President Biden Highlights how his Bidenomics Agenda is Growing the Economy Transcript

Good afternoon folks. I’m not introducing me. Mark is. Forgot, Mark. I went straight to the podium. I apologize.

No problem. Good afternoon. I’m Mark Anthony Thomas and I have the privilege of leading the Greater Baltimore Committee, the economic and civic organization for the Baltimore region. Like many post-industrial communities in America, Baltimore has faced longstanding challenges, suffered economic setbacks, and until recently lacked the federal support to tell a brighter and more vibrant story of the community I know and love. The truth is, cities like Baltimore are brimming with possibility. They’re filled with diverse entrepreneurial minds. They are epicenters of rich histories and they are ripe for the sort of catalytic investment that can spark local economies. They just need the right support to leverage those possibilities.

(01:10)
Today, thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, I can return to my community and proudly say we are a tech hub. We brought together 38 consortium partners, academic institutions, local startups, major corporations and our regional economic organizations and electeds to position our region as a global hub for predictive technologies that improve health and wellbeing. Over the next decade, we envision the economic impact could be staggering. More than $4.2 billion and 52,000 jobs could be created through this innovation. We found ourself a real partner in this endeavor. Thanks to President Biden’s leadership and the support of our state and local partners, Baltimore is poised to become one of the world’s top biotech and artificial intelligence hubs. And so many communities just like ours are now set to become true economic powerhouses. It is now my honor and my privilege to introduce a true champion for innovation; President Joe Biden.

Thank you. Folks, Mark, thank you very much for the introduction. Look, a little over a year ago, I signed the bipartisan Chips and Science Act. That act did two things. Excuse me, I have a little bit of a cold. First, it’s a historic investment in bringing the semiconductor industry back to America. We invented the semiconductors. Those little computer chips are about the size of the tip of your little finger. They affect nearly everything in our lives, from cell phones to automobiles, refrigerators, to the most sophisticated weapon systems we have. America invented these chips, but over time we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s chips down to producing just over 10%, and as a result of the Chips and Science Act, the semiconductor companies all over the world are investing over a $100 billion to bring chip production back to the United States. I’ve visited almost every major center starting from [inaudible 00:03:28] and they want to be here building the chips here in America.

(03:33)
Second, the bill created what we call tech hubs as part of the bill. A tech hub, we’re going to invest in critical technologies like biotechnology, critical materials, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, so the US will lead the world again in innovation across the board. These hubs all around the country will bring together private industry, higher education, state and local governments, tribes, and organized labor.

(04:03)
Today we’re announcing that 31 tech hubs spread across the entire company will be able to compete for up to $75 million each to accelerate and scale up their work, and I want to thank majority leader, Chuck Schumer and Senator Todd Young and representative, excuse me, representatives Joe Morelle and Susan Wild for their work to make this happen. Representatives for many of these hubs are on the screen behind me, and in front of me there’s … That’s why I was starting to look to see whether if they’re still there. The work they’re doing is transformational.

(04:43)
For example, a tech hub in Wisconsin is going to bring together research labs, medical device manufacturers and engineers. They’re going to build technology that supports personalized medicine like tests, treatments, and therapies, specifically tailored to a patient’s genetic code and medical records, and I believe it’s going to save a lot of lives in the long run. Ohio, the largest concentration of rubber and plastic manufacturing in North America.

(05:11)
In the Ohio Hub, businesses and universities are going to come together to develop sustainable plastic and rubber technology that can be produced with fewer emissions and is able to be recycled and is biodegradable and is nontoxic, which is going to significantly impact on the environment.

(05:29)
These hubs are also making sure workers get the skills they need to do these jobs. For example, the leadership of Majority Leader Schumer, a hub in upstate New York, is going to support a workforce training program for New York semiconductor industry, which by the way has seen tens of billions of dollars, billions of dollars in new investments because of the Chips and Science Act. This hub will have a particular focus on training people from communities historically left behind, like women, people of color to work in the semiconductor industry. The list goes on.

(06:03)
We’re doing this from coast to coast and in the heartland and red states and blue states, small towns, cities of all sizes. All this is part of my strategy to invest in America and invest in Americans. It’s working. We’re creating good jobs in communities all across the country, including places where for decades, factories have been shut down, hollowed out, when jobs moved overseas to find cheaper employment. Over the past few decades, these communities lost more than jobs. They lost a sense of their sense of dignity, of opportunity, sense of pride. We’re going to change all that. Tech hubs are going to bring this work to where people live in communities all across America.

