Biden to speak Wednesday at Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce in Milwaukee

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will deliver remarks Wednesday at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce in Milwaukee touting recent economic improvement and business growth in underrepresented communities, a critical bloc of voters largely skeptical of the current state of the economy.

Biden’s remarks will center on how his economic policies and recent investments have led to what administration officials describe as a “boom” among Black-owned small businesses in both Milwaukee and across the country.

He plans to announce new directives intended to support small businesses in Milwaukee and point to progress made through legislation like the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in an effort to highlight the administration’s economic and equity agenda, White House officials said. He’ll deliver his remarks to a historically Democratic audience whose voter enthusiasm has dimmed in recent years.

“The president has been very intentional since the outset of this administration about ensuring that opportunity cuts across every zip code,” Tom Perez, a senior advisor to Biden, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“The reality is, we’ve made unprecedented investments,” Perez said. “And people in the Milwaukee community, in the Black community, are already benefiting and are going to benefit at an even greater scale.”

The president’s remarks will come as the economy has picked up steam in recent months. Inflation, the rate at which prices increase, has dropped, the stock markets have improved and unemployment hovers around 3.7%. But voters across the country continue to feel glum about their economic prospects as lingering effects of record-high price hikes remain top-of-mind for many.

In Wisconsin, voters have a largely pessimistic view of the current state of the U.S. economy, according to a Marquette University Law Poll released last month. Just 27% of respondents described the economy as “excellent” or “good” while 36% described it as “not so good” and 37% labeled it “poor.”

Biden’s stop at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce also comes as Democrats fight to retain their support among Black voters. Surveys and voting data indicate Black voter enthusiasm in states like Wisconsin has lessened in recent years. Those votes could prove critical in Milwaukee and Madison, where Democrats collect the majority of their support.

Wednesday’s visit is meant to address those concerns.

About 178,000 applications for small businesses have been filed in Wisconsin over the last three years, according to the White House. And Perez told the Journal Sentinel that applications for new Black-owned businesses in the state are up 70% — attributing that statistic, in part, to an increase in loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration to minority-owned businesses.

On Wednesday, Biden will highlight the administration’s Recompete Pilot Program, a grant program that provides funding to “distressed communities across the country to create and connect workers to good jobs and support long-term comprehensive economic development.”

Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor, an effort to establish an employment center and so-called “economic hub” in the city, is among 22 finalists for the program and will receive a $500,000 grant to help finalize their proposal. Perez said the project will connect Black Milwaukeeans with economic opportunity across the city.

Among those expected to join Biden Wednesday will be Rashawn Spivey, the owner of Hero Plumbing LLC, a Black-owned small business that administration officials said removes and replaces lead pipes around the city — an effort in-line with the Biden administration’s goal to replace lead pipes by the end of the decade.

In interviews, Biden advisors acknowledged that many voters remain pessimistic about the improving economy. They attributed those sentiments to the lasting effects the COVID pandemic and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine have had on the global economy and noted the administration still has work to do to bring down prices.

Gene Sperling, a Biden advisor and former director of the National Economic Council, noted many facets of the economy are moving “in the right direction,” citing lower fuel costs, cheaper airline tickets and lower prices for goods like TVs.

Sperling also mentioned Biden’s work to decrease and limit drug costs and job growth in recent years. But he noted Biden is working against a Republican-controlled House hostile to the president. House Republicans are pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the president.

​​“We’re gonna keep fighting and making a difference,” Sperling told the Journal Sentinel. “And we will trust that people will let us know the things that still frustrate them but also start to understand who has been fighting on their side and who has been making a difference.”

The Republican Party of Wisconsin declined a request Tuesday to comment on Biden’s planned visit. They planned a press call Wednesday morning to "discuss the reality of 'Bidenomics' and the so-called 'Inflation Reduction Act.'"

When it comes to reaching Black voters, Perez said events like Wednesday’s planned speech are a key way to address that gap.

“There’s a lot of folks over time who wondered what has government done for me,” Perez said. “What we’re here to do (Wednesday) is explain with precision … in particular what the Biden-Harris administration has done in Wisconsin for Black-owned businesses and minority businesses generally.”

Biden’s visit will be his third trip to Wisconsin in 2023. He last came to the state in mid-August, when he stopped in Milwaukee one week before Republicans descended on the city for the first Republican presidential primary debate. At the time, the president similarly touted his administration's efforts to grow the economy.

And with the 2024 election less than a year out, Biden and his top opponents are sure to continue to key-in on Wisconsin, a must-win stop on the path to the White House.

The latest Marquette Law Poll showed Biden leading former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, by two points in a head-to-head matchup in Wisconsin. And 42% of registered voters had a favorable view of Biden as Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sat tied at 37%.

Before Biden arrived in Wisconsin Wednesday, the White House had already begun making plans to return.

Vice President Kamala Harris will kick off a “nationwide reproductive freedoms tour” in Wisconsin on Jan. 22 — the 51st anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights that was overturned last year, the administration announced this week.

Democrats in Wisconsin campaigned heavily on abortion rights in 2022, retaining the governorship and flipping the state Supreme Court to liberals for the first time in 15 years. Harris’ plans make clear abortion will remain at the forefront of 2024 campaigns.

“We’re gonna continue these visits to every corner of the state of Wisconsin,” Perez said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden's Milwaukee visit will be at Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce