VERY WEALTHY AND THE BIGGEST CORPORATIONS. AGAIN, IN THE 60S, WE SHIPPED AMERICAN JOBS OVERSEAS BECAUSE LABOR WAS CHEAPER. WE SLASHED PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION AND INNOVATION, AND RESULT, WE HOLLOWED OUT THE MIDDLE CLASS. MY PREDECESSOR AND HIS ADMINISTRATION DOUBLED DOWN ON THAT FAILED TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS, ALONG WITH THE TRIAL OF BROKEN PROMISES. LOOK, MY DAD USED TO HAVE AN EXPRESSION. HE SAID, JOEY, A JOB. I MEAN THIS SINCERELY. MY DAD WAS A WELL-READ MAN, NEVER GOT TO GO TO COLLEGE, BUT HE WAS A GOOD MAN ALL ACROSS THE BOARD. AND HE’D SAY, JOE, REMEMBER A JOB’S A LOT MORE THAN A LOT MORE THAN A PAYCHECK. IT’S ABOUT YOUR INTEGRITY. IT’S ABOUT YOUR DIGNITY. IT’S ABOUT BEING TREATED WITH RESPECT. IT’S ABOUT BEING ABLE TO LOOK YOUR KID IN THE EYE AND SAY, HONEY, EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE OKAY. IN FACT, SIX YEARS AGO. WHEN MY PREDECESSOR CAME TO RACINE WITH THE PROMISE OF, QUOTE, RECLAIMING OUR COUNTRY’S PROUD MANUFACTURING LEGACY, WELL, WE HAD INFRASTRUCTURE DAY EVERY WEEK, EVERY WEEK FOR FOUR YEARS. DIDN’T BUILD A -- THING. HE HAD AN ADMINISTRATION. HE PROMISED A $10 BILLION INVESTMENT BY FOXCONN TO BUILD A NEW MANUFACTURING COMPLEX, CREATE 13,000 NEW JOBS. IN FACT, HE CAME HERE WITH YOUR SENATOR, RON JOHNSON, LITERALLY A GOLDEN SHOVEL, PROMISING TO BUILD THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. THEY DUG A HOLE WITH THOSE GOLDEN SHOVELS, AND THEN THEY FELL INTO IT. LOOK, THEY DIDN’T SHOVEL OTHER DIRT. THEY DID SHOVEL SOME DIRT. 100 HOMES WERE WERE BULLDOZED. THEY WASTED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR STATE AND LOCAL TAX DOLLARS TO PROMISE A PROJECT THAT NEVER HAPPENED. FOXCONN THEN TURNED OUT TO BE JUST THAT, A CON. GO FIGURE. IN JUST FOUR YEARS UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION, INSTEAD OF CREATING 13,000 JOBS AND RACINE, MY PREDECESSOR AND 101,000 MANUFACTURING JOBS, RATHER THAN CREATING THEM A THOUSAND MANUFACTURING JOBS LEFT RACINE. 85,005 83,500. TOTAL JOBS LEFT WISCONSIN DURING MY FIRST TERM. BUT THAT’S NOT ON MY WATCH. WE’RE DETERMINED TO TURN IT AROUND THUS FAR, SINCE WE’VE COME TO OFFICE, WE’VE CREATED AND WITH THE GOVERNOR’S OVERWHELMING LEADERSHIP, WE’VE CREATED OVER 178,000 JOBS IN WISCONSIN. AND WE’RE GOING TO CREATE MORE HERE IN RACINE AND BIG TIME. SOME OF MY FRIENDS IN THE FAR RIGHT HAVE CRITICIZED MY INVESTING IN AMERICA AGENDA BY, WHICH INCLUDES MY BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW, THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT. A LOT OF BUSINESSES THAT ARE SUPPORTED AS A KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT WE’RE SEEING NOW, REMEMBER HERE, YOU’RE GOING TO A RECESSION NEXT WEEK, A RECESSION NEXT WEEK. NO SOFT LANDING. WELL, IN FACT, I’VE ASKED BUSINESS LEADERS LIKE BRAD A SIMPLE QUESTION. WHEN THE UNITED STATES DECIDES TO INVEST CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES IN A NEW INDUSTRY THAT WE NEED TO BUILD, DOES THAT ENCOURAGE OR DISCOURAGE THEM? ENGAGING ME, THE ANSWER, OVERWHELMINGLY, IS