Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. joined by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, met with business leaders and a bipartisan pair of governors to call on Congress to take swift action and deliver competitiveness legislation like the Bipartisan Innovation Act to the President's desk.
The governors and business leaders-which included some of the world's leading manufacturing and semiconductor firms-discussed how the bill will foster domestic semiconductor manufacturing, create more resilient supply chains, invest in basic research and set a course for America's innovation agenda while lowering costs for the middle class. Business leaders discussed their plans to reshore manufacturing and make more in America, building on the momentum of 423,000 manufacturing jobs created since President Biden took office. They discussed how their companies are trying to build more resilient supply chains, leading them to re-locate production in America, and how the bill would result in quicker innovation in American manufacturing and more investments in worker training. They also discussed how domestic production can help Americans by addressing bottlenecks that are raising the costs of household goods like appliances, air conditioners, and washing machines. And the group discussed how, as we've seen over the past years, global events like the pandemic or Russia's unprovoked aggression in Ukraine can result in higher prices for American consumers, which further underscores the importance of strengthening our economy and making it more resilient to these types of shocks.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, spoke to the economic imperative of passing this bipartisan legislation for the economies of their states. Governor Holcomb said "Slow speed kills-we need to get this done and get it to your desk" and Governor Whitmer explained "Chip shortages have impacted more than 575,000 American jobs...These shortages are driving up costs, are jeopardizing families, and increasing the manufacturing here at home will reduce supply chain delays in transportation as well as lowering the costs of consumer electronics."
Participants include:
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb
Dr. Siyoung Choi*, President and GM, Device Solutions Division, Samsung
Elizabeth Door, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Sourcing, Whirlpool
Enrique Lores*, President and CEO, Hewlett-Packard
Geoff Martha, CEO, Medtronic
Sanjay Mehrota, President and CEO, Micron
Jennifer Rumsey, President and COO, Cummins
*Denotes virtual participant