(06:45)
The press has started to call my plan Bidenomics. Wonder of Bidenomics; you don’t have to leave home or your family to get a good job. For too long science and innovation and economic opportunities that came with it were concentrated on the coast. As a country, we used to invest 2% of our gross domestic product in research and development. Now it’s 0.7%. How can you lead the world when you no longer lead in research and development? My plan is to changing that.

(07:18)
Under Bidenomics, we’re going to make sure America’s future is made in America. It’s leading to a manufacturing boom, attracting over $600 billion so far in private investment in American manufacturing and our clean energy future. For too long, we looked around the world to find corporations, looked around the world to find the cheapest employment, and then imported the products they made, the foreign product. Now we’re creating American jobs and exporting American products, and that’s good for everybody.

(07:50)
These tech hubs will be transformational and they’re part of a long line of transformational investments we’ve made since I took office and as a result, I truly believe this country is about to take off because for the first time in a long time, we’re investing in America and we’re investing in American people. We’re investing in our future. I can honestly say I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.

(08:14)
I want to thank you and I’m going to leave you now with secretary Gina Raimondo, who’s been the engine behind this effort, and she’s going to lead the discussion with representatives from these tech hubs on the screen behind me for all of you to see. I apologize. I have to go to the situation with another issue that I have to deal with, but thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Sir.

Mr. President-

Pope Francis spoke with you yesterday. You spoke to Pope Francis by phone yesterday.

I did.

How did that conversation impact you? What did you take away from that conversation with Pope Francis?

I’ll answer this one question. The Pope and I are on the same page. He was very, very interested in what we were doing to deal with some of the crises that we’re facing, particularly in Israel this time around, and I laid out to him what the game plan was, how we thought we should be providing the kind of assistance to Israel that’s needed, and the Pope was across the board supportive of what we’re doing. Thank you.

[inaudible 00:09:16]

Is the US supporting the hostages for ceasefire deal? Why did you …

We should have a ceasefire. Not a ceasefire. We should have those hostages released and then we can talk.

Any comment [inaudible 00:09:31].

Hello everybody. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us as we announce the 31 Tech Hub designees. Obviously, President Biden was just here to announce this incredibly exciting announcement. We’re running a little bit behind, so I’m just going to say a word or two and then kick it right over to some of our tech hub’s winners because we really want to hear from you. I will say that it’s

It’s unbelievable to me the quantity and quality of applications we received. Almost 400 applications, all of which were excellent, from every state in the country. And I have heard from university presidents, senators, congresspeople, governors, all advocating for their tech hub, which is exciting.

(10:23)
So, I am more optimistic than ever and it just proves, it just proves, although Silicon Valley might have cornered the market on capital, they have absolutely not cornered the market on great ideas, great entrepreneurs, great research and development and innovation.

(10:41)
So we are thrilled to have you. And by the way, you should feel amazing. We started with 400 and you’re the 31 winners. That means you are world-leading, world-class, and we’re excited to support you.

(10:52)
So that’s enough from me. We want to hear from you. And I will turn it over to my partner, the director of the NEC, Lael Brainard.

Yeah, we’re delighted to get a chance to hear from you directly. Thank you for participating today.

(11:06)
And I’m just going to go directly to a few of you to ask you to talk about how your members of your coalition compliment each other, how the sum is or the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And also to talk about the complementarity between the distinctive features of your region and your hub’s goal of achieving world-class status in this area.

(11:40)
So I’m going to start with Mark Thomas and the Baltimore Tech Hub. But just to let you know, I’m then going to go to Lisa Johnson for BioForward of Wisconsin and then to Francesca de Quesada Covey from Miami-Dade.

(11:58)
So with that, let me turn to Mark.

Yeah, so one of the things when we started the process was to find technologies that had thread through a lot of regional stakeholders and then get collective buy-in from all of our different partners into a number that we could either pull from existing opportunities or where there was an interest in expanding. And so, it was a fun process overall. And toward the end of the submission, we had a big celebration and you can tell that people learned more about the region than they knew before and felt good whether or not we won.

