President Joe Biden highlighted his administration’s efforts to boost support for historically black colleges and universities during his trip to North Carolina.
It was also Biden’s second stop on the White House’s rural infrastructure tour following a Tuesday trip to the POET bioethanol plant in Menlo, Iowa. He first visited a robotics lab at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro before delivering remarks to a crowd of more than 200 students and faculty. North Carolina A&T graduates the highest number of black engineering students in the nation each year, according to Malkam Hawkins, the North Carolina A&T student who introduced Biden on Thursday.
“I know why Michael is so proud of this school. I really mean it. North Carolina A&T is an extraordinary, extraordinary university with a great tradition,” the president opened, before recounting how the American Rescue Plan provided over $5 billion in additional funding to HBCUs in 2021 and outlining his plan to increase Pell grants for students attending HBCUs and other two- and four-year colleges.
Biden quickly pivoted into a familiar pitch for his manufacturing agenda and the Bipartisan Innovation Act. He touted the jobs the legislation would bring to the Greensboro area, including a proposed electric vehicle battery plant from Toyota worth more than $1 billion. The U.S. economy added 7.9 million jobs after Biden entered office, but the president called on Congress to “immediately” send the act to his desk to be signed into law.
“Our economic strength is on the line. National security as well is on the line. Companies are ready to invest in America and American communities, and American workers need to see that their government is capable of investing in our future,” he said. “The United States is in a position to outcompete the world once again.”
“We still face tremendous challenges, but we can keep coming together and invest in the backbone of America, the middle class, our great universities, hardworking families, STEM education, clean technology of tomorrow,” he said in closing. “Let’s keep investing in the future of this country, of every community, and let’s face these challenges head-on. Let’s keep building a better America because that’s who we are. We can do this and still grow the economy, still be the wealthiest nation while still reducing deficits by growing, growing, growing.”
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
