Biden Speaks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I forgot my orange tie. I’m so sorry. I promise that’ll be on next time. Thank you. I am thrilled to be here today to help welcome back President Biden for another visit to Wisconsin. President Biden and his entire administration have been really good partners for us in Wisconsin, and today we’re here to celebrate their incredible support and worked to tackle lead service lines that are a serious threat to the health and well-being of communities across Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee area. Folks, I am proud that Wisconsin has been a national leader in providing funding to replace lead service lines. Last year, more than 100 Wisconsin municipalities received funding through the safe drinking water loan program, including right here in the city of Wisconsin to replace lead pipes. Thank you.

(01:05)
And whether we’re getting lead pipes out of the ground or spreading the word about the opportunities available, thanks to President Biden’s bipartisan and infrastructure law, Wisconsin is making major headway in getting rid of lead in our water once and for all. Folks, we know that no amount of lead is safe, especially when it comes to our kids. Over the last several years as a state we’ve had replaced or turned off more than 43,000 lead pipelines across Wisconsin. Now that’s really great news, folks, but there is, as always, more work to do. Get this. We still have more than 150,000 to go and for communities like Milwaukee, which has the majority of these remaining lead pipes, we know this work cannot happen soon enough, and that’s why programs like the President’s creation of a new workforce hub here in Milwaukee focused on removing lead pipes is exciting because while funding is critical, we also need the skilled workers on the job to get this done.

(02:20)
Here in Wisconsin, the once in a Generation investments we’re receiving from the Biden-Harris administration make a difference in the lives of our kids and families today and for generation of folks that come after us. The Biden-Harris administration is delivering. They deliver for Wisconsin. It’s thanks to partners like Senator Tammy Baldwin, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, and partners here in Milwaukee and all across the state. In fact, we’re going to get this done. We will do this together.

(03:02)
Some of you may remember this. While some people put Milwaukee down and called it a horrible city… Remember that? Here’s the deal. President Biden and the Biden-Harris administration are investing in our kids and the people who call Milwaukee home. The tremendous progress that we’ve seen is directly tied to the vision and the values brought to the White House by this administration. They know that now is the time to make these investments that get harmful contaminants like lead out of the water once and for all. Thank you, President Biden, and thanks to all the folks here today who are partners in this important work. Thank you so much. Take care, folks. Thank you. Thank you.

I had a friend, was a big baseball player back in high school. He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool, boy. Saw him the other night at this roadside bar, I was walking in, he was walking out. We went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks, but all he kept talking about was glory days. Well, they’ll you by, glory days. In the wink of a young girl’s eye, glory days. Glory days. Well, there’s a girl that lives up the block. Back in school, she could turn all the boys’ heads…

Please welcome Alonzo Romo and Shyquetta Shy McElroy.

Good afternoon. My name is Alonzo Romo and I’m a proud laborer and member of my union, LiUNA Local 113. I also work for MPL Construction here in Milwaukee. I grew up in Ocana Falls just north of Green Bay and graduated high school two years ago. And if you would’ve told me then that my career path as a skilled union laborer would’ve brought me here to you all today, getting to introduce President Joe Biden, I wouldn’t believe it. After high school, I took a course on gas utility construction service at NWTC in Green Bay, which led me to work with NPL and my union, LiUNA Local 113. And I have since moved from the gas distribution onto working as a laborer on efforts to replace lead service pipes here in Milwaukee.

(06:34)
I personally helped move 35 lead laterals and while I have a lot more to do, I know we are making great pace. This is hard work, but it is so rewarding. Not only am I getting paid great wedges and great benefits, but I know that when I am removing a lead service lateral, I’m helping a family in our community have access to clean drinking water. I’m truly grateful for the work that President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the administration have done to make the investments like we are seeing in Milwaukee to accelerate the lead pipe removal, helping us create more jobbed opportunities in my union brothers and sisters, and ensuring that we have clean and safe drinking water. And Shy knows all about this, what clean water means for our community. Shy.