All right, so let me turn to Lisa Johnson for Wisconsin. I think you have a technical college, a private firm, economic development organization, and 12 other entities. So, be interested to hear from you.

Well, first, thank you, Secretary Raimondo and also to the Biden-Harris administration. And also shout out to Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin for your support of the CHIPS and Science Act, this tech hub legislation.

(13:06)
So per your question, and going back to the complimentary, so BioForward Wisconsin represents Wisconsin’s BioHealth industry where Tech Hub consortium members have a long history of collaboration, from our strength in the biosciences through to our healthcare organizations.

(13:23)
Your goal, Secretary Raimondo, bringing technology innovation to benefit us all, Wisconsin has been driving technology to commercialization in many fields around personalized medicine, aligning our highly ranked research institutions to our BioHealth companies.

(13:41)
So our major strength is this rapidly expanding field of theranostics where genomics, therapeutics, medical imaging, and AI come together for an individualized approach to healthcare.

(13:55)
And then underneath our BioHealth companies, the complimentary feature of our tech hub is Wisconsin’s leadership in precision manufacturers and also automation companies controlling the US manufacturing the supply chain and supplying quality components to our BioHealth companies, not just in Wisconsin, but nationally and globally.

(14:17)
And then as President Biden just stated, Wisconsin is really meeting his goal for Made in America.

(14:25)
So then, in addition, just one more thing, in addition-

Okay. I was going to tell you how excited Tammy was.

I know it. Critically important is that these tech hubs are not just about the government support, but that private industry is also making an investment into the United States. And that is why you’re seeing Wisconsin having a major consortium emphasis in the private sector through GE Healthcare, Exact Sciences, PLEXOS, Rockwell Automation, and Acura.

(14:56)
So, investments will be made in the early stage companies, workforce development training and education to achieve the global competitiveness and protecting US security interests in the years to come. So thank you for allowing me the time to speak.

Thank you. So let me turn now to Francesca first to talk a little bit about the complementarity among your coalition partners, and secondly, what is it about South Florida that makes it a natural place for a climate resilience tech hub?

Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you to the Secretary, thank you to the Biden-Harris administration. We are delighted to be representing the South Florida region from Miami-Dade County.

(15:35)
The South Florida region, which is inclusive of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties, so all the way from Palm Beach down to the Keys, is the most exposed geography in the United States to climate driven extreme heat, rising sea levels and catastrophic weather events.

(15:54)
The potential devastation impacts the United States’ most diverse community, with 70% minority population and a 350 billion economic engine that has been growing at 3% over the past decade.

(16:07)
For decades, South Florida has served as a global leader in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and it has been the global benchmark for resilient building codes. We produce 2% of US patents over the last five years in climate tech. And our research and development has been growing at 10% year-over-year in the same period.

(16:29)
We’re really proud that our consortium represents that diversity in terms of the businesses, universities, and organizations, and that it represents the unique diversity that we have here in South Florida where the population is 42% immigrant, 46% Hispanic and Latino, and 20% African-American.

(16:51)
Our focus is going to be on making sure that we collectively catalyze innovation through collaborative test sites, dedicated lab space and a commercialization task force, and that we develop workforce programs, including a mentorship network, apprenticeship programs, and a climate skills academy with our academic institutions and with our labor organizations that are a part of our tech hub application.

(17:17)
And we are just so excited to be designated and very, very excited for phase two.

Thank you. Thank you. It’s exciting just listening to you guys. It’s really inspiring. So we just heard the president talk about how tech hubs will create jobs all over the country, and he firmly believes you shouldn’t have to move in order to get a good job. You ought to be able to stay home and get a good job.

(17:43)
That being said, some of the technologies you are working on will also help America’s national security, working on technologies that are dual-use. And if you are successful in this innovation, it will help America to defend ourselves and be even more secure.

(18:04)
And so, I’d like to call on a few of you who have working on these dual-use technologies that will create jobs, but also help America to be more secure. First, I’d like to call on Corban, who’s the founder and CEO of Maybell Quantum Industries in Denver, Colorado. And then we’ll move to Tracy, who’s the president of the building and construction trades in Northern Nevada. And then Jennifer Hankins from Tulsa, the managing director of Tulsa Innovation Labs.

(18:37)
So Corban, over to you.