AN ENCOURAGES BUSINESS INVESTMENT. AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE SEEING NOW WITH OUR ADMINISTRATION. IN MY INVESTING IN AMERICA AGENDA IS FUELING A HISTORIC BOOM IN REBUILDING OUR ROADS AND BRIDGES, DEVELOPING AND DEPLOYING CLEAN ENERGY, AND REVITALIZING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND SO MUCH MORE. SO FAR, WE’VE CREATED. $866 BILLION IN PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT NATIONWIDE AND ALMOST $1 TRILLION HISTORIC AMOUNTS SUCH A SHORT TIME. NOW SLOWLY CREATING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS BUILDING NEW SEMICONDUCTOR FACTORIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND BATTERY FACTORIES AND SO MUCH MORE HERE, ALL HERE IN AMERICA TODAY. IT’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR OPTIMISM. MICROSOFT, AS THE PRESIDENT ALREADY POINTED OUT, IS INVESTING $3.3 BILLION TO BUILD A NEW DATA CENTER HERE IN RACINE THAT’S GOING TO HELP OPERATE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS THE WORLD. AND I’VE GONE AROUND THE WORLD LITERALLY NOT PHYSICALLY MEETING WITH THE LEADING ARCHITECTS OF A.I. IT’S GOING TO RESULT IN 2300 UNION CONSTRUCTION JOBS JUST TO BUILD A NEW FACILITY. IN 2000, PERMANENT WORKERS TO WORK IN THE DATA CENTERS. IN ADDITION, WE’RE ALSO PROVIDING A PIPELINE TO TRAIN THESE NEW THESE NEW JOBS, A PIPELINE THAT STARTS RIGHT HERE AT THIS VERY SPOT. MIKE SOFT IS PARTNERING WITH GATEWAY TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE RIGHT HERE TO TRAIN AND CERTIFY 200 STUDENTS A YEAR TO FILL HIGH DEMAND, GOOD PAYING JOBS IN DATA. AND IT AT MICROSOFT’S NEW AI DATA CENTER HERE IN RACINE. THAT’S NOT ALL. IN ADDITION, MICROSOFT IS CONTINUING TO PIPELINE GOING TO HIGH SCHOOLS AND NEARBY MOUNT PLEASANT TO TRAIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR JOBS OF THE FUTURE. AS WAS POINTED OUT, IT’S GOING TO CREATE 100,000 JOBS OVER TIME. IT’S ALL PART OF MICROSOFT’S BROAD PLAN TO BUILD AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ECOSYSTEM, RIGHT HERE IN RACINE. AND IT’S GOING TO BE TRANSFORMATIVE NOT JUST HERE, BUT WORLDWIDE. IT’S NOT ONLY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE RACINE, BUT FOR THE PEOPLE OF RACINE. IT MEANS FOLKS ARE GETTING TRAINED. FOLKS ARE GETTING TRAINED IN NEW HIGH PAYING, HIGH SKILLED JOBS THAT DON’T REQUIRE A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE AND DON’T REQUIRE YOU TO LEAVE HOME. YOU KNOW WHERE I COME FROM THAT REALLY MATTERS. I KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE WHEN YOUR PARENTS HAVE TO MOVE THE FAMILY IN SEARCH OF WORK, BECAUSE THERE’S NO JOBS. WHAT IT DOES TO THE FAMILIES, DIGNITY. MY WIFE, JILL, WHO TEACHES FULL TIME AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CARES A LOT ABOUT THIS AS WELL. LAST YEAR, SHE ANNOUNCED OUR FIRST FIVE WORKFORCE HUBS SITES TO BUILD A PIPELINE OF WORKERS IN INDUSTRIES THAT CREATE THE NEW HOME TOWNS THAT ARE CREATING NEW HOME TOWNS IN PHOENIX, BALTIMORE, COLUMBUS, OHIO. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA. BUILDING EVERYTHING FROM SEMI CONDUCTORS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES. LAST MONTH I ANNOUNCED FOUR NEW HUBS CONTINUE TO TRAIN WORKERS FOR THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE, ONE OF WHICH IS IN MILWAUKEE THAT TRAINS WORKERS TO HELP REPLACE EVERY POISONOUS LEAD PIPE IN AMERICA. IN A DECADE AND FUNDED BY THE INFRASTRUCTURE LAW. AND BY THE WAY, BUY AMERICA HAS BEEN THE LAW OF THE LAND SINCE THE 30S, BUT HAS BEEN IGNORED BY MOST ADMINISTRATION. PAST ADMINISTRATION, INCLUDING MY PREDECESSOR, FAILED TO BUY AMERICAN NOT ANYMORE. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS. WHEN THE WHEN THE CONGRESS SENDS SOMETHING TO THE PRESIDENT TO BUILD SOMETHING, WHETHER IT’S A ROAD, A HIGHWAY, A DECK OF AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, WHATEVER IT IS THAT PRESIDENT’S BACKED IN LAW THAT’S PASSED IN THE 30S, IT’S SUPPOSED TO HIRE AMERICAN WORKERS AND USE AMERICAN PRODUCTS. WELL, ON MY WATCH. AND TAMMY’S LEADERSHIP, FEDERAL PROJECTS LIKE THE BLATNIK BRIDGE HERE IN WISCONSIN, IT’S GOING TO COST. $1 BILLION. BUT IT’S ALL ALL AMERICAN MADE, ALL AMERICAN PRODUCTS AND ALL AMERICAN WORKERS. AND IT’S GOING TO CREATE 10,000 NEW JOBS, 10,000. IN ADDITION TO ROADS AND HIGHWAYS AND SO MUCH MORE WOULD BE MADE WITH AMERICAN PRODUCTS BUILT BY AMERICAN WORKERS CREATING GOOD PAYING AMERICAN JOBS. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN RACINE IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ANOTHER REASON. WE’LL SEE MORE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES, TECHNICAL CHANGES NEEDED IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS THAN WE SAW IN THE LAST 50. I IS ALREADY DRIVING THAT CHANGE IN EVERY PART OF AMERICAN LIFE, FROM HOW WE TEACH AND LEARN TO HOW WE SOLVE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES, FROM CURING CANCER TO CLIMATE CHANGE. AMERICA IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN AI AND AMERICAN COMPANIES LEAD THE WORLD IN AI INNOVATION. A LOT OF WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE HERE IN RACINE, BECAUSE OF OUR INITIATIVES, AMERICAN WORKERS WILL POWER THAT INNOVATION HERE IN AMERICA. BUT LOOK, TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF ALL THIS SAFEGUARDS. WE NEED SAFEGUARDS. THAT’S WHY, AS THE PRESIDENT POINTED OUT, I SIGNED THE LANDMARK EXECUTIVE ORDER ON WHICH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTION ANY GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD HAS EVER TAKEN FOR AI SAFETY, SECURITY AND TRUST. THIS ORDER HELPS MAKE SURE WORKERS HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE IN DETERMINING HOW THESE TECHNOLOGIES ARE DEVELOPED, AND USED. FOR REAL. AND WE’LL SUPPORT WORKERS IN EVERY INDUSTRY BY DEFENDING THE RIGHT TO A FAIR WAGE TO ORGANIZE. AS THESE TECHNOLOGIES EMERGE ACROSS THE BOARD, AND THEY’RE GOING TO HAPPEN, FOLKS, DURING THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION, MY PREDECESSOR MADE PROMISES WHICH HE BROKE MORE THAN KEPT AND LEFT A LOT OF PEOPLE BEHIND IN COMMUNITIES LIKE RACINE. ON MY WATCH, WE MAKE PROMISES AND WE KEEP