Good afternoon. I’m Shy. I was born and raised in the Cream City of Milwaukee. I didn’t realize how serious the issue of lead poison was until about 13 years ago when my own son Nathan was tested positive for elevated blood lead levels. As a mother of four, it is terrifying to learn about. Although my son was one of the lucky ones, meaning he didn’t have to be hospitalized, I still watched him face lifelong learning disabilities and damaging effects of lead poison. The worst thing for a parent is to know that something’s happening to your child. The fact that my son was lead poisoned and I received very little care, not even lead abatement services in my home, that’s what fuels my work today at Coalition on Lead Emergency. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been listening to our stories and they have followed through and kept their promises.

(08:35)
Under the Biden-Harris administration, Milwaukee has responded to more lead cases and replaced more lead pipes than any administration in this nation’s history. So we can see the federal dollars working in our city. You can’t drive 10 minutes without driving past an infrastructure project and so many of those projects are ridding in our homes of lead. Growing up, my mother always told me it takes a village to raise a child. Well, this administration, president, and vice president have been part of that village and have been putting our jobs and our children above all and we are grateful. So without further ado, it is my honor and my privilege to introduce and welcome the toughest, most substantial partner in our village, our very own President of the United States of America, President Joe Biden.

Hello, Milwaukee. It’s good to be back. Thank you.

Welcome to Milwaukee, Joe.

Well, it’s good to be back in Milwaukee.

We love you.

Thank you.

We love Biden-Harris.

Thank you, Joe.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, thank you. If you have a seat, have one. I said that once and there were no seats and the guy looked at me like, “What the hell’s the matter with him?” Before I began, I want to say we’re prepared for another horrible hurricane to hit Florida. I’m directing my team to do everything they can to save lives and help communities before, during, and after this hurricane. Most important message today for all those that may be listening to this in the impacted areas, listen to the local authorities, follow safety instruction, including evacuation orders. This is serious and you’ve got to be safe because people are dying. People have died so far, not from this hurricane but from the last one. So folks, let me get to today’s event. Shy, thank you for sharing your family story.

(11:30)
You said it all. The worst thing, and I know from experience, for a parent is something happening to your children, your son, your family. Families like yours exposed to lead poisoning in our water, they deserve a hell of a lot better than they’ve been getting and that’s why we’re here. That’s why people like Alonzo are getting to work removing those lead pipe surfaces, delivering clean water. Kamala and I go all the way back to Flint worrying about what happened then, remember, in Michigan. Well, providing what’s good for our health and for our environment is also good for our economy and it’s good for jobs.

(12:20)
Middle class built this country and organized labor unions built the middle class. It’s a fact. We’re lucky to have some great leaders here today who know how to get a job done. Tony’s heard me say this before, but I think Tony’s one of the three best governors in the United States of America. The great mayor, Chevy Johnson. Chevy, I tell you, you’re one of the best mayors, pal. You really are. Our great administrator, the US Environmental Protection Agent, Michael Regan. Our great chair of the Council of Environmental Quality, Brenda Mallory. Brenda, where are you? She’s out there somewhere. We’re here today because we’re finally addressing an issue that should have addressed a long time ago in this country, the danger the lead pipes pose to our drinking water.

(13:29)
For too long, local communities have known how important it was to deal with this problem. It hadn’t been given the national priority it demanded though. I’m here today to tell you that I’m finally insisting that it gets prioritized and I’m insisting it get done. One of the most important things we’re doing today is establishing a new rule that every lead pipe providing clean drinking water… Had done provide clean… Must be replaced, every single one. Not only are we setting a priority, we’re showing up as a partner to get it done. Over the past couple years, we provided billions of dollars to states and communities to address this problem, and today I’m announcing additional $2 billion and grants to states and local communities to get the job done.

(14:31)
It matters. Folks, people all ask me, “Why do we have lead pipes in the first place?” Probably ask yourself that. “How’d that happen?” It’s because when they were first put in place a long time ago, lead pipes were incredibly durable and they didn’t rust. But since then, we’ve learned that lead pipes also leach poisonous toxins into the water that lead to terrible health consequences, particularly in the development of a child’s brain. Think about what that does to a parent’s peace of mind. When I was a senator back in 1986, I supported a law that stopped new lead pipes from being put in the ground in the first place, but that still left millions of older lead pipes that were already in the ground connected to homes, schools, child care centers, and businesses, including some 340,000 lead pipe service lines right here in Wisconsin.

