Biden announces workforce hub in Pennsylvania
The Investing in America agenda is designed to create jobs by providing incentives for companies to build businesses in the United States.
On April 25, President Joe Biden announced that Philadelphia will be the site of a workforce hub intended to train and connect workers to new employment opportunities generated by legislation he has signed into law.
Hubs for New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will join the five previously announced hubs in Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Augusta, Georgia; and Phoenix, Arizona.
The Biden administration described as key elements of his Investing In America agenda legislation Biden has signed into law, including the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the White House, more than $1.2 trillion in private investments in clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure have been announced since Biden took office.
Biden spoke about the hubs and his economic agenda at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York. The visit was timed to coincide with an announcement from chip manufacturer Micron that after receiving grants from the CHIPS and Science Act, it will construct manufacturing facilities in New York and Idaho.
“It isn’t just about investing in America. It’s about investing in the American people as well,” Biden said. “And that includes training folks for these high-paying jobs — highly skilled new jobs that we’re creating. To do that, we’re bringing employers, unions, community colleges, high schools together and workforce hubs where folks can learn the skills hands-on.”
The administration said that in Philadelphia, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency would co-lead a workforce hub to ensure the city has workers to replace lead pipes and to work on infrastructure construction projects. The city has received federal funding for road safety and clean water infrastructure projects from legislation passed under Biden.
In his remarks, Biden took a swipe at his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
“We have an infrastructure decade coming. The last guy had Infrastructure Week and never showed up,” Biden said.
The Washington Post reported in 2020 that under Trump, federal investment in water infrastructure fell to a 30-year low and spending on roads and bridges as a share of the economy had remained stagnant. Trump had promised during his 2016 presidential campaign that he would pass and implement significant investments in infrastructure.
Republicans in Congress have opposed the majority of the legislation forming Biden’s economic agenda; two key pieces of legislation — the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act — were passed with only Democratic votes and a tie-breaking vote in the Senate by Vice President Kamala Harris.