Thank you so much, Secretary Raimondo. When we look at the biggest challenges facing America right now, we have things like climate change, healthcare access and quality cyber and physical security threats, and building a thriving and inclusive economy for all Americans.

(18:54)
Quantum technologies will be critical to address all of those challenges and more. Quantum is poised to be as important to the next 50 years as semiconductors have been to the last 50. And just as semiconductors ushered in the space age, personal computing and the internet, defining the modern world.

(19:14)
In coming years, industries ranging from agriculture and logistics to security, finance, medicine, and clean tech will be transformed by quantum, impacting every single American’s lives and setting the stage for one of the greatest technology driven geopolitical competitions in history.

(19:31)
What’s important to remember about quantum, it’s new, it’s different. And when we usually talk about computing innovations, we’re talking about finding new ways to use the same old computer.

(19:43)
Quantum is a reinvention of the very essence of what a computer is, and it has the potential to make solving problems that are literally impossible for traditional computers trivially easy.

(19:55)
For example, in healthcare, quantum technologies could move us from a world

…of lengthy drug trials, uncertain side effects and difficult medicine. To a future where during a routine doctor’s visit, you sit in the waiting room for a few minutes while a quantum computer runs an in silico drug trial to create custom medicine designed specifically for you. Reducing medical suffering, costs, uncertainty and all, but eliminating side effects. The implications of quantum though go way beyond computing.

(20:26)
Quantum sensing and networking tools will bring transformative impacts to improve people’s lives around the world, not only detecting diseases earlier, but providing unjammable GPS for our troops and creating unhackable cybersecurity tools. While a lot of quantum computing applications are years away, the mountain west is already harnessing quantum tech today. For instance, long path technologies based here in Boulder utilizes a type of quantum sensor invented at NIST here in Boulder.

(20:56)
To efficiently detect methane leaks from afar, helping to protect the environment from otherwise invisible pollution. Or here at Maybell, the company that I founded. We build what I like to call the picks and shovels for the impending quantum gold rush. The beautiful device you see behind me here creates an environment where quantum states can be controlled, observed, and manipulated for useful work. And importantly because we’re building things here, not software.

(21:22)
Maybell’s workforce isn’t a bunch of PhDs. We’re hiring welders, machinists, engineers, technicians, folks to build the physical hardware and to ensure that the foundation of the quantum century is made in America. With President Biden’s leadership and support from Governor Polis, Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, as well as the leaders of neighboring states, our region is leading the way into this new era.

(21:46)
And Elevate Quantum’s tech hub designation gives Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming the opportunity and the impetus to supercharge our regional commitment to quantum. We’re already home to more quantum research, more quantum organizations and more quantum jobs than anywhere in the world. This region’s number one right now, and we continue to support an investment from the federal government and local governments.

(22:09)
We can build from that strong foundation to secure America’s leadership on a global scale. And more than that, Elevate Quantum is deeply committed to democratizing the quantum revolution, ensuring that diversity, equity, inclusion, acceptance, belonging, and opportunity is there for all Americans in the quantum century.

Thank you Corban. Tracy, tell us what’s going on in Nevada. You’re on mute.

All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Well, we have a lot of things going on in Nevada. The northern Nevada is uniquely positioned for domestic lithium and EV Materials Loop. Every stage of the process from the mining, the processing, battery manufacturing and recycling is lined up right here in Nevada. We have project labor agreement with Lithium America to build the Thacker Pass project.

(23:19)
These are good union jobs and it’ll let Nevadans provide their families with dignity and decades to come. We look forward to working closely with the companies in northern Nevada to establish strong collaborative partnerships that prioritize the wellbeing of the workers, maintain the highest standards of safety and quality for our community. Up in the lithium mine, we have one of the largest deposits.

(23:51)
And between that and Tesla with the battery and also redwood materials, American batteries, all the lithium, that whole loop is going to be able to be handled right here in Nevada. We’re going to be able to do everything right here and transport it out. And that’s going to be… Our consortium represents a businesses worker’s education for all through the universities and the companies. We’re proud to work alongside all the lithium industry to help them make sure Nevada’s workers have a seat at the table.

(24:34)
It’s their blood, sweat, and tears that will actually make these projects happen. Sorry, I got off script there a little bit because I wasn’t ready for some of the questions, but Nevada is really, really situated really strongly to have a big effect on the lithium in the battery market. I believe it’s going to help for the security of our nation and everything else. Well, I’m done there. I apologize.