(15:30)
And over the years, we’ve only chipped away at the problem, but chipping at the problem hasn’t fully solved it. It’s taking too long. Hasn’t been given a high enough priority until now. Folks, as Kamala would say, “This is the United States of America for god’s sake.” There’s no safe level of lead exposure, period. None. The only way forward is to replace every lead pipeline and connect the American people to clean water. No alternative. That’s why Kamala and I are the first administration take on the challenge once and for all and we’re delivering. We know safe, clean drinking water is fundamental to the health of our communities, to enhance our economic growth, to basic human dignity. That’s why we’ve already replaced 367,000 lead pipe services all across America and today nearly 1 million Americans no longer have to worry about the potential impacts of lead in their water, like Lily Key right here in Milwaukee.

(16:52)
She’s a nursing assistant, protecting the health of others. She actually knows… Actually at work right now, but in her own home, there was a lead pipe threat to her own health and all her grandchildren she helped raise there. She was spending a big chunk of her paycheck on bottled water every month because it was too expensive to replace the lead pipes. But three weeks ago, Lily got lead service line replaced for free. How? Because of what I call our Investing in America agenda. One of the many reasons Kamala and I fought so hard to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law, which I might add is over a trillion, $200 billion, was not only to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, roads, bridges, ports, airports, transits, electric grids, affordable high-speed broadband, but also to get rid of the godforsaken lead pipes, to deliver clean drinking water to everyone in their homes, their schools, and their businesses.

(17:59)
Right here in Wisconsin, we’ve invested more than $200 million replacing tens of thousands of lead pipelines and today… Oh, thank you. Thank you. Today we released another $43 million for Wisconsin as part of $2.6 billion nationwide to support replacing lead pipe services. Well, the federal government can’t do it alone. We’re providing the single largest investment ever to team up with states and cities to get the job done together. And I mean team up at every level. Right after I sign the bipartisan infrastructure law, I’m going announce to our administration and business blueprint to use every tool, every tool at our disposal at a federal, state, and local level to protect our families from lead poisoning.

(18:54)
As a result of that work, I’m announcing a new rule written onto law from the Environmental Protection Agency that requires water systems across America replace lead pipe service, every single one, in America within 10 years. Must be done. And I want that rule in the law no matter who’s president. It matters. We’re seeing the collaboration here for the city of Milwaukee will now replace all of their lead pipe service lines within 10 years instead of what was projected to take 60 years to get it done. That was a projection. Folks, this is a big deal, as someone once said.

(19:43)
It’s about saving families from going through what Shy and Lily’s families had to go through. Saving hundreds of thousands of mothers and infants from low birth weights and children with lasting brain damage, protecting more than a thousand adults from premature death, from heart disease every single year because of lead. It’ll save lives, but it also saves the taxpayers billions of dollars over time. It’s about the basics. It’s about clean water. To me, it’s a simple proposition. This is also about fairness. Nationally, I’m directing nearly half of this funding go to disadvantaged communities that have borne the brunt of lead pipe poisoning for damn too long.

(20:40)
Studies show community of color have been the hardest hit. One study showed black children were at least two times more likely to have elevated levels of lead in their blood than children of other racial groups. We have an obligation to make things right, like all major investments we’re making in the environment. It’s also about creating jobs, good-paying jobs, many of union jobs for laborers, plumbers, pipe fitters like Alonzo. That’s why my administration is bringing together the city of Milwaukee’s local unions, educators, employers to create an Invest in America workforce hub right here in Milwaukee. Sometimes we forget the basics. This hub is going to train and connect residents to good-paying jobs replacing lead pipelines. It’ll create new registered apprenticeships, but we want everyone, including women and people of color, to access these jobs with good pay benefits for themselves and their families. We’re also using the power of example as a global leader helping replace lead pipes around the world.

