Aug. 3 (UPI) — Vice President Kamala Harris will make appearances at two major electronics manufacturers in Wisconsin Thursday to talk up the administration’s recent efforts to boost high-speed Internet throughout the state.
Harris will be joined by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis, during stops at Nokia and Sanmina Corp. in Pleasant Prairie — a visit that was intended to tout the ongoing impact of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda amid the budding 2024 campaign.
“President Biden and I are delivering on our promise to strengthen our economy by investing in working people, expanding domestic manufacturing, empowering small business owners, and rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure,” Harris said in a statement. “Our investments in broadband infrastructure are creating jobs in Wisconsin and across the nation, and increasing access to reliable, high-speed Internet so everyone in America has the tools they need to thrive in the 21st century.”
After leaving Pleasant Prairie, Harris plans to speak at two more campaign events in Milwaukee.
As part of the day’s events, Nokia was expected to announce the launch of a new line of digital products to support the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program — a major provision of Biden’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021.
The deal with Nokia is expected to create about 200 new manufacturing jobs at Sanmina’s state-of-the-art facility in Kenosha County, with the aim of producing critical technology that is not currently built in the United States.
Biden’s $42 billion BEAD initiative seeks to expand high-speed Internet to every corner of the country by 2030, with the administration giving rural areas the highest priority and some states getting $100 million or more from the government to boost connectivity.
As part of the effort, the Biden administration last month announced the investment of more than $1 billion to shore up Wisconsin’s Internet infrastructure.
Back in February, Harris called high-speed Internet a “basic necessity” in announcing a $175 million fund in helping secure Internet access at the nation’s 61 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs.
The administration also launched the Internet For All initiative, which is providing an additional $90 billion to ensure all communities have access to reliable high-speed Internet service, regardless of location.
Another $25 billion is being provided through the American Rescue Plan to improve Internet service in economically challenged regions nationwide.
Harris’ visit comes weeks before Republican candidates were due to gather in Milwaukee for the campaign season’s first televised debate on Aug. 23.
