Remarks by Vice President Harris on Efforts to Invest in High-Speed Internet, Boost Domestic Manufacturing, and Create Jobs

Senator [Tammy] Baldwin (D-WI) and I served together in the United States Senate. And it is, indeed, with her help, all across Wisconsin, that President Joe Biden and I have been able to create jobs, expand opportunity, and strengthen American manufacturing. We are here to discuss our continuation of that work. Take, for example, our work on high-speed Internet. In America in the 21st century, high-speed Internet is not a luxury. It is a basic necessity. We invested $65 billion to lower the cost of high-speed Internet plans and to build thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable so that every family in America can afford to have access to high-speed Internet. And when we made this investment, we knew that there would then be an increased demand for fiber-optic cable and for other products that connect people to the Internet. We knew that the demand would skyrocket. We knew companies would increase production and hire more workers. And whereas in the past, many of those jobs would have been created overseas, President Biden and I required that the materials and products used in these projects, from steel to electronics to fiber-optic cable, must be made in America by workers in America. And we are determined to create jobs in America and keep jobs in America. I am proud to announce that Nokia, a company based in Finland, will expand this factory here in Kenosha (WI) and hire up to 200 new employees. They will build the parts that are needed to connect people with high-speed Internet. Wisconsin, together, we are rebuilding America. Through Bidenomics, we are showing that when we invest in workers and families, when we create jobs and opportunity, when we roll up our sleeves and get to work, there is no limit to what we can achieve for Kenosha, for Wisconsin, and for our nation.