(21:58)
Last month at the United Nations, I was proud that my wife, Jill, and our international aid agency, USAID, brought together 26 nations, funded primarily through philanthropy to launch a coalition, End Childhood Lead Poisoning, poisoning that kills more people in developing countries than HIV, AIDS, and malaria combined. Folks, replacing lead pipes is just one piece of our nation’s most ambitious Clean Water agenda ever. We’re upgrading outdated water mains and treatment plants, making it more resilient to climate disasters. That means less likely to break down after massive floods and still run when the power grid goes down. We’re improving water systems in tribal lands for nearly half the population still lacks clean water. Half the population of tribal lands still lacks clean water. It’s outrageous.

(23:05)
We’re committing to making it right and as part of my Cancer Moonshot initiative to end cancer as we know it, we’re detecting so-called Forever Chemicals referred to as PFAS. These are chemicals that are found in many everyday products but are unsafe and shown to contribute to cancer and other health conditions. We set the first ever drinking water standard to protect 100 million Americans from PFAS, including folks all across Wisconsin. Folks, what’s the government for if it cannot protect the public health? In the process, we’re creating jobs, we’re building a better America and clean water is just one critical part. For example, earlier this year I was in Milwaukee with your governor and your mayor when I announced nearly $36 million for the Sixth Street Project. As you know during the ’60s, so-called urban renewal swept through this country. The construction of I-94 and I-43 were torn down… They tore down roughly 17,000 homes and 1000 businesses were lost, displacing residents and businesses all along Sixth Street all so the people outside the neighborhood could drive downtown more quickly.

(24:43)
With bike lanes and bus lanes gone, speeding and reckless driving increased, resulting in crash rates five times that of the city’s average, locking people out of opportunities, leaving them more isolated from the social and economic life for the rest of the city, but not anymore. We’re going to rebuild the Sixth Street. We’re going to build future wider sidewalk for children walking to school, safer bike lanes for residents and visitors, dedicated bus lanes to get to work faster, new trees to provide shade, modern infrastructure to prevent sewage from flowing into the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan, to make it easy for historic black communities in the north and Latino communities in the south to access jobs, schools, and entertainment opportunities in the city and around the central hub. This will be life-changing.

(25:41)
The bottom line is I said I’d keep my commitment to insist that all communities have access to investments and improve safety and security in the neighborhoods. And that’s what we’re doing, giving everyone a fair shot. Now, my dad would say leaving no one behind. Folks, there’s some folks who don’t have any problem leaving people behind, like my predecessor in the White House and his allies in Congress, like your Senator Ron Johnson who voted against… He voted against everything I just talked about, every single thing. In fact, Ron Johnson called the law that is removing these lead pipe for public health, creating jobs in Wisconsin, he called it a radical agenda.

(26:49)
I am going to restrain my Irish side here. I don’t think there’s a damn thing radical about protecting kids from lead poisoning, protecting women from low birth rates, protecting from brain damage and so much more. My predecessor, along with the senator, rolled back clean water protections that kept industries from polluting our water and destroying our wetlands. They slashed Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and eliminated important programs that guaranteed clean water. You may also remember, the last guy who was president, he promised infrastructure week every week for four years and he didn’t build a damn thing.

(27:45)
Folks, in plain talk, we can’t go backwards. We have to keep moving forward, protect the health and well-being of our families, our communities, and our country. And in the process, growing our economy and creating good paying jobs. We can’t wait any longer. Folks, let me close with this. When folks see shovels in the ground on all these projects to protect people’s lives, to put people to work, hope they feel what I feel. Pride. Pride that their hometown’s making a comeback, pride in America that we can get big things done when we work together. I’ve never been more optimistic… And I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I’ve never in my whole life been more optimistic about our nation’s future. We just have to remember who the hell we are. We’re the United States of America and there is nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. So let’s keep working together and get it done. God bless you all. May God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We take care of our own, wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own. Where’re the eyes, the eyes with the will to see? Where are the hearts that run over with mercy? Where’s the love that has not forsaken me? Where’s the work that set my hands, my soul free? Where’s the spirit that’ll reign, reign over me?