Thank you, Tracy.

I’m not a real good speaker, guys, and this whole thing came up to me late last night.

That’s okay. Well, I think you did a great job. And as you say, not only will it create jobs, but lithium is so important to our national security, batteries, semiconductors, et cetera. So thank you so much for joining us and thanks for joining us on maybe late notice. Jennifer, tell us what is going on in Tulsa. I have to say I’ve looked at all of them, but the Tulsa Innovation Labs is doing some pretty remarkable work in Oklahoma, so tell us what you’re doing.

Thank you so much for that acknowledgement. We’re doing some really unique things here in the heartland of America. First, we are a region deeply rooted in legacy industries such as oil and gas and aerospace. And while those have afforded our region great prosperity, they’re also really cyclical in nature. And so we’re working here in Tulsa Innovation Labs to really transform our economy into one that is more stable and resilient for our community here.

(26:18)
So with our historical expertise, as I mentioned, just in aerospace and advanced manufacturing, we’re working to really marry those two industries and create a hub centered on secure, trustworthy, autonomous systems with a deep emphasis in UAS on manned air systems. We’re proud that not only did we embed equity into traditional approaches such as workforce development, we actually embedded it directly into our technology focus area itself by focusing on the equitable generation, equitable generative AI.

(26:52)
And so this will ensure how we think about AI technologies and really ensuring that those technologies do not continue to perpetuate the systemic biases that we see today.

(27:03)
We intend to do that through really unique partnerships that I’m really excited to announce those with Black Tech Street and Microsoft in particular, and then of course through our tribal partnerships with groups such as the Cherokee Nation Aerospace and Defense Group, as well as of course our friends from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge at Osage Nation who are having a great moment in time right now as well.

(27:24)
Beyond these factors, of course, we are uniquely positioned to lead the testing, the integration, and the onshoring of manufacturing for this unique industry. I think a lot of people would be shocked to know that currently autonomous systems’ workforce is the fastest growing in our EDA region right now. Comprising nearly 96,000 jobs, which is already nearly a fifth of our current workforce.

(27:47)
This includes occupations that you might expect across computer engineering and things like that, but where we see the greatest potential is actually preparing our entire state for the 21st century in production and testing occupations such as machining and engineering. With EDA investment through tech hubs, we’re actually poised to create nearly 200,000 new jobs, unlocking 66,000 women and 39,000 Black, Tribal and Latino Tulsans into our workforce as well.

(28:19)
In addition, we expect that these jobs will increase our average wages by about $10,000 per individual, which is just seismic for a region like ours. I think most importantly for this group though, is that Tulsa looks like most communities across America. And we also believe that we are an important test bed for how these technologies can be developed, deployed, and serve as critical access points for everyday Americans all over the country.

(28:45)
And that we are truly a test bed for how this geographic diversity looks across America. And so that’s really what we’re seeking to do here in Tulsa through this opportunity.

Thank you. I just want to say to Tracy, I’ve been hearing so much about lithium and lithium batteries and when you were speaking for the first time, I really got a sense of how just ordinary workers are so important to what you’re doing in the lithium area. So you may not have planned that, but it was really very helpful for at least five seconds. While Corban was talking for the first time, I think I understood what quantum was, but I’m not sure how much I’m going to be able to hang on to that.

(29:25)
And I’ll say for Jennifer, you talked about the heartland and growing innovation in the heartland, and that’s what I want to wrap up with now when it comes to [inaudible 00:29:36] and Brian Anderson. When we think about our world-class innovation clusters, we think about Silicon Valley and most people just assume it all came together at the same time. And what we see, all the components that are necessary today, were always there, but you’re really growing a cluster organically from

… from what you have in your community. So I just wanted to hear from Abi first and then Brian about how you think about involving whether it’s small businesses, workforces, training institutions to grow that kind of a innovation cluster organically. So Abi, why don’t I start with you?

Thank you, Director Brainard and thank you Secretary Raimondo. I have the privilege of serving as Chief Business Officer at Southern Research, an 82-year-old nonprofit biomedical research institute in Birmingham, Alabama. Today I’m representing the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, a regional consortium-led by Southern Research, the city of Birmingham, and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, or UAB. Our consortium includes a wide range of regional community groups, industry organizations, economic developers and educational institutions, including several Alabama R1 universities, community colleges, and HBCUs.