PROMISES. WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND. SINCE I TOOK OFFICE, WE’VE ADDED NEARLY 4000 JOBS IN RACINE. AS I SAID EARLIER, WE’VE ADDED 178,000 IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS HIT A RECORD LOW IN RACINE, RACINE HAS SEEN SOME OF THE STRONGEST NEW BUSINESS GROWTH IN ALL OF WISCONSIN, AND IT’S ONLY JUST BEGINNING. WE’RE SEEING A GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK STORY ALL ACROSS WISCONSIN AND QUITE FRANKLY, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE’RE DOING WHAT’S ALWAYS WORKED IN THIS COUNTRY, GIVING PEOPLE A FAIR SHOT, LEAVING NOBODY BEHIND. AND GROW THE ECONOMY AND THE MIDDLE OUT AND THE BOTTOM UP, NOT THE TOP DOWN. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, EVERYBODY DOES WELL, EVERYBODY DOES. HE CLOSES THIS WHEN FOLKS SEE A NEW FACTORY BEING BUILT HERE IN WISCONSIN, PEOPLE GOING TO WORK MAKING A REALLY GOOD WAGE IN THEIR HOME TOWNS, HOPE THEY FEEL THE PRIDE THAT I FEEL. PRIDE IN THEIR HOMETOWN IS MAKING A COMEBACK. PRIDE IN KNOWING WE CAN GET BIG THINGS DONE IN AMERICA. STILL, FOLKS, I’VE NEVER BEEN MORE OPTIMISTIC AND I’VE ONLY BEEN AROUND A COUPLE OF YEARS. I KNOW, I KNOW IT, DON’T LOOK IT, BUT I’M ON 40 PLUS TWO TYPES. BUT I’VE NEVER MORE. I SWEAR TO GOD, I’M NEVER MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT OUR FUTURE. WE JUST REMEMBER WHO ELSE WE ARE. WE’RE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THERE’S NOTHING BEYOND OUR CAPACITY WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER. NOTHING. I MEAN THAT NOTHING. THE REST OF THE WORLD LOOKS TO US. SO KEEP IT GOING. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. AND MAY GOD PROTECT OUR. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. IT IS. DON’T JUMP. ALL RIGHT. IT IS 1212. YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SPEAKING AT GATEWAY TECHNICAL COLLEGE IN STURDIVANT, ANNOUNCING WITH MICROSOFT FOR A $3.3 BILLION INVESTMENT, AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FACILITY COMING TO MOUNT PLEASANT ON THE SAME SITE OF THE OLD FOXCONN INVESTMENT, THAT AN INVESTMENT WAS ANNOUNCED SEVEN YEARS AGO. IT BROKE GROUND IN 2018. BY THEN FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND THEN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER, BUT WAS REALLY NOT MATERIALIZED INTO THAT $10 BILLION INVESTMENT. THAT WAS EXPECTED. WE HEARD THE PRESIDENT REALLY TAKE SOME AIM AT FOXCONN THERE, INCLUDING THE FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, NOT CALLING HIM OUT BY NAME, BUT SPEAKING ABOUT HIS FORMER ABOUT HIS PREDECESSOR AND THAT FOXCONN DEAL. WE DID GET A STATEMENT JUST IN FROM FOXCONN RESPONDING IN ESSENCE, TO WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID, SAYING THAT WE ARE PROUD OF THE MORE THAN 1000 MEN AND WOMEN WHO WORK AT FOXCONN AND SAYING THAT WISCONSIN HAS MAKE THAT HAPPEN. SO WE WILL HAVE MORE ON THE PRESIDENT’S VISIT AND THAT INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT. WE DO HAVE CREWS ACROSS SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FOLLOWING THE PRESIDENT’S VISIT. YOU CAN FIND THE LATEST ON