Biden Discusses Investments in High-Speed Internet Infrastructure Transcript

[inaudible 00:00:18].

(00:36)
Good morning everyone. Please have a seat. Good morning. So I’m going to start by saying that we are so thankful to all of the leaders who are here for the work that has occurred and will continue to be done to do what is right on behalf of the American people and working people in our country. I want to thank our president, Joe Biden, a true champion for the working people and families of our nation and a tireless fighter.

(01:08)
So, affordable and accessible high speed internet, not just for some, but for all. I want to thank the members of the cabinet who are here and members of Congress, as well as the advocates and community leaders who have fought for years to connect every corner of America with high speed internet. It is good to be here with all of you. So I will begin with a brief story. Last year I visited a small town in Louisiana called Sunset, [inaudible 00:01:42], a rural community of about 3000 people outside of Lafayette, a region where some of my extended family live. Sunset is like many other small towns in America. It has a main street with a bank, a church and a donut shop. And Sunset is similar to many rural communities for another reason, almost 40% of households in that area do not have high speed internet in large part, because the fiber optic lines that connect most Americans to the internet just never made it to Sunset.

(02:23)
But here’s what that means. In Sunset, I met with parents who cannot apply for remote work jobs, because they do not have a high speed internet connection at home. In Sunset, I met with entrepreneurs who struggled to start or grow a small business, because they cannot get online, and I met with students who, when public buildings were closed during the pandemic, had to sit in the parking lot of a local library just to submit their homework over WiFi. And these stories are not uncommon. Today, 24 million people in our country do not have access to high speed internet, either because they cannot afford the monthly cost of a plan or because they live in communities that have not yet been fully connected to fiber optic networks.

(03:17)
But let us agree, in the 21st century, in America, high speed internet is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Every person in our nation, no matter where they live, should be able to access and afford high speed internet. And that is why our administration invested $65 billion to give millions of families a $30 discount on their monthly internet bills and to lay thousands of miles of new fiber optic lines, including in Sunset, where with the support of local leaders and elected officials, we are connecting 22,000 families with high speed internet. Today we are here to continue our work together, to connect every person in America with high speed internet. And now it is my honor to introduce a leader who understands firsthand the urgency and the impact of this work. An incredible leader, an incredible dad to his three daughters, Jeff Say.

Good morning everyone.

Good morning.

Good morning.

It’s my pleasure to be here. I’m Jeff Say. I work at UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center. I’m married to Sarah, a kindergarten teacher, and we have three children. I, like millions of other Americans, face all too common issue, lack of reliable high speed internet. Two years ago, my family and I purchased our home in Boston, Virginia, in Culpeper County, just an hour and a half southwest of Washington DC. The house had everything we wanted; enough space for our three girls to run and play, beautiful views and wonderful neighbors. We were told we would have access to internet, but the day we moved in, our ordeal began as service providers told us we would have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to run a line to our house. Their service stopped a half mile down the road. What we ended up with was a hotspot, that’s spotty at best, and an ongoing struggle to work our schedule around the lack of connectivity.

(05:49)
We have to drive our children into my work, to my wife’s school or to our county library to finish projects or homework assignments. Every aspect of our daily life has now seemingly been touched by internet access; education, health, commerce, and entertainment. We are not alone. We now know that in Culpeper County there are 4,300 unserved homes when it comes to high speed internet access. Thankfully, our county has started a broadband initiative to serve the underserved. We don’t have it yet, but I know it’s on the way thanks to folks here, today. The reality is that reliable, affordable, high speed internet is a utility, not a luxury. So today, I’m excited to be here to share my story and to thank this administration, who will get our country up to speed, and into the 21st century. It is my extreme honor to be able to welcome a person who has made this issue a priority and will improve the quality of life, of all of our lives. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

Thank you [inaudible 00:07:04].

[inaudible 00:07:04].

Please. Thank you. Thank you. Please. Thank you.

(07:24)
I like the fact Joe Manchin is standing all this time. He’s a friend. Hi Joe. Joe, how are you pal?

(07:44)
Before I began, let me say a few words about the events in Russia. And excuse, I have a little, an allergy. The situation began to develop. As it did, I directed my national security team to monitor closely and report to me hour-by-hour. I instructed them to prepare for a range of scenarios. I also convened our key allies on a Zoom call to make sure we’re all on the same page. It’s critical that we were coordinated in our response and coordinated in what to anticipate. They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse, let me emphasize, we gave no excuse to blame this on the West and blame this on NATO. We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within the Russian system. I also talked in length with President Zelensky of Ukraine and we keeping in contact and maybe speaking later today, early tomorrow morning, to make sure we continue to remain on the same page.