(30:54)
Precision medicine holds the promise of improving and extending lives through data enabled treatments, tailored to patients’ genomes, social determinants, and personal histories. However, this technology like other medical technologies before it will not achieve its desired impact unless deliberate measures are undertaken to include and involve diverse and historically underserved patients. The Birmingham Biotechnology Hub envisions an ambitious plan to build on Birmingham’s nationally leading biomedical research institutions in the hope of developing innovative and inclusive tools to expand precision medicine through artificial intelligence and new drug modalities. Our consortium would not be possible without the expertise and connections that are brought by small businesses in our state.

(31:38)
An Alabama based startup called Acclinate that specializes in enabling diverse clinical studies will co-lead our efforts to engage patients statewide through culturally competent materials. Acclinate today is trusted by pharma and biotech companies across the world to engage with diverse patient populations. And through this hub, they’ll get to bring their unique capabilities home to Alabama to serve the state. This consortium will also heavily support the growth of new startups via biotechnology entrepreneurship resources, including a biotechnology incubator here on Southern Research’s campus that will provide wraparound support to businesses that are already in Alabama or want to be here in proximity to the third largest public hospital in the United States and a top 25 funded NIH institution in UIB. This hub will generate 36,000 direct and indirect new jobs of the next decade and create an incremental $2.4 billion in wages.

(32:29)
It’s an understatement to say the work static to join you all today to talk about the assets here in Birmingham and to build on them with you all. So we’re grateful for this opportunity to join you and look forward to our continued work together.

Thank you. Brian?

Thank you, Secretary Raimondo. We’re just absolutely thrilled in Akron, Ohio for this recognition and opportunity. Our Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub is founded on over 150 years of history leading global innovation and production in, first, rubber and tires, and then over time evolving and expanding into elastomers, plastics, polymers that make up a significant portion of critical economic drivers like EV batteries, airplane bodies, medical devices, semiconductor wafers, and really just so much more.

(33:16)
Our tech hub includes multiple universities, including the University of Akron, ranked number one in the world in polymer science and plastics engineering, 35 companies, both large and small, and several public sector partners. And the work of our Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub is to drive inclusive, sustainable, and compound economic growth by upskilling our diverse workforce for advanced manufacturing like in a new injection molding apprenticeship program and 3D printing as well as science and engineering and other innovative activities.

(33:51)
But we’re also filling critical gaps in our region’s innovation infrastructure that will provide access to R&D to scale up in prototyping facilities for use by startups and small businesses that don’t have the capacity to drive that work internally. And by targeting our investments in low and middle income districts, activating our environmental arts, social justice, and other community partners will be able through the tech hubs program to ensure that this growth and these opportunities in sustainable polymers is something that all residents and stakeholders are able to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from to elevate the entire greater Akron region and state of Ohio. So we are feeling truly blessed to have such a collaborative ecosystem of partners throughout the Northeast Ohio region and supportive elected officials and state economic development leaders who have helped get us to where we are today. And just thank you again for the opportunity to showcase our unique and valuable assets while we drive critical technologies for the future.

Thank you. That was great, Brian. Thank you. Well, thank all of you. I think I could probably speak for both of us that your presentations, but also your applications are just so thoughtful, right? You all have fantastic technology upon which to build and great universities, but you’ve all done a fantastic job talking about how to integrate and benefit small businesses. What is your workforce component? What is your equity component? How are you making sure that the jobs which are created are high quality, high wage jobs that people in your community can benefit from? And that’s exactly what we want to see. I think you are showing the world that you can be best in the world no matter where you are in the United States, right? Akron, Tulsa. I love that.

(35:52)
The whole point of this initiative, and of course now you’ll have the opportunity to compete for very sizable federal grants up to $75 million, is that we’ve chosen communities like yours that are already excellent, truly excellent. And we hope that by providing you support and funds and designations, we can take you to be globally leading. And we believe you have the potential to do that. And in the process, create jobs, invigorate communities, and enhance our national security. So we are excited to work with you. Very, very grateful for your participation and grateful for your commitment to your communities. And thank you for being with us in person.

Thank you.

Mark had the shortest ride so he could be here in person. We wish you guys could have been here in person too, but we hope to meet you soon. So thank you for joining us.