(08:51)
I told them that no matter what happened in Russia, let me say it again, no matter what happened in Russia, we, the United States, would continue to support Ukraine’s defense and its sovereignty and its territorial integrity. He and I agreed to follow up and stay in constant contact. I’m also in constant contact with our allies to maintain our coordination. I’ll be speaking with the head of state right after this meeting today and making sure we’re on the same page. I didn’t get a chance to speak with one head of state yesterday. We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and implications for Russia and Ukraine, but it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going. The ultimate outcome of all this remains to be seen, but no matter what comes next, I will keep making sure that our allies and our partners are closely aligned in how we are reading and responding to the situation. It’s important we stay completely coordinated.

(09:51)
And now I’d like to turn to today’s announcement, begin by asking a question; did you lay all that cable? She’s a Wonder Woman. I was watching in the other room, but I didn’t realize. I didn’t bring along all the cable. I, you know, the empty spools. You’re incredible. Thank you. Look, I want to thank you Jeff for taking the time and thank you for your introduction. There you are. And I want thank Kamala, who is there for every single important thing we do, and I’m not sure how we’d do it without her.

(10:24)
Two years ago, I asked her to lead an effort into high-speed internet and she’s been doing an incredible job since then. So is Gina, Gina Raimondo, our Commerce Secretary. And Shalanda Young, who is a jack of all trades, sitting here with our Office of Management and Budget. She’s played a major role in along with Mitch Landrieu, our Infrastructure Coordinator. And I want to thank, and I mean it sincerely, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who’s here with us today as well. And thank you to the leaders of state and local governments, labor unions, Tribal organizations and telecom companies.

(10:59)
Folks we’re talking today about a major investment that we’re making an affordable, high-speed internet all across the country. As we started down, I turned to Jeff and I said, “You know, this may be… I wonder if President Roosevelt felt a little like this, as he talked about the electrification of our farmland.”. Think about it. It’s almost similar, but to put in context, let’s remember where we were two and a half years ago. The pandemic was raging, the economy was reeling and the problems we were facing started a lot earlier than that. For decades, for decades, and the middle class was hollowed out. Too many good-pay manufacturing jobs moved overseas, public investment was slashed, core sources of our economic strength, like infrastructure, manufacturing and innovation, were also hollowed out.

(11:48)
All that is result of failed economic policy, I called trickle-down economics, it was called trickle-down economics as well, a belief that we should give tax cuts to the very wealthy and big corporations and expect it to trickle down to everyone else, benefit across the board. I ran for president of a fundamentally different vision: to build the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, instead of the top down, to grow the economy by educating and empowering workers, by promoting competition to support small businesses and investing in ourselves again for the first time in a long time. And that’s what today’s announcement is all about.

(12:28)
What we’re doing is, as I said, not unlike what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did when he brought electricity to nearly every American home and farm in our nation. Today, Kamala and I are making an equally historic investment to connect everyone in America, everyone in America, to high-speed internet, and affordable high-speed internet, by 2030. It’s the biggest investment in high-speed internet ever, because for today’s economy to work for everyone, internet access is just as important as electricity was or water or other basic services. Think of the parents and students sitting outside of McDonald’s or outside your office to be able to get on the internet, in a parking lot just so their child can go online to do their homework.

(13:10)
We just heard from Jeff, who has to drive his kids all over the town to find good internet connection. But he’s not alone in that, thousands of Americans are doing the same thing. Or small-business owners who are not able to reach more customers, or seniors unable to talk to their doctor through telemedicine. For around 24 million Americans across this country, there’s no high-speed internet and for millions more, their internet connection is limited or unreliable.

(13:39)
High-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s become an absolute necessity. That’s why we acted as soon as we did, as soon as we came to office, with the American Rescue Plan. It included $25 billion, $25 billion for high-speed internet in places where it was out of reach, for schools and libraries to help students connect to the internet if they couldn’t do it at home. After that, we signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment to rebuild roads, bridges, ports, airports, and deliver water and high-speed internet to every American. And again, Joe, thank you for your help on that.

(14:16)
To date, over 35,000 projects are either funded or already underway across the country thanks to that law. This includes hundreds of high-speed internet projects in the rural and Tribal communities. But, but, but, but it’s not enough to have access. You need affordability, in addition to access. That’s why we worked with internet service providers to bring down prices for Americans struggling with internet payments. It’s called the Affordable Connectivity Program. It’s helping 19 million families save around $30 a month on internet bills, and some save a lot more.

(14:53)
These savings matters in homes like the one I grew up in. That’s money that can go for groceries, for the electric bill, for other things and other necessities. Kamala has traveled across the country, working with state and local officials, to make sure people know about this program. And several groups and companies here today have helped millions of Americans sign up through the ‘Online For All’ campaign, ‘Online For All’ campaign. Now, we’re working with Congress to extend this bipartisan program. Folks looking for an affordable internet plan, just go to GetInternet.gov. GetInternet.gov.

(15:27)
And today, we’re take another big step toward internet for all. We’re announcing over $40 billion to be distributed to 50 states, Washington, D.C., and territories to deliver high-speed internet in places where there’s neither service or it’s too slow. And, folks, and it includes rural communities like Appalachia, towns that Joe represents. It includes Tribal lands, from Alaska to the Dakotas, coastal towns from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest. It also includes suburban communities, even cities, neighborhoods and, where there’s a lot of people, you think it’s automatic, but some still have to use dial-up connections to get online.

(16:11)
The funding for each state and territory is based on their specific needs, how many of their residents currently lack internet access and what it would cost to provide that access. With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable, high-speed internet by 2030.

(16:33)
I promised to be a president for all Americans, whether or not they voted for me or whether or not they voted for these laws. These investments will help all Americans. We’re not going to leave anyone behind. Don’t just take it from me. I’ve gotten letters and emails from across the country, from people who are thrilled that after so many years of waiting, they’re finally going to get high-speed internet.

(17:06)
A woman named Beth wrote me from Iowa. She lives in a valley that’s a dead zone to cell reception. She’s also gotten internet via satellite, which goes out when it rains or snows. She can’t get emergency alerts. Even in good weather, it’s spotty. Then, last year, a local telecom company, which just 13 employees, sent Beth a postcard. They had received funding from the American Rescue Plan. Now, they were installing fiber optic cable for homes, like hers, in the valley.

(17:39)
And here’s what she wrote to me, and I quote, “You can imagine my joy.”. She called them right away and the next day they sent someone out to survey her yard. As Beth wrote, “This is the best thing that’s happened to rural America since the Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to farms ’30s and ’40s.”. End of quote.

(18:06)
Plus this investment means something else as well: good-paying jobs. Good-paying jobs. Just ask the folks at the IBEW or the Communication Workers or the Laborers Union. They’re putting thousands of people to work laying fiber optic cable across America and the cable will be made in America. Let me say that again. The cable’s going to be made in America. And that also means good-paying manufacturing jobs. It matters.

(18:42)
Folks, here’s the bottom line, by investing in America, we are delivering results. More than 13 million jobs created since I took office, nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs. As a lot of folks are tired of hearing me say it; where in God’s name is it written that we can’t be the leading manufacturer in the world again? Where is that written? Since I’ve been in office, we’ve attracted $490 billion, $490 billion in private investment in new manufacturing, like semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, fiber optic cable, and that we’re talking about here today. More people are starting small businesses than ever, and everyone who applies for a small business line is a sign of hope. All told, this is the strongest, fastest economic growth anywhere in the world, in the world. Jobs are back. Manufacturing is back.

(19:38)
And in many places that have been left behind, pride is coming back as well. A lot of us lived in communities where they had thriving manufacturing bases and those seeking cheaper jobs moved overseas. Not only did you lose the jobs, but guess what happened? They lost pride in that neighborhood, that neighborhood that you came from. Everybody knew, they worked at the steel mill. They worked at their… They worked, whatever it was. In my case, it was coal mines and then steel. And folks, let me close with this. Connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed internet is a bold gold, but we’re a great nation. Especially one as vast and geographically diverse as ours, it’s even bolder. We are all well on our way. We’re just going to have to keep it going and as you mentioned earlier, just remember: it’s never been a good idea to bet against America. Let’s remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. There is nothing beyond our capacity.

(20:32)
God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming.

Mr. President, did you lie about never speaking with Hunter about his business deals? Did you lie about never speaking with Hunter about his business deals, Sir?

No.

[inaudible 00:21:21].